Gingerbread Loaf

This Gingerbread Loaf is soft, moist, and perfectly spiced. Unlike other recipes, which I find come out very dense, mine is lighter and fluffier. If you're looking for the perfect baking recipe for this holiday season, please give my recipe a try!

Looking for more holiday baking recipes? Try my Thumbprint Cookies, Peanut Butter Blossoms, or Apple Pie next!

About This Recipe

This week, I learned that before there were gingerbread cookies, there was actually gingerbread. I'd never even heard of gingerbread on its own until now! I guess it's literally in the name "gingerbread cookie", but I never really thought about it that way before.

Gingerbread was invented long before gingerbread cookies became a thing. It's believed that gingerbread was invented sometime in the Middle Ages by Europeans. A few centuries later, when sugar became cheaper, it evolved to the crisp cookies we know today.

My gingerbread loaf recipe is actually based on my Pumpkin Bread recipe. It uses oil as the main fat and a combination of baking soda plus baking powder to give it an extremely light texture. One issue I saw with many gingerbread recipes is that they come out too dense or dry. For the reasons above, my recipe comes out more moist and tender.

Key Ingredients

All-purpose flour: Make sure to spoon and level this into your measuring cup to get the most accurate measurement. If you scoop directly from the flour bag, the flour will get compacted, and you'll end up overmeasuring.

Spices: You'll need ground ginger, cinnamon, and ground cloves. You could also substitute the cinnamon and cloves for pumpkin spice, if you have it.

Baking powder + baking soda: I have found a combination of these to give the best fluffy texture. Baking soda reacts with the molasses to provide an initial rise, while baking powder reacts with the heat to raise it even more.

Molasses: Use unsulphured molasses (most likely what you have). Do not use blackstrap molasses.

Brown sugar: Even though there is ¾ cup of sugar, the loaf does not come out overly sweet. If you like it sweeter, you can add up to ¼ cup more sugar, or just drizzle some honey on when you eat a slice.

Vegetable oil: This is what provides the moistness within the loaf. Some recipes use melted butter, but I find oil to be better for that moist texture.

Milk: Any type of milk is fine, even nondairy substitutes.

Eggs: For binding all the ingredients together.

Vanilla extract: Provides a warm flavor.

Instructions

STEP 1: In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and baking powder together.

STEP 2: In a large bowl, mix the molasses, brown sugar, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.

STEP 3: Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until smooth and no dry flour remains.

STEP 4: Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, loosely covering the top with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean- some crumbs are fine, but there shouldn't be any wet batter.

STEP 5: Bake for 55-65 minutes, loosely covering the top with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean- some crumbs are fine, but there shouldn't be any wet batter.

📋 Recipe

Gingerbread Loaf

My Gingerbread recipe is soft, moist, and perfectly spiced! Unlike other recipes that turn out dense or dry, mine is lighter and fluffier. Easy holiday baking recipe that comes together in just about one hour!

5 from 3 votes

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Cook Time 1 hour hr

Total Time 1 hour hr

Course Breakfast, Main Course

Cuisine American

Servings 1 loaf

Ingredients

  

1x2x3x

• ▢ 2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
• ▢ 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• ▢ ½ teaspoon ground cloves
• ▢ 1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ▢ ¾ cup molasses
• ▢ ⅔ cup packed brown sugar
• ▢ ½ cup vegetable oil
• ▢ ⅓ cup milk
• ▢ 2 large eggs
• ▢ 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Instructions

 

• Preheat your oven to 350°F. Grease a 9×5-inch loaf pan and line the bottom with parchment paper.
• In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, and baking powder together.
• In a large bowl, mix the molasses, brown sugar, oil, milk, eggs, and vanilla until smooth.
• Whisk the dry ingredients into the wet mixture until smooth and no dry flour remains.
• Pour the batter into the loaf pan. Bake for 55-65 minutes, loosely covering the top with foil halfway through to prevent over-browning. The loaf is done when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out mostly clean- some crumbs are fine, but there shouldn't be any wet batter.
• Let the loaf cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then slide a knife around the edges to release the bread. Transfer to a cutting board and cut into slices for serving.

Nutrition information is calculated using an ingredient database and should be considered an estimate.

Did you make this?Let me know how it was!