Pumpkin bread with 1 whole can of pumpkin?

[director517]

Does anyone know of a pumpkin bread recipe that uses a whole can for a loaf? It's always annoying that recipes call for a cup, forcing you to leave the rest of the can unused. Likewise, one can is not enough pumpkin for two loaves, in my opinion, and sometimes you don't want to make two loaves anyway. I believe I came across such a recipe once online, but it's never appeared again.

Thanks.

[lilygirl]

here's a recipe that uses the whole can but you do end up with more than one loaf. Also - sometimes when I have fruit filling leftover I make mini-empanadas/hand-pies using prepared pie crust.
**********************************************Pumpkin pecan bread************************
Ingredients
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cold butter, cubed
1 cup chopped pecans, divided
2 packages (16 ounces each) pound cake mix
1 can (15 ounces) solid-pack pumpkin
4 eggs
3/4 cup water
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
Directions
For streusel, combine brown sugar and flour in a bowl; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in 1/2 cup pecans; set aside.
In a large bowl, combine the pound cake mixes, pumpkin, eggs, water, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice; beat on low speed for 30 seconds. Beat on medium for 2 minutes. Fold in remaining pecans.
Divide half of the batter among three greased and floured 8-in. x 4-in. loaf pans. Sprinkle with half of the streusel. Top with remaining batter and streusel.
Bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks to cool completely. Yield: 3 loaves (12 slices each).

[hill food]

and for the homemade crowd in a few weeks we get street pumpkins!

[The Dairy Queen]

Please forgive me, but what are street pumpkins?

~TDQ

[hill food]

ones you find after Halloween that were never carved or cut into, but the original purchaser didn't know what the heck else could be done. so just left 'em on the curb. good soup etc. stock

[sunshine842]

the big pumpkins destined for carving are generally stringy and don't have much flavor -- keep to the little ones if you can -- they're more tender and much more tasty.

Just so's you know.

[hill food]

that's absolutely true, plus the people who don't carve are more apt to go for the smaller ones anyway.

[amiecf]

I use this recipe and LOVE it. It makes 2 loaves. I freeze one and that works well. I have also made it into muffins.
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Pumpkin-...

[paulj]

That's close to what I use, except I cut the oil and sugar way back.

[chowser]

I have one that uses the 15 1/2 oz can, not the large one. If that's the size you're talking about, I can post it if you want.

[The Dairy Queen]

Does it have less butter than the Martha Stewart recipe linked above, which calls for
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks)? If so, I'd be interested in seeing it!

~TDQ

[paulj]

If you use the cake method (creaming butter with sugar etc) you probably need the full butter amount. But if you use the muffin method (mix liquid and dry separate), then the amount of liquid fat (oil or melted butter) is flexible, especially with a pumpkin bread. I've omitted the oil entirely without adverse effects.

[director517]

Yes, Chowser. Please do. I would be grateful. I should have been clearer: most recipes call for 1 cup of pumpkin per loaf, or, even more commonly, 1 (15.5 oz) can per 2 loaves.

Thanks.

[chowser]

I should add that I use an extra large loaf pan for this--9x5. When I have made this in a regular loaf pan (8x3ish), it makes two smaller loaves. And, it uses vegetable oil not butter, DQ.

1 1/2 c sugar
1/2 c oil
2 eggs
1 can pumpkin
1/3 c water (works great w/ orange juice or apple cider--I never use water anymore)
1 3/4 c flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1/2 c white raisins
1/2 c chopped nuts

I play w/ the spices, increase cinnamon, use ground ginger, nutmeg. Mix dry in one container, wet in another. Fold together. Bake 350 for an hour (but usually longer if I'm using the large pan).

[The Dairy Queen]

This is awesome, thank you!

~TDQ

[director517]

Thanks so much. This is exactly what I was searching for, and I cannot wait to try it!

[director517]

It's in the oven now. I can't wait. I have always thought 1 can/1 loaf should be the holy grail of pumpkin bread, and this may be it, or at least the basis to begin some experiments. Thanks again.

[director517]

Chowser,

Thanks again for the recipe. It was not a total success. Taste is great, but I seemed to cook it forever, and yet, after ten minutes out of the oven, it totally deflated, and when I cut into it, the bottom seemed raw still. I don't know enough about quick breads to know what the science of this is. If you or anyone has a moment to comment, I'd appreciate it.

Some thoughts: not enough baking soda?
Not cooked long enough?
Oven poorly calibrated (I baked it while on a weekend at a rental house, i.e. not my oven).

The list of ingredients seems perfect, and it seemed to exactly fit a 9/5 pan, as you suggested. It came out of the oven looking beautiful: risen, slightly cracked at the top, firm, but, as I said, it deflated - completely flattened - within ten minutes.

