This Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe, chock full of nuts and delicious toffee bits, will have your whole house smelling like fall in no time. Moist and tender, it's the perfect way to start your day as the weather cools down.
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An adaptation of a recipe by www.nordicware.com, the addition of toasted, chopped hazelnuts and Heath toffee bits adds a rich decadence to this traditional fall recipe. Baking this easy pumpkin bread recipe, with its delicious aroma, is always a mood lifter for me!
It's a fall favorite in my family, along with my homemade pumpkin pie, deconstructed pumpkin pie, and apple galette.
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Why you'll love this recipe
- Homemade Spice Blend: Creating your own pumpkin spice blend at home with just 4 ingredients in 2-3 minutes is a game-changer! Try this pumpkin bread and see for yourself!
- Perfect texture: With a nice, crispy outer crust and a perfectly tender, moist crumb, every bite of this bread is delicious!
- Irresistible add-ins: The Heath toffee bits and the toasted hazelnuts add an unforgettable flavor.
- Versatile serving options: Enjoy this bread for breakfast, as an afternoon snack, or top it with a dollop of whipped cream or ice cream and make it a dessert.
Ingredient notes
- All-purpose flour: This provides the perfect structure for a tender yet stable loaf. Don't substitute with cake flour, as it will make the bread too delicate
- Baking powder & soda: Use fresh baking powder and soda and measure accurately for a fluffy and moist bread.
- Spices: Traditional warm spices, including cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, along with a pinch of salt, create a pumpkin spice that makes this pumpkin bread recipe irresistible.
- Brown sugar: The molasses content in brown sugar adds depth of flavor, moisture, and a deep golden color to the pumpkin bread.
- White sugar: Mixing this with the brown sugar helps keep the bread from becoming too dense and enhances the aroma and flavor of the pumpkin spices.
- Cooking oil: Canola or neutral vegetable oil works best in this recipe, as it adds more moisture than butter.
- Pumpkin puree: Use pure pumpkin puree, not pumpkin pie filling. Libby's is a reliable brand, or you can make your own by roasting sugar pumpkins.
- Eggs: Eggs provide the pumpkin bread with necessary moisture and structure.
- Milk: Use full-fat milk to ensure the perfect consistency for your batter and texture for your bread.
- Hazelnuts: I like to toast whole blanched hazelnuts myself for the best taste and texture.
- Heath toffee bits: These English toffee pieces are available in most supermarkets, and I love the way the toffee pairs with the pumpkin and spices.
Please refer to the recipe card at the bottom of this post for the complete list of ingredients, measurements, and detailed recipe instructions.
Substitutions & variations
- Try different add-ins: Use raisins in addition to, or instead of, the nuts and toffee, or add chocolate chips for a totally different flavor.
- Switch up the nuts: Use walnuts or pecans if you don't like hazelnuts or just for a change.
- Add toppings: Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top of the bread before baking, or add a drizzle of icing or cream cheese frosting once it's baked or cooled.
- Make mini loaves: Divide the batter among 4 mini loaf pans and reduce baking time to 35-40 minutes. These make great gifts for friends, family, and neighbors during the holidays.
- Use a premade spice blend: If preferred, use 4 teaspoons of store-bought pumpkin pie spice. Before mixing it into the batter, remember to add a pinch of salt.
Step-by-step instructions
- Step 1: Mix the cooking oil, pumpkin puree, brown sugar, and white sugar using a stand or handheld mixer until everything is well blended.
- Step 2: Add the eggs and continue mixing until smooth. In the meantime, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and spices and set aside.
- Step 3: Add the combined dry ingredients, alternating with the milk to finish preparing the batter, and then set aside.
- Step 4: Toast the hazelnuts until you can smell their nutty aroma. Be careful not to over-toast as they can become bitter. Use a handheld nut chopper to cut the nuts into pieces.
- Step 5: Add the chopped nuts and Heath toffee bits to the batter and fold in.
- Step 6: Pour the bread mixture into a prepared tin and bake at 350℉ for 55 minutes, or until your cake tester comes out clean.
Expert Tips
- Don't overmix the batter: This releases gluten, making the bread tough. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined.
- Use fresh leavening: To ensure the perfect rise and a moist crumb, always use baking powder and soda within 6 months of the purchase date.
- Bake on the center rack: This allows for the most even heat distribution.
- Use a thermometer: The ideal temperature for bread is 200°F. It's always best to use a thermometer for perfect results. If you don't have a thermometer, insert a cake tester or toothpick into the center of the bread to check if it comes out clean.
Recipe FAQS
The liquid and leavening weren't measured properly, or you opened the oven to check the bread too early. The best way to prevent this from happening is to measure all the ingredients accurately and not to open the oven until at least 80% of the cooking time has passed.
To prepare your own puree, simply peel, cut, steam, and puree a fresh pumpkin. Use as necessary and freeze the excess in a sealed Ziploc bag for up to 3 months.
If the bread is not cooking in the center, yet the top seems done, reduce the temperature to 325℉ and loosely cover the surface with foil. Check at 5-minute intervals until the center is cooked through.
Wrap the completely cooled bread tightly in plastic wrap and store at room temperature for 2-3 days, in the fridge for up to 7 days, or freeze it for 6-8 weeks.
Other desserts you may like
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Easy Pumpkin Bread Recipe
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Ingredients
- 1½ cups flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 tsp ground cinnamon (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon ground cloves (see notes)
- 1 tsp ground nutmeg (see notes)
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger (see notes)
- ½ teaspoon salt
- 1 cup sugar
- ½ cup brown sugar
- ¾ cup vegetable oil
- 1 cup canned pumpkin
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup milk
- ½ cup hazelnuts
- ¼ cup heath toffee bits
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350℉.
- Grease an 8x4x2 inch loaf tin or a decorative tin by nordicware (pictured above) with shortening.
- Combine flour, baking soda, baking powder, all the spices and salt and set aside.
- Using a mixer blend the oil, brown and white sugar and the pumpkin puree.
- Add in the eggs, one at a time, mixing well.
- Slowly add in the flour mixture and the milk, alternating until all the ingredients are fully incorporated.
- Dry roast the hazelnuts in a non stick pan, cool, and chop into pieces.
- Fold the roasted, chopped nuts and heath bits into the bread mixture and pour into your greased baking tin.
- Bake in the oven for 55 minutes or until your thermometer reads 200℉ or your cake tester comes out clean.
- Cool completely, slice, and serve.
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