Pumpkin Bread

This is my favorite recipe for pumpkin bread. It is a very plain recipe, so feel free to jazz it up at will by stirring in nuts or chocolate chips. I like the texture of this bread. It is moist and just plain yummy. And, it stands up well to my putting a bit of cream cheese and some toasted pecans on it as a little after school treat every day.

3 1/3 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 t. cinnamon (I probably put more)
1 1/4 t. ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves (optional — I’ve never included this because I’ve never remembered to buy ground cloves)
2 2/3 cups sugar
2/3 cups canola oil
1 can pumpkin (15 oz.) pure pumpkin
4 eggs
2/3 cup chopped toasted nuts (optional)
2/3 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil your loaf pans.

Sift the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, baking powder and cloves into a bowl and mix well. Combine the sugar, oil, pumpkin, eggs and nuts in a bowl and mix well. Add the flour mixture, stirring until blended. Stir in the water. Spoon into 3 1-pound loaf pans or 2 one and a half pound loaf pans. Bake for about 1 hour or until tester comes out clean. Cool the pans for a few minutes on a wire rack and then turn the loaves out of the pan to cool further.

Happy Saturday!