Funny that when you browse around on line to try to discover why this happens, there is NO agreement.

All thoughts appreciated.

[chowser]

I think you need to bake it longer. Did you test the bread before you took it out of the oven? It took me a lot of loaves of quick bread before I got it right because it looks like it's done but if not, it will sink after you pull it out. With a larger loaf, I found it easier at first to use a skewer than a toothpick to test it. If you have a thermometer, you want it to be about 205-210 degrees. It takes longer than the hour but I bake a lot of breads and cakes and can't remember exactly how long it takes for me on this one--but everyone's oven is also different.

[paulj]

Besides the skewer test, the sides should be pulling away from the pan a bit, and when removed from the pan, the bottom should sound a bit hollow.

My loaves, which have about 1 1/2c of flour each, take about a hour to bake. A deeper loaf would take longer, especially if it has a higher proportion of pumpkin.

[peelmeagrape]

I made this recipe last night and it turned out beautifully. I didn't have veggie oil so I used butter instead, used the suggested apple cider instead of water, the suggested extra spices and omitted the raisins and nuts. Because of the earlier comments, I made sure I baked it a while longer than when it superficially looked done - an hour and 20 minutes for a 9x5 loaf. It was even better for breakfast this morning than it was still warm last night for a halftime snack. Thanks so much for sharing your recipe.

[chowser]

Glad it worked for you! It does take longer since it's such a big loaf. I've never tried it with melted butter but now it's on my try list. I don't usually use raisins or nuts either (allergies and pickyness in family) but like it anyway. Can't wait to try out the butter.

[director517]

I guess I'm a loser ;-). It failed again. Baked it for 1:20, it was rising beautifully, tested it, clean skewer, took it out of the oven, set the timer to let it cool for ten before taking it out of pan, came back.... totally deflated. A pumpkin brick. I'm demoralized. I've never had this problem with my other favorite quick bread - blueberry lemon loaf. Hmm. A quick question in any case... why the baking powder. I notice alot of recipes only use baking soda, or vice versa. Whats the advantage to both, and, anyway, don't you need something acidic to activate baking soda.

All thoughts welcome. I'm going to keep trying. A loaf a day.

[The Dairy Queen]

Just curious, you mentioned you're not using your own oven right now. I wonder if it would be worth investing in an oven thermometer/gauge?

~TDQ

[chowser]

Pumpkin is slightly acidic, enough for the baking soda. The baking powder will react both when added to the mixture and in the oven with heat so will give it more rise. I think in this case, since pumpkin isn't super acidic, it can only react with so much baking soda so baking powder might be needed (just a hypothesis since I haven't calculated the reaction). So, it's possible, if using apple cider, you could increase the amount of baking soda and eliminate the baking powder, but I'm just guessing.

It sounds like you're not baking it long enough-- your oven may be off, as DQ said. Have you tried taking the internal temperature of it when you take it out of the oven? It should be about 205-210 degrees. Because it's a deep pan, you want to take the skewer nearer the bottom.

[director517]

Thanks for your responses. I'm back in my own house and oven now, where I made the last attempt. Im pretty sure the oven is well calibrated. I'm going to try again tomorrow and see what happens, using a thermometer to test for doneness. Wish me luck. Oh one other thing: if you use fresh pumpkin vs canned, do you do it by weight (15.5oz)? And do you have a suggestion for how to compensate for its relative wateriness? I really want to get this right.

[chowser]

I use canned--the 15.5 ounce one. I've even used the larger one (is it 32 oz) and it's a heavier dense loaf but as long as it's cooked, it doesn't sink. It also occurred to me--where do you check for doneness? You need to be in the center and go pretty deep.

I haven't made this in a year but I'm going to do it today and I'll let you know how long I bake it for. It's a nice light loaf for how much pumpkin there is in it.

[chowser]

I just made this. As I was doing it, I remembered that I usually use a bundt pan for it and that takes less time. I used a 9x5 stoneware loafpan and checked at 1 hr 10, then added 10 minutes, checked and added 7 more. The other thing is every time you take it out to check, adds more time for the bread to come back up to temperature. I think next time I'll just check at 1 hr 20 as peelmeagrape had.

[director517]

The bundt pan sounds like a good idea (I'm assuming you're talking about a 10" one), since I always thought it seemed like a lot of batter, but in any case I'm going to try your recipe to the letter one more time tomorrow and see if I can get the damn thing right. I've been checking for doneness in the center, pretty deep, and I would swear that last loaf seemed cooked when it came of the oven... but I was out of luck. I'm also going to look into my oven temperature (i need to buy one of those little hanging thermometers), but I'm 99% sure that's not the problem, since I use the oven daily and have never detected a problem.

