Solar Recipe: Pumpkin Bread (Moist and Delicious!)

Golden, moist, and ready to eat!

Pumpkin Bread

If there is such a thing as a starter solar bake, this is it. Pumpkin bread is forgiving by nature: one bowl of dry, one bowl of wet, a whisk! This recipe baked up two golden loaves in My Solar Oven on a hot September afternoon that spent almost an hour behind clouds, but it never once acted like that was a problem.

This is a perfect My Solar Oven recipe. My Solar Oven's airtight seal traps the steam, making these pumpkin bread loaves more moist and delicious than a conventional oven!

Prep takes 15 minutes and makes two loaves, which is the right amount: one to eat, one to share. Or not. We won't judge.

Want to see this exact cook from start to finish? We kept a full cooking journal of the afternoon, real times and temps, broken clouds included.

Serves: 2 loaves
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 45 to 55 minutes (conventional) / 75 to 105 minutes (My Solar Oven)

Ingredients

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 large eggs, room temperature
• 1 cup olive oil
• 15 oz pumpkin puree (one can)

Instructions

Step 1: Fire Up the Sun

My Solar Oven: Set the oven out on flat ground in full sun, unfold the reflectors, lock each tab, and aim it with the Quick Align tool. Let it preheat while you mix the batter (15-30 minutes) and set the eggs on the counter so they lose their chill.

Conventional oven: Preheat to 350°F.

Step 2: Prep the Pans

Butter or grease (we used olive oil spray) two loaf pans and dust them lightly with flour. Dark metal pans are the move: they soak up the sun's heat and hold it.

Step 3: Whisk the Dry Ingredients

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and salt.

Step 4: Whisk the Wet Ingredients

In a second, medium bowl, whisk together the eggs, olive oil, and pumpkin puree until smooth.

Step 5: Combine and Divide

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and whisk until no dry streaks remain. Divide the batter evenly between the two loaf pans.

Step 6: Bake

My Solar Oven: Place both pans on the rack, close the glass door, and slide the locking tabs until the seal is snug. Plan on 75 to 105 minutes, re-aiming with the Quick Align tool every 15 to 30 minutes. The loaves are done when the tops are golden and a toothpick poked into the center of each comes out clean.

Conventional oven: Bake at 350°F for 45 to 55 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out clean.

Step 7: Cool and Serve

Let the loaves rest in their pans for 10 minutes, then turn them out onto a wire rack. Slice thick and eat warm. The part where you didn't heat up the whole house to do it comes standard.

Notes & Tips

• Clouds are not the end of the world. This exact batter went into a 320°F oven and spent most of the first hour under broken clouds that dragged the chamber down to 205°F at the worst moment. When the sun came back, the temperature climbed right back up, and the loaves still finished golden. A cloud stretch doesn't ruin a quick bread; it just adds time. The full minute-by-minute story is in our cooking journal.
• Expect some fog on the glass. Pumpkin bread throws off steam, and a sealed chamber traps it. If the glass fogs up and you can't see the loaves, open the door briefly on your next re-aim, let the steam out, and close it up snug again.
• Trust the toothpick, not the clock. Solar cooking runs on sunshine, not timers. On our cook the toothpick came out wet an hour and a half in, and clean about half an hour later. If yours is still wet, give it more sun and test again.
• Dark metal loaf pans bake fastest. Glass works too, it just adds time.

If a bright afternoon has been burning a hole in your calendar, put it to work. My Solar Oven turns it into two loaves of pumpkin bread with zero fuel and zero kitchen heat, and this recipe is all it takes.