Brown Butter Pumpkin Sage Bread

This brown butter pumpkin sage bread is moist, filled with lots of pumpkin with a crunchy cinnamon pecan streusel topping! It will be perfect for Thanksgiving morning or a lazy weekend brunch.

(Note: The pictures in the post were updated in Sept 2020, with one original photo left. The post was originally posted in 2013). 

Happy Monday friends! I got back from San Diego late last night and I’m barely awake as I make my way to the lab this morning. The mere three-hour time difference is messing with my system and it will take time to adjust I am sure. But I will not complain because we had an amazing time!!

I had a great conference, learned a lot, and met many neuroscientists I admire. I was also able to explore the area a little and if you follow me on Instagram or Facebook, you will know that I indulged in a few bakery treats. I’ll give you guys a full update later in the week with tons of photos. I missed my kitchen so badly and have not baked in two weeks!! I made this brown butter pumpkin sage bread the week before I traveled.

I hope you guys enjoyed the wonderful recipes shared last week by a few of my blogging friends. In case you missed any, Julie from This Gal Cooks brought these delicious looking chocolate chip peanut butter marshmallow bars that will just be perfect for any celebration. And talking about celebrations, Allie from Baking A Moment shared these beautiful orange walnut macarons to get us in the holiday spirit!! Jamie from The Land of Milk ‘n’ Cookies brought back childhood memories with these cotton candy cupcakes! Thank you very much ladies for these wonderful recipes and holding down the fort last week!! You made my vacation stress-free 🙂

Nothing says thanksgiving to me like the smell of sage! (Am I alone?) It’s my favorite herb of the season and I add it to everything from stuffing to roasted sweet potatoes. As I was thinking of how to use the last of my pumpkin purée, I knew sage had to be included in the last pumpkin recipe of the season.

The bread is moist, filled with lots of pumpkins, and has a nutty brown butter flavor. You know brown butter enhances anything (seriously!! That nutty flavor is a great booster) and in this bread, it was the star. The sage renders a very homey and slight savory hint to the bread. Feel free to increase the amount of sage if you like a stronger flavor.

Oh did I forget to mention the cinnamon pecan streusel topping? Yeah, that is happening as well and it is crunchy delicious. This brown butter pumpkin sage bread will be perfect for Thanksgiving morning or a lazy weekend brunch. Add a cup of coffee (or tea in my case) to enjoy a crisp fall morning. Wait in these parts of the world, brisk winter morning I suppose.

The last can of pumpkin puree is now gone and it’s time to start my holiday baking. I’ve been hanging onto fall and all its warm spices to the last thread. Of course, that means I am a gazillion years behind in blogging years and Pinterest as by now everyone is done with peppermint! But that’s the beauty of life, I am almost never in vogue. Cue the gingerbread, molasses, eggnog, cranberries, and peppermint, please!

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Yield: 1 large loaf bread

Brown Butter Pumpkin Sage Bread

This brown butter pumpkin sage bread is moist, filled with lots of pumpkin with a crunchy cinnamon pecan streusel topping! It will be perfect for Thanksgiving morning or a lazy weekend brunch.

Prep Time 30 minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes

Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes

Ingredients

¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree 1 cup packed light-brown sugar 2 large eggs, room temperature For streusel topping: ¼ cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons butter, melted ¾ cup pecans, coarsely chopped

• ¾ cup (1½ sticks) unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons fresh sage, chopped
• 1⅔ cups all-purpose flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ¼ teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• ⅛ teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup solid-pack pumpkin puree
• 1 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 2 large eggs, room temperature

For streusel topping:

• ¼ cup all-purpose flour ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar 1 teaspoon cinnamon 2 tablespoons butter, melted ¾ cup pecans, coarsely chopped
• ¼ cup all-purpose flour
• ¼ cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• ¾ cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one large loaf pan with baking spray and set aside.
2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat until butter starts to foam. Whisking constantly, cook butter until it turns golden brown and brown bits form at the bottom of pan. Transfer butter to a bowl and let cool slightly.
3. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and salt. In a separate large bowl, whisk together pumpkin puree, sugar, eggs, sage and cooled brown butter. Mix until smooth. Add in flour mixture and mix until just combined.
4. Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth the top with a spatula.
5. Mix together all the ingredients for the topping in a small bowl and spread evenly on top of the batter.
6. Place pan on a baking sheet and bake until a toothpick inserted into the center comes our clean, about 40-45 minutes.
7. Transfer loaf pan to a wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Invert loaf pan to remove bread and let cool on wire rack completely. (Do not leave bread in loaf pan for too long otherwise it will be difficult to release)

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