When I was first married, I used to spend my Saturday mornings running to local garage sales looking for various pieces of furniture, dishes, baking pans, etc., to fill our new home. My husband worked his share of Saturday hours, so I would plan to visit what I felt were the best sales in our historic Chicago neighborhood while he was away. Browsing through the garage sale items, I loved looking for unique old baking pans and muffin trays. Many had unusual patterns or were made of great, durable materials. They had a quality that was unmatched when comparing current brands on the market. Kitchen utensils from years gone by also caught my attention. Depression glassware and Fiestaware were my favorites and I collected every piece I could find.
My garage sale days are over now but when all was said and done, over the years I had collected, among other things, nearly twenty loaf pans for baking quick breads, meatloaf, Irish soda bread, and yeast breads.
You may wonder how it is that I have use for such an amount of baking pans. Well, I like to bake things in large quantities. I often bake several batches of cookies, muffins or loaves of bread so that I can do it once, wrap it, freeze it, and have a supply on hand for a good while.
This recipe for pumpkin bread freezes just perfectly. While the loaf is moist and flavorful fresh out of the oven, it seems even better after it is frozen and thawed from the freezer. I like to switch up the dried fruit in the loaf, often using whatever is on hand. Great substitutes include raisins, currants, diced pineapple or finely chopped apples. Mix up the nuts too, if you’d like, chopped pecans work great in this recipe.
If you prefer muffins, scoop batter into paper lined mini-muffin pans and sprinkle with wheat germ. Bake 12-14 minutes at 350 degrees.
Moist and Flavorful Pumpkin Bread
1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
4 eggs
1 cup canola oil
2/3 cup water
3 cups sugar
3 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup dried dates, chopped (optional)
1/2 cup dried apricots, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons wheat germ
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray with cooking spray, 2-9X5″ loaf pans. In a large bowl, combine wet ingredients, add sugar and mix until well blended. Whisk together the flour, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and ginger in a separate bowl. Stir in nuts and dried fruit. Pour into the pumpkin mixture; mix until just blended. Pour into the prepared pans. Sprinkle wheat germ evenly over batter. Bake for 50-55 minutes in the preheated oven, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.
Simply Made Kitchen and Crafts 
There are some really unique baking trays out there. I live near a Value Village and am always popping in to see if I can snag something pretty. People forget how durable baking trays are! No need to buy new ones. Looks great! 🙂
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So glad you agree, Maisa! I thought I was the only one that felt this way about old baking pans. I’m completely addicted. Thanks for sharing your story. Have a great day!😊
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I am impressed by “20 loaf pans”!!!!!! LOL This is such a great idea, to buy old pans and baking tools, from garage sales. Why did you stop? By the way , the muffins look great!!
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Well, to be perfectly honest, my cupboards were bursting at the seams and I could collect no more! Haha! Nothing like the good ole quality of yesteryear. These pans will last for generations to come. Thanks for stopping by and for your lovely comment. Enjoy your day!
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I imagine that was the answer. hehehe And if you will ever do a “garage sale” please let me know.
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Haha… Great comment! I will, indeed!
Happy baking… Enjoy your day.
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I wish I have 20 loaf pans too! Your pumpkin bread/muffins look yummy 🙂 . I love pumpkin/sweet potatoes, I could have them all year round.
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You’ll have to find some time to hit the garage sale circuit! Some of the older neighborhoods with long time residents…Retiring couples looking to downsize and
local estate sales seem to carry lots of unique kitchen items. Thanks for your comment! Have a good day!
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Pumpkin is my absolute favorite! I made so much pumpkin last year, I wasn’t allowed to bake with it until Thanksgiving! LOL! It looks wonderful!
Happy Baking!
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Happy Baking to you too, Kloe! Good luck with all that pumpkin… I’m so jealous!
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This is a beautiful recipe, Linda. The dates, apricots and wheat germ sound so original! I bet that the apricots go so well with the ginger from the pumpkin pie spice blend. Asher loves pumpkin bread – we will have to give this a try. Maybe with a bit of orange zest, too? 🙂 I glad to hear that you have lots of great, durable bakeware! 🙂 I like to go to vintage stores to looks for old-fashioned, sturdy bakingware – and also like depression glass and fun, bright fiestaware. 🙂 My step-mother-in-law has beautiful, pink depression glass that is just lovely. Enjoy your weekend! Best – Shanna
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I am a bit obsessed with bake ware, dishes, and table linens. I don’t know where it comes from but I love it all! I so enjoy setting a festive table with friends and family gathered round…a big meal with lots of good conversation…love it. Enjoy the recipe, Shanna…I’m sure you will find a way to make it your own.
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We definitely have all of the above in common! 🙂 What would life be without family, friends, food, fun… and a hamper filled with table linens? 🙂
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Haha, so true!
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Pumpkin has got to be one of my favourite flavours in the world simply because of the cinnamon – it’s happiness in odour form! Love this recipe and kudos to you on your 20 loaf pans!
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Well, we enjoy pumpkin as well and the mixture of pumpkin with cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger flavors is definitely a favorite. Thanks for stopping by and for commenting. I do love my loaf and muffin pans. It’s a bit excessive but I just can help it! 🙂 Have a good day!
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I’d love to have been with you on those garage sale trips, Linda. Going to garage sales and op shopping (thrift shopping) are two of my favourite activities, but I too must stop soon because of bursting cupboards! And yet another of your mouth-watering recipes is making me want to cook more often, too. Thanks heaps and I hope you’re keeping warm. xoxoxoxoxoxoxox
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Lots more snow coming down this evening, Dani 😦 We have sure had our fill of bitter cold days and rough driving weather. I long for warm summer days perfect for garage sale hunting, farmer’s markets and op shopping ( as you recently remarked). On another note, I think you’re probably a better cook than you let on…I’ll keep posting recipes as long as you’ll keep posting stories about the wonderful adventures experienced in Teddyandtottie Land! 🙂 Take Care, Linda
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Yum! I love anything and everything pumpkin!
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So do I! We love this recipe and make it a lot during the winter months! Delicious with a cup of tea. Yum!
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