Moist Gingerbread Loaf Recipe

This gingerbread loaf recipe is a soft, moist molasses quick bread spiced with ginger and nutmeg. No yeast needed. Buttermilk keeps the quick bread tender.

Love traditional gingerbread cookies? This gingerbread loaf has the same flavors, but bakes up soft, sliceable and ready to serve or gift during the holidays.

Quick Look: Gingerbread Loaf

• Flavor: Molasses-forward with warm ginger and nutmeg. The bread itself is lightly sweet, so the powdered sugar top is important.
• Texture: Soft, tender, and moist, similar to gingerbread snack cake
• Method: One 8½x4½ loaf pan, 350°F, 45-50 minutes. It’s done when a toothpick shows only a few moist crumbs and the center reads 200-205°F.
• Skill level: Beginner. No yeast, no rise time.
• Make ahead: The spices deepen overnight, so it’s a great bake-the-day-before loaf.
• Want more spice? Add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon allspice.

What do you need to make gingerbread loaf?

• The baking soda reacts with the buttermilk to give the bread a nice lift.
• The bread is sweetened with a combination of brown sugar and molasses. 
• The bread will have the best flavor if you use a regular or light molasses. Blackstrap molasses has a bitter flavor and is very strong.
• Ginger and nutmeg add a holiday warmth. Allspice and cinnamon are great additions if you’d like a stronger flavor.
• A sprinkle of powdered sugar on top gives a festive, snowy look and adds to the sweet flavor.

✨ For full ingredients and amounts for this gingerbread loaf cake, see the recipe card below. ✨

How to Make a Moist Gingerbread Loaf

• In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until well combined. Add the molasses and vanilla. Mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk, stirring just until blended after each addition.

4. Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick in the center comes out with just a few moist crumbs (or the center reads 200-205°F). If the top browns before the middle is set, tent loosely with foil around the 35-minute mark. Pulling it early is the number one reason a gingerbread loaf sinks.
5. Allow the bread to cool completely, then dust the top with powdered sugar.

Moist Gingerbread Loaf

4.59 from 330 votes

Soft, moist, molasses quick bread is perfectly seasoned with ginger and nutmeg. Gingerbread Loaf gives that classic holiday flavor that you love!

Servings 10 servings

Prep Time 10 minutes minutes

Cook Time 45 minutes minutes

Total Time 55 minutes minutes

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Ingredients

 

US Customary – Metric

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup light brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup salted butter room temperature
• 1/2 cup unsulphured molasses
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 large eggs
• 1 cup buttermilk
• powdered sugar for dusting the top

Instructions

 

• Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Grease an 8 1/2"x 4 1/2" or 9×5" inch loaf pan with cooking spray. Then line with parchment paper for easy removal.
• In a mixing bowl, thoroughly stir together the flour, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg and salt. Set aside. 2 cups all-purpose flour , 1 teaspoon baking soda, 2 teaspoons ground ginger, ¾ teaspoon ground nutmeg, ½ teaspoon salt
• In a large bowl, cream together the sugar and butter until well combined. Add the molasses and vanilla. Mix well. Add the eggs, one at a time, until well mixed. ½ cup light brown sugar, ½ cup salted butter, ½ cup unsulphured molasses, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, 2 large eggs
• Add the flour mixture to the sugar mixture alternately with the buttermilk, stirring just until blended after each addition. 1 cup buttermilk
• Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 45-50 minutes. If the bread is getting too brown on top, cover loosely with aluminum foil to finish baking.
• Let the loaf cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Then remove from the pan and cool completely.
• Dust the top with powdered sugar after the bread has completely cooled. The bread is not overly sweet so this sprinkle of powdered sugar is a must! powdered sugar

Video

Notes

• For best results, use a kitchen scale to measure the flour so that you don’t end up with too much flour (which will make the bread dry).
• Fresh nutmeg really elevates the flavor in this bread. To add more flavor, add 1 teaspoon cinnamon and ½ teaspoon allspice.
• Refer to the article above for more tips and tricks.
• The calories shown are based on the bread being cut into 10 pieces, with 1 serving being 1 slice of bread. Since different brands of ingredients have different nutritional information, the calories shown are just an estimate. **We are not dietitians and recommend you seek a nutritionist for exact nutritional information. The information in the nutrition box are calculated through a program and there is room for error. If you need an accurate count, I recommend running the ingredients through your favorite nutrition calculator.**

Nutrition

Calories: 294kcal | Carbohydrates: 44g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 7g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 0.4g | Cholesterol: 64mg | Sodium: 348mg | Potassium: 339mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 25g | Vitamin A: 377IU | Vitamin C: 0.03mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 2mg

Author Julie Clark

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Calories 294

Keyword christmas quick bread, gingerbread cake, molasses bread, molasses quick bread

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