The BEST Pumpkin Bread with Brown Butter Maple Icing (2025)
It’sstill in the 90s here in Sacramento.
But because I’m stubborn (and in denial) I’ve been rocking my boots, flannels and leggings and sweating profusely while doing so… only until I crank up the ACin October(!!!) and then I feel a little more fall-ish.
I’ve lit pumpkin candles around the house. I’ve purchased logs of wood for fires. I’ve even draped throw blankets back on over the couches to invite fall into Sacramento. But it’s still Daisy-Duke weather and I’m about to lose it.
The rest of the world is blissfully sipping PSL’s while they bundle up in peacoats and scarves and break out their Hunter boots for impending thunderstorms. Me? I’m digging through my closet for the tiniest shorts I own in an attempt to stay cool and the only thunderstorm in Sacramento is the thunderous sobbing by yours truly over the fact that it’s ALMOST ONE HUNDRED DEGREES STILL.
Like, WTF Mother Nature? What did I ever do to you? Don’t you know PSL’s are seasonal? Don’t you know they GO AWAY SOON?! I cant very well sip on them blissfully while red leaves twirl at my feet when I’m still wearing a bikini and slapping on sunscreen.
Life can be so unfair at times.
But despite the weather hiccup, I’m completely in the midst of my fall baking. Pumpkin and caramel appleerrthang, people. And I couldn’t very well usher in my fake-fall without pumpkin bread! Pumpkin bread is one of those warming, comforting carbs that I simply cannot resist. Whether it’s topped with a glaze, studded with nuts, or plain nekkid, I love it any which way and prefer a thick slice for breakfast with my coffee. This bread is perfectly fluffy and moist without being too wet, has a soft and tender crumb, and is topped with the best brown butter maple glaze that drips down over the top of this well-spiced loaf.
Even if the outdoors feel like July, at least you can eat fall!
***NOTE: Some people have had issues with the glaze separating. I highly suggest letting the brown butter cool completely before whisking in the remaining glaze ingredients. This should help prevent the glaze from separating.***
*adapted slightly from Land O Lakes Baking & More Cookbook
The BEST Pumpkin Bread with Brown Butter Maple Icing
Author:Hayley Parker, The Domestic Rebel
Recipe type:Breakfast
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves:8
Perfectly spiced, moist and tender, this Pumpkin Bread will soon become a family favorite! Leave it naked if you wish, or stud it with nuts - however, I prefer mine with this simple brown butter maple glaze. I'm sure you will, too!
Ingredients
½ cup butter, softened (I used Land O Lakes)
1 cup dark brown sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin puree (the puree, NOT pumpkin pie filling!)
2 eggs
1 & ½ tsp ground cinnamon
½ tsp ground ginger
¼ tsp ground nutmeg
¼ tsp ground cloves
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 & ½ cups all-purpose flour
FOR GLAZE:
½ cup (1 stick) butter
1 - 1 & ½ cups powdered sugar (start with one cup and add more if glaze is too runny)
1-2 Tbsp maple syrup
¼ cup milk, optional if glaze is too thick
Instructions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Liberally grease a 9" loaf pan with cooking spray and set aside.
Meanwhile, in a bowl combine all of the above bread ingredients and beat at medium speed with a handheld mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl, until well-mixed.
Pour the bread mixture into the prepared pan. Bake for approx. 40-50 minutes or until a toothpick inserted near the center comes out mostly clean or with a couple moist crumbs (not wet). Cool for about 15 minutes, then very gently remove from pan and transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
While bread cools, make your glaze: in a small saucepan, heat butter over medium-low heat until melted. Continue cooking, watching butter carefully, until it sizzles and begins to turn amber in color, about 4-5 minutes. Do not overcook because it can quickly burn! When butter looks caramel-colored and smells kind of nutty, it's done. Remove butter from heat and cool completely. Then stir in the powdered sugar and maple syrup until a soft glaze has formed.
