This Spiced Pumpkin Bread Is So Good, I Eat It Straight from the Pan

When selecting the contenders for our pumpkin bread showdown, including Allrecipes’ “Downeast Maine” bread quickly became a no-brainer. The recipe is incredibly popular, with more than 7,000 reviews and close to 10,000 ratings. A quick search for pumpkin bread recipes on Google places it within the top five results, meaning it’s likely one of the most baked pumpkin breads on the internet.

The recipe claims that the bread is “moist and spicy,” and the recipe itself appeared to back these claims up. It’s made with cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger — and has an entire cup of vegetable oil in the batter to keep it moist. I was eager to see what the fuss was all about, so I baked up a loaf to find out.

Get the recipe: Downeast Maine Pumpkin Bread

Allrecipes’ pumpkin bread is a super-simple baking project that’s as easy as mixing your wet ingredients into your dry. You’ll start by greasing and flouring three 7×3-inch loaf pans. (Yes, this recipe makes three loaves, so plan accordingly.) In a large bowl whisk together eggs, vegetable oil, water, sugar, and pumpkin purée. In a separate bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger. Sift the dry ingredients into the wet and mix until a batter forms. Divide the batter between the prepared pans and bake until a toothpick comes out clean. That’s it! It’s one of the easiest pumpkin bread recipes I’ve ever made and comes together quickly.

This recipe makes a delicious pumpkin bread with a generous amount of spice. I was worried that the spices might be overwhelming or too intense, but the flavor was warm without being too spicy. As a lover of fall baking spices, I thoroughly enjoyed how bold it was. The texture of the bread was moist and pleasantly dense. The vegetable oil gave the bread a rich, pound cake-like texture that kept it fresh for several days.

The only thing I didn’t like about this recipe was the yield. Three loaves of pumpkin bread is way more than I wanted, and I ended up having to freeze two of the loaves for later. If I ever make this recipe again I plan to cut it in half and bake it in one large loaf pan instead of three small ones.

1. Skip the sifting. Although the recipe calls for sifting your dry ingredients into your wet, I don’t think it’s necessary. Unless your spices or flour have large, visible clumps in them, you can go ahead and skip the sifting.
   
2. Keep in mind that this recipe makes three loaves of pumpkin bread. Be prepared to eat pumpkin bread all throughout the week — or tightly wrap your extra loves in plastic wrap and store them in the freezer.
   
   Rating: 8/10

Have you ever made Allrecipes’ Downeast Maine pumpkin bread recipe? Tell us what you thought!