Autumn Pumpkin Bread

This is the pumpkin bread you bake on the first crisp morning of fall and keep baking until the new year. It is an oil-based quick bread, which is the secret to its tender, moist crumb that actually improves a day or two after baking.

What makes it taste like autumn rather than just sweet is the full lineup of warm spices: cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, and cloves, the same quartet behind a great pumpkin pie. Two kinds of sugar, white for sweetness and brown for a hint of molasses depth, round it out.

Mix it gently. Once the dry ingredients meet the wet, stir just until combined, because overmixing develops the gluten and turns the loaf tough and gummy. Then it is yours to customize: fold in chocolate chips, dried cranberries, or chopped nuts. The recipe makes two loaves, so keep one and freeze the other for later.

Pro Tips

• Stir just until the dry and wet are combined. Overmixing makes the bread tough and gummy.
• Use oil, as the recipe calls for, for a moist crumb that keeps well for days.
• Test with a toothpick in the center. It should come out clean or with a few moist crumbs.

Variations

• Fold in chocolate chips for a kid-friendly loaf, or dried cranberries and walnuts for a fruit-and-nut version.
• Swirl a cream cheese ribbon through the batter before baking.
• Bake the batter as muffins, reducing the time accordingly.