Pumpkin Bread

Since it is fall season, and everyone is going crazy over Pumpkin Spice Lattes, I figured, why not give you a good snack to go with that PSL? I personally love the baking book that I am using right now, it is called The Grand Central Baking Book. You cannot actually see their recipes, for that you would have to buy the book (that is not such a bad idea, if you love baking as much as me, then I would recommend that because it has amazing recipes for treats that they bake for their shop.) I used to live in New York and would never pass through Grand Central without checking out their latest creations!

The recipe that they use is:

3 1/4 cups of all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of salt
1 tablespoon of pumpkin pie spice (see bottom for instructions)
1/3 cup of vegetable oil or canola oil
1 2/3 cups of granulated sugar
1 1/3 cups of packed brown sugar
2 cups of pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1/3 cup of water
1/3 cup of buttermilk

The first step to make your cake/pumpkin bread/whatever it is you're making is always to turn on the oven. For this recipe, you will want to turn it on to 350 degrees Fahrenheit and to lightly grease and flour two 9 by 5 inch pans.
The next step is to combine all of the dry ingredients, so you would want to measure out the flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice. You want to put all of this into a bowl and whisk it to combine. (whisking has been shown to mix and aerate the flour just as much as double sieving)
Next, combine the oil, sugar and pumpkin puree in your mixer bowl. (Ideally, you will want to use a stand-up mixer with the paddle attachment, but if you don't have one of those, an electric hand held mixer would probably be fine as well). Mix the oil, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and pumpkin puree on a medium/low speed until it is well blended. This will take about 2 minutes.
The next step is to crack the eggs into a liquid measuring cup. Whisk them together and then slowly pour the eggs into the mixture, with the mixer on low speed. Only add the next bit of egg once the last has been completely mixed in.
The final step is to add the remaining wet and dry ingredients. You will want to alternate between wet (water and buttermilk) and dry, so start by pouring 1/3 of the dry ingredients into the mixture and combining them on low speed. Then you want to add the water, mix well, and add half of the remaining dry ingredients. Once they are incorporated, add in all of the buttermilk. Add the last of the dry ingredients and mix just until they are combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl and pour the batter equally into the two pans.
You will want to bake for 60 to 75 minutes, while rotating the pans every 20 minutes. When they are finished they should be dark golden brown with cracked tops and if you stick a skewer or fork into it, it should come out clean.

Image Curtesy Of Dana Treat

To make the Pumpkin Pie Spice, you will need:

1/4 cup of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of ground ginger
1 tablespoon of ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon of ground cloves
1 tablespoon of ground allspice

To make the pumpkin pie spice, combine all of the ingredients in a small bowl and stir them with a fork until they are well combined. You can store it if you want for up to 3 months in a cool, dry place, however I find there are always plenty of ways to use these wonderful spices and mine never seems to last more than a few weeks!