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Pumpkin Streusel Bread

Pumpkin streusel bread with a moist pumpkin crumb and a thick cinnamon-golden topping. Baked until a toothpick comes out clean, with foil tenting after 40 minutes if it browns too fast.
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 20 minutes
Servings: 10 servings
Course: Dessert
Cuisine: American
Calories: 360

Ingredients
  

all-purpose flour
  • 1.75 cup all-purpose flour for bread batter
  • 0.5 cup all-purpose flour for streusel
baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking soda
salt
  • 0.5 tsp salt
pumpkin pie spice
  • 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
pumpkin puree
  • 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin puree
vegetable oil
  • 0.5 cup vegetable oil
eggs
  • 2 large eggs
brown sugar, packed
  • 1 cup brown sugar, packed for batter
  • 0.33 cup brown sugar for streusel
granulated sugar
  • 0.25 cup granulated sugar
vanilla extract
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
ground cinnamon
  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon for streusel
cold butter, cubed
  • 4 tbsp cold butter, cubed

Equipment

  • 1 sheet pan
  • 1 sheet pan

Method
 

Prep and streusel
  1. Preheat oven to 350F, then grease and line a 9x5-inch loaf pan. Set the pan aside so it’s ready to fill.
  2. Rub streusel flour, brown sugar, ground cinnamon, and cold butter together into coarse crumbs, then chill. You should see uneven, sandy clumps rather than a smooth paste (visual cue: coarse crumbs).
Make the pumpkin bread batter
  1. Whisk all-purpose flour, baking soda, salt, and pumpkin pie spice in a bowl until evenly combined. The dry mix should look uniformly speckled with spice.
  2. Whisk pumpkin puree, vegetable oil, eggs, brown sugar, granulated sugar, and vanilla extract until smooth. Stop once no egg streaks remain (visual cue: glossy, fully mixed batter).
  3. Fold the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients just until combined. The batter should be thick and slightly lumpy, with no dry flour pockets (visual cue: no streaks).
Bake and cool
  1. Pour the batter into the loaf pan and cover evenly with the chilled streusel. Spread crumbs to the edges so the topping is consistent (visual cue: an even crumb layer).
  2. Bake at 350F for 60-65 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean, tenting with foil after 40 minutes if browning fast. Watch for deep golden streusel and a clean toothpick (visual cue: top looks set, not wet).
  3. Cool completely in the pan before slicing. This prevents gummy slices and helps the crumb firm up (visual cue: loaf is cool to the touch).

Notes

For the best crumb, don’t overmix after adding the dry ingredients—fold just until flour disappears. Store the loaf tightly wrapped in the fridge for up to 4 days, or at room temperature for 2 days; freeze slices for up to 2 months. If you need a dairy-free option, use dairy-free butter in the streusel while keeping the rest the same.