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Justine Doiron

just real good food

Baking + Sweet, Bread, Breakfast, Cakes, Recipes, Special Diets, Vegetarian · September 12, 2022

Brown Butter & Sage Pumpkin Bread

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One of life’s greatest tricks is making a pumpkin bread that is still perfectly moist, but has a solid, cutable crumb – and let me tell you, the brown butter & sage pumpkin bread does exactly that. This recipe was began as a newspaper clipping my grandma pulled out in the 70’s, and it has since changed and evolved into one of the most special family pumpkin bread recipes.

I have fond memories of my grandma serving this particular pumpkin bread straight from the fridge. And you know if it’s good chilled, that means it is even better fresh from the oven. I took her recipe and adapted it by adding brown butter instead of oil, along with a hint of sage and a bit more brown sugar. The result is a perfectly moist, perfectly sliceable pumpkin bread that belongs on your fall table. No matter what kind of fall feast you are making.

Table of contents

  • Ingredients you will need for this sage & brown butter pumpkin bread
  • How to prepare the brown butter for this pumpkin bread
  • What other herbs besides sage can you use in this recipe?
  • How to combine the wet ingredients
  • How to add in the dry ingredients
  • Can you use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual ground spices?
  • Preparing the loaf pans for baking
  • How to bake this pumpkin bread and maintain as much moisture as possible
  • FAQ
  • Why is this brown butter pumpkin bread recipe in grams?
  • Looking for more of my favorite fall recipes?

What is the benefit of using brown butter?

Brown butter is an amazing ingredient, especially in baked goods like this banana bread. It adds a rich, deep, caramelized flavor that you can’t get with normal butter, and that’s because we are essentially “toasting” the milk solids in brown butter as we cook it.

What happens when we brown butter, is that the butter separates into water and milk solids. Butter is actually about 22% water and 78% milk solids (baking math, fun!) and the milk solids are what create the dark, rich tones of brown butter.

Ingredients you will need for this sage & brown butter pumpkin bread

The ingredients for this recipe are simple. I’ve left you both the measurements in cups and grams, but when in doubt, I always say use grams for accuracy on this one!

  • 1 cup unsalted butter, 2 sticks or 226 grams
  • 2 sprigs fresh sage
  • 2 cups granulated sugar, 440 grams
  • 1 cup brown sugar, 160 grams
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 16 oz. can of pumpkin purée
  • 3 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour, 490 grams
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp each cinnamon & nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp each cloves & all spice
  • 2/3 cup milk of choice

How to prepare the brown butter for this pumpkin bread

Brown butter seems tricky, but it’s really just a stir-watch-and-wait process. And it’s like riding a bike, once you master it once, it’ll be in your repitorie forever. You might never go back to regular cookies again.

Begin by putting a pan or sauce pot on medium to medium-low heat, you don’t want it to be any higher than that.

Add the butter in a big clump and stir it with a wooden spoon until it melts. This is my favorite part. It’s so supremely satisfying.

Let the butter hang out until it starts slightly fizzing and foaming, I keep stirring it occasionally to prevent it from scorching, the whole process happens quite fast!

You’ll start to see light brown flecks, when that happens begin to stir constantly. When the flecks deepen to a nice golden brown, turn off the heat. Let the butter continue to darken in the pan just a bit, then it’s time to pour into a bowl and begin step #2!

I’ll have all steps listed out below so we don’t need to cover them up here.

Now in this recipe, next up is tempering the brown butter. It’s usually best to let brown butter cool for a while so that it doesn’t curdle any eggs you are cooking with. In this recipe I opt to temper the butter with a splash of milk. This both quickens the process and emuslifies the brown butter into a thick, golden mixture.

What other herbs besides sage can you use in this recipe?

This recipe is a rich, spiced fall recipe, so I’d opt for only warming, autumn herbs in this one. If you don’t have sage on hand, I recommend either using thyme or rosemary as substitutes. Both would make a delicious pumpkin loaf!

How to combine the wet ingredients

The wet ingredients here are not an exact science, but I recommend beating the eggs first, then adding the sugars, brown butter and pumpkin all at once. You’ll want to beat this until it is smooth as possible.