[chowser]

Try it for 1 hr 20 mins before opening the oven and then go from there. Hope it works for you.

[director517]

Thanks. It's in the oven now. I'm hopeful. It's such a bizarre thing. I do wonder if the concentration of pumpkin makes it more temperamental than something like a good ol' blueberry loaf, but... as the title of this board suggests, I am bound and determined to get it to work.

[chowser]

This one has a really nice heavier pumpkin flavor w/ all the pumpkin. I go through recipes at the drop of a hat and have kept this one for 18 years, despite trying a lot of different recipes. I play around w/ the liquid and the spices but stay w/ the basic recipe.

[director517]

Well, much to my chagrin, I think you and the Dairy Queen were right. After 3 more attempts - once i even left the damn thing in the oven for 90 minutes, took it out, it was still deflated and raw in the middle - I finally dusted off the manual to my gas oven and figured out how to cailbrate it upwards by 30 degrees (the manual says not to bother trying to use a thermometer to manually gauge the oven's temperature because they range wildly). I baked another loaf, and, finally, had some results. So, as I said, I guess it WAS the over temperature. So strange, because I use the oven just about every day, and have never noticed anything. Of course, quick breads are probably more sensitive to temperature than a braised chunk of meat (which, really, you can braise at ANY temperature above 250), but even with the yeasted breads i normally make, I never noticed anything. So strange.

Anyway, you're recipe is a keeper. In my attempts to get it right before I gave in and decided it was the oven, I ended up with one variation, which was that I am using buttermilk for the liquid. THinking the baking soda just wasn't getting enough oomph, I tried that, and it's tasty. I'm also using 100% whole wheat flour and 3/4 cup of sugar. I've never been much of a sweet tooth.

Many thanks to you and everyone.

Now I'm going to start experimenting with apple breads, since the kitchen is suddenly overflowing with apples.... any suggestions?

[chowser]

Glad it worked for you. It's surprising how oven temperatures can affect things like this. I use 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour and 3/4 cup ap flour and love the light texture from that combination. I cut the sugar, too, and have used brown sugar which gives it a nice caramel undertone. If you start a thread asking for apple bread, I'm sure you'll get a lot of new suggestions! There is a thread about apple/brownie bars.

[director517]

About to give it another try...

[toveggiegirl]

Martha Stewart has recipe for Ginger Pumpkin Bread that uses 1 can. According to the reviews, it works in 1 loaf pan. http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/g...

[paulj]

The quantifies of that recipe are about 50% greater than the one I use. Mine does not completely fill the pan.
2.5c flour (v. 1.5)
3 eggs (v. 2)
1 can (v. 1)
2 c sugar (v 1c)

[paulj]

I regularly make 2 loaves using 1 can. One gets eaten right away, the other keeps well in the freezer.

The recipe that I use is based on one in Joy of Cooking, but I've tweaked it various ways - using a mix of whole grains, using half the sugar, using oil instead of creamed butter, varying the spices. I've also used home cooked squash or sweet potato instead of the canned (though canned is most convenient). I haven't fiddled with the pumpkin proportions, but suspect there wouldn't be a problem increasing it by 50%. I'd aim for roughly the same batter consistency, reducing other liquid if needed.

You might also try concentrating the pumpkin, either by draining (like you would yogurt), or by evaporation (at a slow simmer).

Some people confuse the taste of pumpkin with the taste of pumpkin spices (cinnamon, cloves and ginger). The spices can be increased without affecting texture.

[director517]

Thanks, Paul.

I know... I have to fiddle around a bit. I was just hoping that someone, somewhere, might have a recipe already on hand which uses the whole can. The truth is, I usually use home-roasted pumpkin anyway, which is way more watery, so I'm used to reducing the water content already, but I always keep some cans on hand because I truly love pumpkin bread, and, when necessary, am happy to make it with the canned kind, except that I always waste part of the can.

Two loaves is not a bad idea, but the freezer is full, and I still have this feeling that 1/2 a can is just not enough to imbibe a loaf with true pumpkinness. But, your posting has inspired me to continue experimenting.

Thanks.

[iheartcooking]

I'd use the leftover pumpkin to make soup :)
Hope this helps

[director517]

Soup is a great idea, and I do it sometimes, but the problem is, I love pumpkin bread, and yet I have this deep seated suspicion that 1 cup is just not enough for a loaf.

[ChristinaMason]

How about Pumpkin Bars? http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pa...

I sub yogurt for half the oil with no issues.

[yfunk3]

Ah! Thank you for posting this recipe! I know what I'm making this weekend... :o)