Pour the glaze generously over top of the pumpkin loaf and let it set, about 30 minutes. Cut into slices and serve!
A simple, delicious, moist and tender bread packed with pumpkin flavor! Perfectly spiced throughout and topped with that sinful, warm & rich brown butter maple glaze – it doesn’t get better than this!
Pumpkin bread can become dense if there is not enough hydration or wet ingredients in the recipe. Another cause is overcooking the bread which can cause it to dry out. Remember, it's always easy to keep cooking if it isn't done but impossible to take cooking time back.
Just pop it in the oven and bake to an internal temperature of about 205°F (96°C), or until the loaf is well-risen, golden brown, and hollow-sounding when thumped.
Cracking of the surface is just a normal characteristic of quick bread. The top tends to set before the loaf is done rising. This causes cracking across the top. As a bonus, those cracks are the best place to check for doneness with a toothpick.
Adding sugar weakens the gluten structure, absorbs water, and eventually makes the bread lighter and softer. As a result, sugar improves the bread's taste, structure and texture. Yeast also eats up sugar to produce carbon dioxide, which raises the dough and makes bread fluffy.
Underhydrated dough is from too little water. This will make a dry dense loaf. Don't just start adding in more water. Add about a tablespoon at a time and knead or do a few stretch and folds.
So, to know when pumpkin bread is done, look for the crack on the top of the bread, which is a tell-tale sign it's either done or close to being done. Then stick a skewer or toothpick into the center of the bread. If it comes out clean, it's ready to come out of the oven.
Pumpkin bread stores fabulously well at room temperature due to the pumpkin and oil. It does not need to be refrigerated unless you want to make it last an entire week. Below is how to properly store Pumpkin Bread but if you still have extra, or your bread gets dry, I highly recommend my Pumpkin Bread Pudding!
Most recipes call for about an hour of baking time. Sometimes a quick bread will look golden brown around the sides and edges of the pan but it might not be completely baked on top. You want the bread to puff up and crack on top—this is a sign that it has cooked all the way through.
In most situations, an undercooked loaf of bread can be fixed by returning it to the oven for a few more minutes. This is true for loaves where the outside of your bread may look fully set, but the inside of the bread is still gummy. Place the loaf back in a preheated oven at 350° F for 10-20 minutes.
HOW DO I STORE PUMPKIN BREAD AND FOR HOW LONG? Place in an airtight container or resealable plastic bag for up to 4 days. To freeze, wrap in heavy-duty foil or plastic wrap and then place in a tightly sealed container or heavy-duty resealable freezer bag.Freeze for up to 2 months.
If your pumpkin spice bread is gummy or undercooked in the center, it's typically because it either 1) needed more time to bake in the oven or 2) the batter was too wet, which led the bread to collapse in on itself a bit (this happens if you measure ingredients by volume, rather than by weight: it's easy to ...
If your oven isn't up to temperature consistently during the baking time, you may experience sunken cakes or loaves. Use an oven thermometer to gauge the accuracy of your oven. At the very least, try waiting 10 minutes after the oven has beeped to signify it has preheated before actually baking anything.
Generally, bread sticking to the pan is caused by one of two things: the coating in the pan or the temperature the bread was baked. Bread baked too hot will turn out gummy and dense, and will not have that perfect spring you are looking for.
There may be several reasons for a dense, cake like texture in bread. It may indicate the kneading wasn't enough for the gluten to develop properly, or the dough was proved for too short a time or the dough may have been too dry. It is also worth checking the flour you used.
Try cutting the amount of flour, or adding more milk. It's also possible your oven was too hot, or you baked the pumpkin bread for too long. Try reducing the oven temperature and cutting the baking time.
Strong flour has more protein and gluten and gives an overall heavier feel to the bread, both in weight and texture/taste. If you are already using strong flour consider using less yeast, this will cause the bread to rise less and be heavier, but this may make the taste and texture less pleasant.
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