I used to mix the pumpkin in separately, but it just seemed like an unnecessary step. Do what you prefer here, just make sure not to add the milk yet, you’ll use it later!

How to add in the dry ingredients

Noooowww it’s time for the milk. Adding the dry ingredients it a bit of arm work here, since this batter is meant to be thick, not drizzly.

I recommend whisking together the dry ingredients, and then adding them in 4 rounds, alternating with a splash of milk each round.

Fold these ingredients in with a spatula to avoid creating a tough loaf – and you should be all set with your brown butter pumpkin bread batter!

Can you use pumpkin pie spice instead of the individual ground spices?

The quick answer to this is absolutely – this is a highly spiced bread, so I gave you ratios of warming spices so that you get the best possible result, but if pumpkin spice mix is all you have, you’ll still get a very similar result! No need to reinvent the (pumpkin spice) wheel here.

Preparing the loaf pans for baking

My absolute favorite way to bake is with parchment paper. Pre-cut of course, save yourself the headache.

But truly! Not only is it good for packing your pumpkin bread later, it makes the baking process no-mess and no-fuss. I don’t even grease my pans.

Simply cut slits in the edges of the parchment paper that line up with the edges of the pan, and then fold the parchment paper into the pan until it forms a rectangle. And voila!

How to bake this pumpkin bread and maintain as much moisture as possible

Then you’ll want to bake this at 350°F for 60-70 minutes – it’s long, I know. But the low-and-slow baking process will help you maintain as much moisture as possible when you are baking your pumpkin bread.

This also helps create rounded, domed tops that look perfect whenever you are making an autumn dessert. So use patience here and wait for the brown butter pumpkin breads to come out looking gorgeous (or, y’know, whenever you insert a toothpick and it comes out clean).

FAQ

What is the best way to make this gluten free?

I recommend using a 1:1 GF flour blend, my favorite is by King Arthur Baking.

How do you store this brown butter pumpkin bread?

I recommend storing it in the parchment paper it was baked int, and then moving it to an airtight container. To maintain moisture don’t slice off a piece until you want to eat it! This will keep on the counter for 5-6 days or in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

Can I make it without the sage?

Absolutely, the sage in this pumpkin bread is not mandatory, just delicious.

Why is this brown butter pumpkin bread recipe in grams?

Baking, at its core, is always a bit of a science. The only way to ensure complete accuracy is through measuring by weight, and not volume. As much as I wish I could give you multiple ways to measure ingredients, in this recipe measuring by cups might cause some volatility and miss-matched results. I want to ensure you get the best results with this recipe (and I want to keep this recipe fool-proof!) so I highly recommend getting a small affordable kitchen scale if you want to move forward with this loaf recipe!

Looking for more of my favorite fall recipes?

It IS the season – so here are a few of the cozy recipes I love making:

The BEST Pumpkin Cookies
These Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookies are crispy on the outside, and gooey on the inside and perfectly chewy. They're not like those puffy, cakey, greasy pumpkin cookies that you see everywhere in the fall. And that's because it only uses a supplemental amount of pumpkin, so you get all of the pumpkin flavor in the perfect cookie.
Check out this recipe
Butternut Squash Mac n’ Cheese
The world went NUTS for the Trader Joe's frozen version, but I just knew I could make it better. This recipe is cheesy, easy, delicious and perfect for fall.
Check out this recipe
Salted Banana Cookies
I'm known for making a pretty dam* good cookie, and these brown butter banana cookies are no exception. They have irresistibly crispy edges, a subtle but still noticeable banana flavor, and the best chewy center in the game. They use one whole banana, two sticks of butter, and a whole bag of chocolate chips, so there are no forgotten ingredients in this recipe. And one other perk? No eggs in case there are any egg allergies in the house!
Check out this recipe

And that’s everything for this brown butter pumpkin loaf! If you make it, please tag me on Pinterest or Instagram so I can see! It’s my favorite thing to scroll through stories and see what you all are making.

