Preheat oven to 350F (175C) and grease and flour the bottom and 1" up the sides of a bread pan³. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, pumpkin spice, cinnamon, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.
2 cups all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons pumpkin spice, ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon, ½ teaspoon salt
In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, oil, and melted butter. Stir until well-combined and then stir in sugars.
1 ½ cups pumpkin puree, ¼ cup canola or vegetable oil, ¼ cup unsalted butter, ⅔ cup dark brown sugar¹, ½ cup granulated sugar
Add buttermilk, eggs and vanilla extract and stir until combined.
¼ cup buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
Add dry ingredients to wet and gently fold together with a spatula or spoon until just combined. Do not over-mix, it will make your bread dense/dry.
Evenly spread batter into prepared pan. If you will not be using the glaze you might wish to sprinkle the batter generously with coarse sugar.
Transfer to 350F (175C) preheated oven and bake for 55-60 minutes or until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean (or preferably with a few moist crumbs).
Allow to cool for 15 minutes before inverting onto a cooling rack to cool completely before decorating with glaze (if using).
Glaze
Whisk together powdered sugar, butter, vanilla extract and 2 teaspoons milk. If glaze is too stiff, add additional milk, one teaspoon at a time, until glaze falls in a ribbon from the whisk (if glaze is too runny, add more powdered sugar).
1 cup powdered sugar, 1 Tablespoon melted butter, ½ teaspoon vanilla extract, 2-4 teaspoons milk
Drizzle over cooled bread, allow to cool and then slice and enjoy!
Video
Notes
¹Brown sugar
You can substitute light brown sugar if needed. The dark brown gives the pumpkin bread more moisture and a deeper, richer flavor.
²Glaze:
You can skip the glaze entirely or, after pouring the batter into the pan sprinkle generously with additional granulated sugar before baking.
³Bread pan:
I linked to the bread pan that I used in the equipment section above. It’s slightly smaller than a standard 9x5 bread pan, but this recipe will work in either size pan.
Storing
Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. Bread may also be tightly wrapped and frozen for several months.
Gluten free:
This recipe has been successfully made using Cup4Cup flour. It was noted that the batter can become very viscous and difficult to work with, but the bread has turned out!