Pumpkin Loaves

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon grated ginger
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 eggs
• 1 can (1 lb) pumpkin puree

Method

Heat your oven to 160°C and position a shelf in the lower third. Line two loaf tins with parchment or grease them well — pumpkin batter clings and sticks. This is a quick-breads recipe, so the crumb depends entirely on butter-creaming: the mechanical incorporation of air into fat. The spices matter too — you're building warmth and depth, not drowning the pumpkin in cinnamon.

Cream the butter and sugar together for a full three to four minutes. The mixture should pale and lighten, becoming fluffy and almost mousse-like. This aeration is what gives the loaf its tender crumb; skip or rush this step and you'll have a dense, wet cake. Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition so they emulsify into the butter. If the mixture looks greasy or split, keep beating — it will come together. Add the pumpkin puree and beat until fully incorporated; the batter will be thick and orange.

Whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a separate bowl. Sifting is optional but worth doing if your spices are clumped — it distributes them evenly and prevents bitter pockets of ground clove. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients using a spatula, turning the bowl and cutting down the centre with each fold. Stop as soon as you see no white streaks of flour; overmixing toughens the crumb by developing gluten.

Divide the batter between the two tins. The batter should come two-thirds of the way up the sides. Bake for 65 to 75 minutes, until a skewer inserted into the centre comes out clean or with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it. The surface will dome slightly and crack — this is normal for quick breads. The edges will pull away from the tin slightly when ready. Leave the loaves in the tins for ten minutes, then turn out onto a wire rack to cool completely. The crumb firms up as it cools. Slice and eat plain, or toast and butter if the loaf's a day old and the moisture has settled.