And of course feel free to leave any questions, comments or reviews! This is the best place to reach me, and I’d love to hear from you <3

Brown Butter & Sage Pumpkin Bread

5 from 3 votes
This pumpkin bread is perfectly moist, packed with fall flavor and just so easy to make. Once you start making pumpkin bread with brown butter, you'll never go back.
Print Recipe Pin Recipe
Prep Time:20 minutes mins
Cook Time:1 hour hr
Course: Dessert, Snack
Cuisine: American
Keyword: pumpkin, pumpkin bread, pumpkin spice, sage
Servings: 2 loaves

Equipment

  • 2 8"x5" loaf pans
  • Parchment paper

Ingredients

  • 1 cup unsalted butter 2 sticks
  • 2 sprigs fresh sage
  • 2 cups granulated sugar 440 grams
  • 1 cup brown sugar 160 grams
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 16 oz. can of pumpkin purée
  • 3 & 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 490 grams
  • 2 tsp baking soda
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 1 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 tsp each cinnamon & nutmeg
  • 1/2 tsp each cloves & all spice
  • 2/3 cup milk of choice

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  • Add the butter to a pan on medium heat. Work low and slow to let the butter melt, come to a slight fizz, and then brown slightly. This will take about 4-5 minutes. When you see the milk solids separate and start to brown at the bottom of the pan, turn off the heat and add the sage. The sage will sizzle for a few minutes, let is infuse into the butter and then remove the sage leaves. Transfer the browned butter to a bowl.
  • Add a splash of the milk to the brown butter to temper it, reserve the rest of the milk for later.
  • In a large bowl, add the sugar and eggs and pumpkin. Add in the cooled brown butter and mix well.
  • Combine the dry ingredients and add to the wet, alternating with splashes of the milk to help combine.
  • Pour the batter into two parchment lined 8"x5" loaf pans. Bake for 60-70 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
  • Let them cool, then slice and serve!

Posted In: Baking + Sweet, Bread, Breakfast, Cakes, Recipes, Special Diets, Vegetarian

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Gilberto Petrocelli says

    September 23, 2022 at 1:36 pm

    Awsome website! I am loving it!! Will come back again. I am bookmarking your feeds also

  2. Rae D. says

    October 2, 2022 at 7:04 pm

    5 stars
    I tried this recipe and really enjoyed the deep flavor- I only had light brown sugar & next time will probably sub for dark brown. I added some chopped dark chocolate. I’m sad that I did not get the lovely crack down the middle but I think that was because of my oven temp & impatience of opening the oven door a lot. oopsy. Can’t wait to make this again with those lil tweaks on my part.

    • Justine says

      October 3, 2022 at 12:36 am

      First, I’m so glad you liked it! The brown sugar has a higher moisture level and should help with the crack down the middle! It will also help if you use dutch-processed cocoa (which it sounds like you are!) Either way, I’m glad you enjoyed the first round of making this and I’m so thankful that you took the time to leave a detailed rating/review!

  3. Marisa Panagotopulos says

    October 5, 2022 at 9:53 pm

    So delicious! I didn’t have sage on hand this time around so I made it without but still very good. I think I may have over baked it a tad, will probably start checking around 50 minutes next time.

  4. Erika says

    October 6, 2022 at 4:21 pm

    5 stars
    Absolutely love this recipe!! It was easy to make, and the addition of sage gave a nice savory balance to the sweeter pumpkin. I only had one loaf pan so ended up making one loaf and a dozen muffins instead – the muffins only needed ~30 minutes and both baked SO perfectly! I don’t think I’ve ever made muffins that baked to such a smooth and even complexion(?) on top lol. It didn’t come out too dry or too moist but just right, and they were not as sweet as I expected (which I was happy about!) I love your recipes, Justine!! Can’t wait to try more 🙂

    • Justine says

      October 8, 2022 at 6:57 pm

      This made me so happy!! I’m so thrilled you got such a good result 🙂

  5. SOLA says

    October 8, 2022 at 2:56 pm

    5 stars
    I’m so excited to try this recipe! Question , the loaf with the swirls, is that cream cheese?

    • Justine says

      October 8, 2022 at 2:56 pm

      It’s tahini! But cream cheese would work just as well 🙂

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Hey! I'm Justine. A recipe developer, highly dedicated eater, and bread enthusiast with an archive of both savory and sweet. This is where I store all my recipes, feel free to take a look around!
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