Pumpkin Ale Pumpkin Loaf

About This Pumpkin Bread Recipe

This fragrant loaf is the very essence of fall pumpkin harvest and is calibrated to incorporate some of the best flavors of the season - hello pumpkin spice, pumpkin seeds and sweet pumpkin ale.

Using grated fresh pie pumpkin gives it a fabulous texture, above and beyond what a can of dull pumpkin puree can ever hope to achieve. It is absolutely worth the extra step. I make it every year, some mornings I bake three loaves at a time to give to loved ones. Love and smiles all around!

Ingredients You'll Need

Essentially you will be baking a moist pumpkin bread with a great texture and rich flavor - it's important to use the right ingredients.

Besides your oven, a loaf pan and parchment paper you will need the following (or the noted closest substitutions): 

• Basic ingredients:
  • all purpose flour
  • baking powder
  • salt, pumpkin spice, brown sugar
  • eggs
  • olive (or vegetable) oil
  • butter
• Star ingredients:
  • a small pie pumpkin (substitute with unsweetened pumpkin puree from a can)
  • raw pumpkin seeds (no shell) aka pepitas (substitute with pecans or your favorite nuts)
  • pumpkin ale or apple cider or soda water (if soda water increase the brown sugar by 2 tbsp)

TIP: Do try to use a pumpkin ale. Both its carbonation and spiced sweetness immensely elevate this pumpkin loaf. Pretty much any pumpkin ale will do just fine, even if you reach out for a pumpkin stout. Baking with pumpkin ales is just pure fun.

How to Make Pumpkin Bread from Scratch

Begin with the pie pumpkin as it requires the most work attention. I like to say attention instead of work because I list cooking for oneself under the pleasure category. 

Carefully slice the pumpkin in half, clean out each half and peel it using a potato peeler. Cut in pieces small enough to grate and grate about a cup and a half worth. Sprinkle it with pumpkin spice and brown sugar, mix and set aside. 

TIP: Save the rest of the pumpkin to make this savory Roasted Pumpkin Dip. Placed in an airtight plastic bag it will save well refrigerated for up to a week.

Peeling and grating is by far the most labor intensive part of this recipe but it is absolutely worth it. You don't even need to set up a food processor - grating the pumpkin the old fashioned way is easy enough. 

NOTE: Yes, you can use pumpkin puree from a can instead of fresh pie pumpkin, but the texture of the loaf will not be the same. I recommend that you use grated pumpkin if you can. In this recipe your effort will be very much worth it.

The brown sugar coated fresh grated pumpkin bakes with the bread and gives it the most delightful texture. 

Step-by-Step

1. Turn your oven on to 350 F and grease and line with parchment paper a 9 x 5 loaf pan. 
2. Prepare your pumpkin as per the above and set aside or measure out one cup of pumpkin puree and set aside. 
3. In a bowl beat the eggs, add the sugar and incorporate it and add the pumpkin ale (or apple cider or soda water). Mix well. 
4. Next, mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and pumpkin spice and add the egg mixture from the previous step.
5. Mix together and add the olive oil, continue to mix until a smooth batter forms.
6. Fold in the pumpkin seeds and grated pumpkin (or puree) into the batter and transfer to the loaf pan.
7. Top with pumpkin seeds, brown sugar and butter pieces and bake. 

Pumpkin Spice Honey Butter

To make it (and you better make it, it is soooo good) cut a stick of butter in small pieces and bring it to room temperature.

Place the butter in a tall container such as a plastic jar, add a teaspoon of pumpkin spice and ¼ cup of honey and whip it for about a minute with an electric mixer. Transfer to a suitable container and sit tight until the pumpkin loaf is done baking.

Watch the recipe video above to see me make it. Easy and fast work.

You will want to slather the butter onto a slice as soon as you can and I will be the last person to blame you if you sliced the loaf way early. I usually do not give my fresh baked loaves enough time to cool off.