American

Easiest Pumpkin Streusel Bread

March 10, 2022
5
5 Ratings
Photo by Food52
  • Prep time 15 minutes
  • Cook time 1 hour 15 minutes
  • makes One 9x5-inch loaf
Author Notes

This is my go-to pumpkin bread. It’s moist, just sweet enough, and couldn’t be easier to make. It’s delicious all on its own, topped with turbinado sugar, which bakes into a crackly caramelized crust on top. But when I am feeling extra, I add this quick streusel to the surface. It adds another boost of sweetness, texture, and takes this bread from snacking territory to bordering on a perfect cake-like dessert to satisfy a sweet tooth! —Erin Jeanne McDowell

What You'll Need
Watch This Recipe
Easiest Pumpkin Streusel Bread
Ingredients
  • Streusel
  • 1/4 cup (30 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 cup (25 grams) old-fashioned oats
  • 3 tablespoons (40 grams) light or dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 to 2 pinches ground cinnamon
  • 5 tablespoons (70 g) cold unsalted butter, cut into ½-inch/1-centimeter cubes
  • Pumpkin Bread
  • 1/3 cup (76 grams) neutral oil (such as vegetable or canola)
  • 4 tablespoons (56 grams) unsalted butter, melted
  • 1/2 cup (99 grams) granulated sugar
  • 1/3 cup (70 grams) light or dark brown sugar
  • 2 (113 grams) eggs, at room temperature
  • 1 1/4 cups (212 grams) pumpkin puree
  • 1/4 cup (60 grams) sour cream or full-fat yogurt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 3/4 cups (330 grams) all-purpose flour
  • 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
  • 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
  • Turbinado sugar, as needed for finishing (optional—see headnote)
Directions
  1. Make the streusel: in a medium bowl, whisk the flour, oats, brown sugar, sugar, salt, baking powder, and cinnamon to combine. Add the butter and mix with your hands until the mixture forms moist clumps. Set aside.
  2. Preheat the oven to 325°F/165°C with the oven rack in the center. Lightly grease a 9x5-inch/23x13-centimeter loaf pan with nonstick spray. Line the pan with parchment paper, allowing 1 to 2 inches/2 1/2 to 5 centimeters of excess on two longer sides of the pan (this will help you unmold it later).
  3. In a medium bowl, whisk the oil, butter, sugar, and brown sugar until well combined. Add the eggs and whisk until well incorporated. Whisk in pumpkin, sour cream, and vanilla.
  4. Add the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg, and mix until evenly combined. Scrape the batter into the prepared loaf pan.
  5. Use the tip of a paring knife to draw a line down the center of the loaf (this will help it rise more evenly). Sprinkle the surface of the batter with turbinado sugar, if using. Top the loaf with the prepared streusel in an even layer.
  6. Transfer the loaf to the oven and bake until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean—or with just a few moist crumbs, 1 hour 15 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes. If the loaf has browned sufficiently, tent it with foil for the remainder of bake time.
  7. Cool the loaf in the pan for 15 minutes, then use the parchment to unmold the loaf to cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.

See what other Food52ers are saying.

  • Cheryl Hamburger
    Cheryl Hamburger
  • Megan
    Megan
  • Christa
    Christa
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!

3 Reviews

Cheryl H. November 9, 2023
Wow! Fantastic Pumpkin Bread. Love that the strudel top stayed on. The bread is moist and delicious. Always Love Erin's recipes and her instructions are written so I feel like she is in the kitchen with me. Thank you Erin.
 
Megan September 18, 2022
Everything went fine until I added the flour. Is 2 3/4 c. flour accurate? Cake came out dense, more like actual bread than cake.
 
Christa June 5, 2022
This was excellent--I actually used roasted and mashed sweet potato, but it still turned out excellent. I've loved Erin Jeanne McDowell's recipes in the NYT, so I was thrilled to discover her on Food 52, and her photo with her Westie was the clincher, and now I'm looking forward to digging into more of her recipes as well as her books from the library. Turned out perfectly--thank you so very much