Best Country Pumpkin Bread

Country pumpkin bread that splits into two big 9×5 loaves, one for the family and one to wrap in parchment for a neighbor. The batter leans on cooked pumpkin and a generous slug of water, which keeps the crumb moist for days, even after most quick breads have gone dry on you.

Vegetable shortening might feel old-school but it’s doing real work here, giving the loaves a tender bite and letting the cinnamon and allspice shine without competing with butter’s flavor. Four eggs and two teaspoons of baking soda do the lifting, so you get a tall domed top instead of a flat brick.

Walnuts and raisins get folded in at the end, which scatters them evenly through the batter so every slice catches both.

Pro Tips

• Test the loaves with a toothpick at the 50-minute mark. Ovens vary, and pumpkin bread can go from underdone to dry in ten minutes flat.
• Toast the walnuts on a dry sheet pan for five minutes before folding them in. It deepens their flavor and stops them from going soft inside the wet batter.
• Let the loaves cool in the pan for ten minutes, then turn out onto a rack. Pulling them too soon causes them to split, leaving them too long traps steam and sogs the bottom.
• Wrap cooled loaves tightly in plastic and they’ll keep on the counter for four days, or freeze whole for up to three months.

Variations

• Swap raisins for dried cranberries or chopped dates for a different sweet-chewy texture.
• Replace walnuts with toasted pecans for a softer, butterier nut.
• Stir a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger and a quarter teaspoon of ground cloves into the spice mix for more punch.