Pumpkin Bread

First, preheat your oven to 350°F. In a bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, baking powder, nutmeg and cloves. Whisk together until well combined. In another bowl, whisk together the eggs, pumpkin, oil and water. Stir the flour mixture into the egg mixture until just moistened. If adding walnuts and raisins, gently fold them in last. Editor’s Tip: Don’t overmix the ingredients, or you risk ending up with a tough bread. Simply stir until everything is just combined.

Pour the pumpkin mixture into a greased 9x5-inch loaf pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of the loaf comes out clean, 65 to 70 minutes. If the toothpick tester comes out with crumbs or wet batter, continue cooking in 5-to-10-minute increments, testing the bread until the toothpick comes out clean. Editor’s Tip: You can also tell the pumpkin bread is done with a digital thermometer. Pumpkin bread should register between 200° and 205°. Another telltale sign of done bread? There will be a crack down the center of the loaf and the edges will brown and start to pull away from the pan.

It’s almost impossible not to cut a slice right away, but let the bread rest. The bread will be better for it. Let the bread cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove it from the pan, and let it rest on a wire rack until cool. Editor’s Tip: The best way to get a quick bread loaf out of a pan is to run a knife along the edges, then gently shake the pan until the bread loosens. Turn the bread out onto a wire rack or plate, making sure it’s right side up, and let it cool completely.