Keep the all-purpose flour and spices near 70°F so they stay dry and free flowing. Whisk the flour with baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves and fine sea salt for 30 to 40 seconds while sweeping from center to edges and back again. Stop there. The color should start evening out as you whisk. If streaks of cinnamon remain, whisk another 10 seconds because uneven leavening can leave bitter pockets. Next, look for a uniform tan mixture with no dark spice clumps and no white baking soda spots. You shouldn't smell one spice more strongly than the others. Miss this mixing window and one slice can taste salty while another rises unevenly. Whisk just until uniform because even distribution gives the loaf a steady rise.

Bring the large eggs and canned pumpkin puree to 68 to 72°F, then whisk the eggs with granulated cane sugar and light brown sugar for 45 seconds until slightly thickened. Add pumpkin puree, refined avocado oil and pure vanilla extract. Whisk for another 60 seconds with steady circular strokes. It should thicken slightly. Go much past 2 minutes and you'll whip in extra air that can make the loaf rise unevenly. Meanwhile, the mixture should turn smooth orange and glossy with no visible streaks of egg or dry sugar along the edge. You'll smell vanilla first and warm pumpkin right behind it. If grainy sugar settles at the bottom, whisk 15 seconds more. Mix at room temperature because cold ingredients make the oil harder to emulsify evenly.

Add the dry mixture to the pumpkin mixture while the batter stays near 70°F. Fold with a rubber spatula in broad J shaped motions for 45 to 60 seconds, stopping after about 12 to 15 folds when only a few flour streaks remain. Then fold in 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips with 4 to 5 more turns. (I once kept stirring until perfectly smooth. That loaf baked up noticeably tougher.) Overmixing past 90 seconds develops too much gluten. Next, transfer the thick batter into a parchment lined 9 by 5 inch loaf pan and spread it toward the corners in three gentle passes. Scatter the remaining 1/4 cup semisweet chocolate chips unevenly over the top. Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips should look thick and orange with chips partly buried, not runny. Fold briefly because limited gluten keeps the crumb tender.

Bake the loaf in a fully preheated 350°F oven for 55 to 65 minutes. At minute 35, rotate the pan 180 degrees so the top colors evenly, then keep baking until a thermometer in the center reads 200 to 205°F. Go beyond 205°F inside and the crumb starts losing moisture. Finally, look for a deep golden brown top with a natural center crack and melted chocolate chips that still hold their shape. The loaf should smell strongly of cinnamon and toasted sugar, and the center should spring back after a light touch. Watch the center. Pumpkin Bread with Chocolate Chips needs full center heat or the middle can sink after cooling. Bake to 200 to 205°F because that temperature sets the crumb without drying it.

Let the loaf rest in its pan for 15 minutes, then lift it out and cool for another 40 to 45 minutes until the center drops below 100°F. Slice with a gentle sawing motion into 10 pieces about 3/4 inch thick. Don't press straight down. Cut earlier than 55 minutes total cooling and the warm crumb can compress around the melted chips. Next, the slices should show a moist orange crumb with irregular chocolate pockets and a slightly darker crust along the edges. The chips can still feel soft, but they shouldn't smear across every cut. A few chocolate pockets will be larger than others. That's normal. The top edge may crumble a little too. Serve one slice on a white plate once the crumb feels springy instead of steamy. Cool fully because the starches need time to set before slicing.