My Award Winning Pumpkin Bread

Yes, my pumpkin bread is an award winning recipe…even though I won the award perhaps 40 years ago.  I was single and living in Dallas.  That was when each major city had two newspapers and this autumn recipe contest was run by the Dallas Times Herald, which no longer exists.  The prize was $100 and that was enough to motivate a young girl out on her own, to tweak and work with the recipe until I thought it was perfect………….well, it won!  Since then, it has been a winner with my family and friends.  This is a very moist bread.  It also mails well to family…my grandsons call it Pumpkin Cake!  It seems like I tweak it all the time, but here is the recipe I have used and tweaked for the last 40 years…..

Gigi’s Pumpkin Bread (Use to be Pam’s, but now I like my Grandmother name!)

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 teaspoons soda

1 1/2 teaspoons of salt

1 teaspoon of nutmeg

1 teaspoon of cinnamon (I like the rich flavor of saigon cinnamon)

1/2 teaspoon of cloves (or can use pumpkin pie spice)

1 cup vegetable oil

4 large eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons of vanilla

2/3 cup of water

2 cups of sugar

1 can of pumpkin or 2 cups of fresh roasted pumpkin  (it is good both ways, but exceptionally good with the fresh pumpkin)

Mix all dry ingredients together…sift if you still sift…and set aside.  Mix together the sugar, oil, water until smooth.  Put together the eggs and vanilla in a separate bowl.  Add the dry ingredients and eggs alternately mixing well after each.

This recipe will make three of the traditional loaf pans, or two larger ones.  Bake at 350 for one hour…don’t over cook or it will be dry.  I have also made an oatmeal, cinnamon, and brown sugar topping and put on it and that is really good for variety.

OK…so it’s an old award!  The bread is always delicious…warm with butter is the best.  Hope you enjoy and

                         KEEP SMILING!

The PUMPKIN LOAF PAN IS HERE  

ANOTHER BRAND OF PUMPKIN LOAF HERE

CHRISTMAS LOAF PAN HERE

More Fun Baking Items in the Slide Show Below:

 

18 Comments

  1. This looks delicious and I plan to try it! Wish I had some right now, it’s in the 30’s this morning and it would be wonderful with my coffee!

  2. Pam, this recipe is similar to one I cut out of a Good Housekeeping magazine as a young bride 40 or soyears ago. It was an article featuring favorite holiday recipes of First Ladies and I believe it was attributed to Betty Ford. In addition she added a cup each of raisins, dates and walnuts. So yummy…still make several every year.

  3. My family demands that I make my pumpkin bread for Thanksgiving & Christmas- it’s just not the holidays without it!
    Thanks for sharing your recipe!

  4. I have tried adding things to my recipe but they tend to dry out the bread…though I will say chocolate chips are really good in it. Thanks Janice!

  5. This looks good. I am going to try it this afternoon. Do you grease the pans?
    By the way, I lived in Dallas in the mid to late 70’s and I subscribed to the Herald. I wonder if I saw your recipe in the paper!

  6. I use the spray for baking on my pans. You may have seen it…it was a cover for one of the Lifestyle sections. It has been so long that I cannot remember the actual name of the contest.. there were several winners and they ran all of our recipes…it was for autumn recipes.

  7. This recipe looks wonderful, and with the sudden drop in tempos here in New England thus weekend (it was 83 here on Wednesday) into the 40s some Pumpkin Bread seems perfect!

  8. We are even forecast for cold this week…so I agree, I just might need to make another batch. Thanks Paulette.

  9. Ummm – where does the pumpkin get mixed in? Is it added separately or mixed with the sugar & water – or – with the eggs & vanilla? Just checking as I’d like to try this out later in the week.

    Thank you

  10. The pumpkin bread looks lovely! It didn’t specify when to add the pumpkin. When does that go in? To the wet ingredients? Thanks Pam!

    Merry Christmas!

  11. Hi Kelly, you put the pumpkin in the mixing bowl first, then add sugar, oil, water and eggs one at a time. Then vanilla and then the dry ingredients and mix well.

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