Quick and Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe (So GOOD for Fall!) (2024)

FAQs

What makes pumpkin bread fall? ›

The natural response to seeing a sunken-in loaf come out of the oven is to assume you didn't fill the pan enough. But actually, the opposite is true: You probably filled it too much. According to Fine Cooking, this is the most common reason why quick breads (like pumpkin bread) collapse while baking.

Quick breads are typically mixed by hand, and it's important not to overmix the batter. Overmixing can cause the gluten in the flour to develop, resulting in a tough and chewy bread. Mix the batter just until the ingredients are combined, and then stop. If there are a few lumps in the batter, that's okay.

You might think you could overcome the lack of flavor by adding more pumpkin purée to your recipe, but you'd be mistaken: By the time you've added enough purée to taste it, your baked good would have a soggy texture on account of all that moisture.

We used chocolate chips as the main ingredient to sweeten up this pumpkin bread recipe—plus warming spices like cinnamon and nutmeg, but if you aren't fond of chocolate chips in pumpkin bread, use raisins, currants, chopped walnuts, chopped pecans or grated coconut instead!

If the dough sits too long the yeast would have eaten up all the starch and will stop rising and collapse in on itself. The ideal temperature for proofing dough is between 24 and 36C or 70 to 115F and generally, the first proofing time is no more than two hours and the second no more than one.

From a vegetable of necessity to an edible icon, the pumpkin experienced a dramatic transformation in American culture. Pumpkins and jack-o-lanterns now symbolize fall, Halloween and Thanksgiving. A lit pumpkin can also mean "welcome trick-or-treaters."

Don't Overmix

When stirring up quick bread recipes, it's important not to overmix the batter once you've added flour. Instead, mix until the liquid and dry ingredients are just combined. And, yes, it's OK to have a few small lumps leftover.

Eggs also act as an emulsifier. By surrounding small particles of fat, the egg helps make the quick bread batter smoother, thus contributing to volume and texture. In addition, when eggs are beaten, they incorporate tiny air bubbles that expand with heat in the oven, contributing to volume.

Why does my pumpkin bread taste bland? Make sure to follow the recipe exactly. That means—don't leave out the salt, don't cut the amount of sugar, and use the specified amount of cinnamon. This is important because flour is what I like to call a “flavor thief”— it sucks the flavor out of ingredients.

What happens if you don't put baking soda in pumpkin bread? ›

Baking soda is a leavening agent. It creates air bubbles (technically, carbon dioxide) in your batter, when heated. Without it, your baked goods will not rise to the desired levels and the airy texture you're looking for will be adversely affected.

Here's what could happen if you use too much baking soda: Bitter Taste: Excessive baking soda can leave a bitter taste in the bread. Baking soda is alkaline, and an excessive amount of it can result in an unpleasant flavor. Unpleasant Texture: Too much baking soda can lead to a coarse and crumbly texture in the bread.

Pumpkin bread can become dense if there is not enough hydration or wet ingredients in the recipe. Another cause is overcooking the bread which can cause it to dry out. Remember, it's always easy to keep cooking if it isn't done but impossible to take cooking time back.

Setting the Oven Temperature Is Too Hot

If your oven runs hot, your bread is likely to brown and bake up on the outside before the center has a chance to fully cook. Invest in a simple oven thermometer to help verify the temperature. Make sure you have other bread baking essentials in your kitchen, too.

You need consist oven temperature to prevent your quick bread or cake to sink in the middle. Always preheat your oven and use an oven thermometer to check whether your quick bread is cooked. If not, continue baking until it passes the toothpick and thermometer test.

Active dry yeast is slower acting than instant yeast. If you use instant yeast or too much active yeast the dough rises too quickly and can collapse.

Incorrect oven temperature (not pre-heated) prior to placing the muffin tray in. Too much batter in each muffin tin. The batter will rise, but crack, then fall/deflate. Generally you should leave about a quarter inch/6.35mm space empty per muffin.