Pumpkin Bread

I (Kate) started a book club right after moving to Boston. I’d graduated from college, was looking for my future, and a book club seemed the right thing to do. I know that I liked that book club, but I really remember only two things about it. One of the members designed an ironic T-shirt that said, “Kate’s Book Club.” A few years into the club, my new brother-in-law—a college student with a good heart and a ton of testosterone—wore the small shirt stretched tightly across his chest. The image has stayed clear in my mind.

The second memory is of this pumpkin bread. Though it was nearly twenty-five years ago, I remember it, too, clear as can be. I was hosting, and Catherine Moody offered to bring refreshments. She walked in with these beautiful loaves, which were my first encounter with pumpkin bread. I wondered whether I would like it. I did.

After making this recipe for years, I grew suspicious. Did my family and I love it so much because it was our first? We tried other recipes, recipes from trusted sources, and still this one came out on top. It’s the perfect pumpkin bread.

For the batch appearing here, we tripled the recipe and baked the batter into mini loaves to sell at our school’s Harvest Festival this weekend. If you ever get a similar idea into your head, you might want to plan ahead and borrow some mini loaf pans from a friend. We only had four, so washing, refilling, and baking with them two extra times made for a late night.

We’ve rethought and approached the instructions in our own way, but we haven’t tinkered with the ingredients because we like this combination too much. The exceptions are that we omitted any add-ins (or should we call them adulterations?) other than chocolate chips. If you don’t like chocolate, you might try dried cranberries or cherries. Also, we like to replace half the all-purpose flour with whole wheat pastry flour.

Makes 1 large loaf or 4 mini loaves (if you triple the recipe, it will make 4 regular-sized loaves that freeze beautifully—wait until defrosting to add the glaze)

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/3 cup butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Sift the dry ingredients by stirring them together with a whisk. Thoroughly cream the butter, sugar, and eggs for two or three minutes on medium-high speed. On a lower speed, mix in the pumpkin, water, and vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients just until combined, scrape the bowl with a rubber spatula to make sure no butter or flour pockets are hiding anywhere, then add the chocolate chips and mix only as long as necessary. Bake for one hour, until a toothpick comes out with only a few (or no) clumped crumbs on it (35 minutes for the mini loaves). Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pan(s). If you’re going to freeze them, let them cool completely, then wrap them tightly to protect from freezer burn. You can glaze them after defrosting, when you’re ready to serve or give them away. If you’re going to eat the bread soon, poke tiny holes along the natural cracks on top of the bread and pour extra glaze along those holes while the bread is still warm.