best pumpkin bread eva

pumpkin anything is a fall favorite in my home so this week-end i had planned on making pumpkin bread. then i remembered we had early morning soccer pics followed by a soccer game, birthday parties, two play dates (can i call them that anymore? my kids seem too big for that) corn mazes planned, pumpkin picking to be done, senior breakfast dresses to be bought, a new backpack to be purchased and a few school projects-i was feeling a little mommy maxed. ya feel me?

then on sunday when we were at fornier farms we purchased some of their pumpkin bread to take on their train ride- oh, p.s. their train ride is approximately 2.2 minutes long so by the time you get the plastic bag off the loaf it's time to disembark the train.

anyway, the kids were acting like they hadn't been fed in years, never mind the hot dogs and sub sammies and chips and lemonades and kettle corn remnants still stuck to their faces, they were literally stuffing this bread into their mouths oohing and ahhing about how this is the best bread ever.
ok. so i tried a small piece because i know my pumpkin bread recipe is freakin' good and had to see what this bread had on mine.
are you kidding me?? i mean, it wasn't bad. at all. but please! mine is sooo much better-less bland and more fall spicy!!


so, although i was super tired from conquering the maze, and hauling fat pumpkins, and driving all over the valley, going to parties, cheering at games, doing 1 not so successful mall trip, sitting in the petting zoo with a fancy chicken perched atop my head (not kidding) i was determined to make my pumpkin bread and show them what really darn good pumpkin bread tastes like.




these lil round pumpkin loaves are the perfect size



• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
•  4 eggs
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 2/3 cup water
• 3 cups white sugar
• 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

directions

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease and flour whatever pans you'd like to use. this recipe made 4 of the round pumpkin loaves, 2 mini loaves and 1 large loaf. i always try to make my breads in the smaller loaves because i feel that they cook better and are evenly moist all around whereas the larger loaf always seems to get hard corners that nobody likes.
2. in a large bowl, mix together pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water and sugar and blend. in a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger. stir the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.
3. bake small loaves for about 20 minutes, large for about 45-50 minutes. pop the loaves out of the pans right away and set on cooling rack.

if you want to get the pumpkin pan they have them at oriental trading company right now for under 4 bucks!

oh, and by the way, my bread is almost gone.

and i really wasn't kidding about the bird on head photo...

no, i don't feel stupid



isn't it cute when your daughter puts a bird on your head then yells "don't move"!!

all i could think of was to stay still and calm or i would either have bird crap on my head or it would freak out and tangle itself all up in my hair.

this would have been the perfect day for me to be wearing a sock bun-or maybe it would have thought that it was a nest??? hmmm... thankfully there was no screaming, no tangling and no crap.

now go make yerself some pumpkin bread!