Thanksgiving Pumpkin Bread

The first time I had pumpkin bread was about 3 years ago.  We were on a family vacation in St.Simon's Island, GA (such an amazing family holiday) and we ate at a great restaurant (unfortunately the name escapes me) but we had the most incredible pumpkin bread!!  We all loved it! My parents, the kids, my husband - it was an instant favourite! I knew I had to find a recipe at home and bake it for everyone!

This is now something I bake very year for Thanksgiving but also just for the fall.  We see pumpkin everywhere, so this is a natural fit for the holiday.

This bread is a sweeter bread, almost like a cake (think banana bread but with pumpkin).  It's great with tea or coffee or even a dessert for someone who wants something other than pie.  You could add some nuts, raisins or chocolate chips.  I make it plain - it does stand up on it's own!

Here's what you need and what you need to do:

1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup of vegetable oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups white sugar
3 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/4 tsp ground ginger

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. Grease three 7x3 inch loaf pans

3. In one large bowl, mix together the pumpkin puree, eggs, oil, water, and sugar and make sure it is well blended.

4. In another medium bowl, mix the flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg and ginger.

5.  Add the dry mix to the wet mix and blend them well - the mixture should be smooth and free of lumps.

6.  Pour the mix (once well blended) into the pans. Fill the pans about 2/3 full - you need some room for the bread to rise

7.  Bake for about 50 minutes - loves are done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean