Martha’s Pumpkin Bread

Pumpkin bread will keep at room temperature in an airtight container for up to five days or refrigerator for up to seven days.

Doing is the easiest way to get better at anything. Just keep trying and learn from your mistakes. Even Martha Stewart has made her share of  “mistakes.” But what really qualifies as a mistake, anyway?

Martha Stewart was the first social media influencer. She taught us about lifestyle living by blending practical everyday tasks with elegance, showing us that cooking, decorating, and entertaining is an artful expression of creativity and our personal style. With that, Martha is undeniably a force. She’s tough—the kind of woman society sometimes doesn’t want to see thrive. Have you watched her new “I don’t give a sh$*T” documentary, Martha, yet? You need to.

In celebration of Martha Stewart, here’s a classy, seasonally appropriate recipe to try – spiced pumpkin bread. I’ve made this twice so far. The first time, all the butter bubbled over and smoked out my whole house. It was a situation, to say the least.  And that was a real mistake. It probably happened because I didn’t fully melt the butter first, like the recipe directed. Martha would’ve absolutely scolded me, and rightfully so. The second time, it was “Martha perfect!”

Adjust the spices to your taste—I doubled everything from the original recipe below. For example, instead of 2 teaspoons of ground cinnamon, I used 4 teaspoons. This is an everyday pumpkin bread: soft, mild, and perfect with a cup of coffee in the morning or tea in the evening. Or bake this for Thanksgiving with a festive twist—drizzle some caramel or chocolate glaze on top for that holiday pop! Tag Martha (@marthastewart48) and me (@theglorifiedtomato) on Instagram with your perfect lifestyle photo and we, (or maybe just I) will share!

Ingredients:

Unsalted butter, room temperature, for pans
3 ¼ cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
½ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¾ teaspoon coarse salt
1 15-ounce can pure pumpkin
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed dark-brown sugar
4 large eggs
12 tablespoons (1 ½ sticks) unsalted butter, melted
½ cup low-fat buttermilk

Instructions:

• Step 1: Preheat the oven  to 350°F and prepare loaf pans – Butter two 8 ½ X 4 1/2-inch loaf pans.
• Step 2: Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, allspice, and salt.
• Step 3: Combine pumpkin puree and sugars in a different mixing bowl and beat with an electric mixer until combined – 3 minutes. Add eggs and melted butter , beat to combine.
• Step 5: Add flour mixture and buttermilk with a mixer on low, add flour mixture in two batches, alternating with the buttermilk and beginning and ending with the flour; beat to combine.

Note: Maybe this is why I’m not a good baker (yet), but the steps felt overwhelming to me, so I just threw everything into one bowl and mixed it all at once. I turned out great—so take it or leave it…

Step 6: Bake. Fill pans with batter and divide batter between prepared pans; smooth tops. Bake, rotating once,  70 to 80 minutes for large loaves, 45 minutes for small. Transfer to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out of pans, re-invert onto a wire rack, and cool completely.

Note: I bought a whole container of buttermilk and so much was leftover. I might try Marther’s sub next time for a “less waste” approach: instead of  buttermilk, add 2 tablespoons of acid (white vinegar or lemon juice) to 1 cup of milk or plant-based milk. Mix and let sit for 5 min. Thicken.