Fresh-Roasted Pumpkin Bread
This fresh-roasted pumpkin bread keeps the moist, warmly spiced character of classic pumpkin bread while pulling back the sugar and oil so the pumpkin itself has room to show up. Fresh ginger, grated nutmeg, maple syrup, and black pepper give it depth without pushing it into cake territory.
Ingredients
| Ingredient | Quantity | Unit |
| Fresh roasted pie-pumpkin purée | 425 | Grams |
| Eggs, large | 4 | – |
| Unsweetened applesauce | 3/4 | Cup |
| Neutral oil | 1/4 | Cup |
| Light brown sugar | 1/2 | Cup |
| Granulated sugar | 1/2 | Cup |
| Pure maple syrup | 1/4 | Cup |
| Vanilla extract | 2 | Teaspoons |
| All-purpose flour | 3 | Cups |
| Baking soda | Scant 2 | Teaspoons |
| Salt | 1 | Teaspoon |
| Ground cinnamon | 2 | Teaspoons |
| Nutmeg, freshly grated | About 3/4 | Teaspoon |
| Ground cloves | 1/2 | Teaspoon |
| Fresh ginger, finely grated | 2 | Teaspoons |
| Black pepper, freshly ground | 4–6 | Twists |
Instructions
- Heat the oven to 400°F. Wash and dry a pie pumpkin, halve it from stem to bottom, and remove the seeds and stringy interior.
- Place the pumpkin halves cut-side down on a parchment-lined sheet pan. Roast for approximately 35–55 minutes, depending on size, until completely tender and a knife slides through with essentially no resistance.
Roast the pie pumpkin until the flesh is completely tender. - Cool until safe to handle. Scoop the flesh from the skin and purée until smooth. If considerably wetter than canned pumpkin, drain until thick and spoonable. Weigh 425 grams for the bread.
- Set the oven to 365°F and prepare two loaf pans.
- Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and black pepper.
- Whisk together the pumpkin purée, eggs, applesauce, oil, light brown sugar, granulated sugar, maple syrup, vanilla, fresh ginger, and freshly grated nutmeg.
Mix the fresh pumpkin with the eggs, applesauce, oil, sweeteners, vanilla, ginger, and nutmeg. - Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until no dry flour remains.
- Divide the batter between the two loaf pans.
Divide the batter between two loaf pans before baking. - Bake at 365°F for about 40 minutes, checking for doneness; a tester inserted through the center should not show wet batter.
- Cool before removing from the pans or wrapping.
Notes
Fresh roasted pumpkin is the canonical version developed for this recipe. The loaf is intentionally sweet but balanced enough to work with coffee or tea, toasted, or after dinner.
The final fresh-pumpkin batch baked as two loaves.
A thick slice showing the final loaf’s soft crumb.
