Pumpkin Bread [with Yeast]
These yeasted pumpkin bread buns are made in the shape of pumpkins. A fun novel way to present pumpkin challah buns.
Equipment
- Kitchen twine or cooking string
- Stand mixer fitted with dough hook
Ingredients
- 2½ teaspoon dry active yeast
- ½ cup warm water about 104°F (40C)
- 3 tablespoon caster sugar or superfine granulated sugar
- 2 cups plain flour or all purpose flour
- 1¼ cup strong white bread flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
- ½ teaspoon ground cloves
- 2 eggs + 1 for egg wash
- ⅓ cup flavourless oil such as sunflower oil
- ¼ cup pumpkin puree
- 2 tablespoon maple syrup
- optional: cinnamon sticks cut for stems
Instructions
- Start by sprinkling your yeast over the warm water and adding 1 teaspoon of sugar. Give this a stir and set aside for about 10 minutes until frothy.
- Meanwhile, in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the flours, remaining sugar, spices and salt. Stir together lightly.
- In a jug, whisk together the oil, pumpkin puree, 2 eggs and maple syrup.
- Once the yeast is foamy, pour this into the flour, immediately followed by the oil mixture and begin kneading the dough on a low setting until it comes together in a sticky dough.
- Increase the speed slightly to a medium low setting and continue kneading for about 10-15 minutes until the dough is pulling itself away from the sides of the bowl.
- Transfer this dough to a lightly oiled large bowl and cover in plastic wrap. Set in a warm place for 2 hours, until doubled in size.
- After 2 hours, turn the dough out onto a clean work surface and knock back. Using a dough cutter or sharp knife, slice into 8 equal parts.
- In order to form the pumpkin shapes, take each portion of dough and pinch together at the bottom to make a taut surface on top. Use your hand to create a cage on the work surface and gently roll the dough ball to help create a smooth dough round. Then, using about a 3 foot piece of kitchen twine, place the twine over the top of the ball so that the centre is over the centre of the ball. Flip the ball upside down and twist the string (like wrapping a gift with ribbon), so that your twine is now crossing perpendicular to your original line). Flip the ball over again and twist. You should now have a cross of string. Now, bring the string to a point between the lines of twine you've already made. Flip and twist again to be perpendicular to your most recent line. Flip one last time and knot the string. You should have eight roughly even sections marked out by the string. (See the blog post for images to illustrate). Repeat this process with each piece of dough until you have 8 buns. Place these on parchment paper or silicone baking sheets, well spaced, and cover with a clean kitchen towel to proof for a second time for 45 minutes.
- While the dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 350°F (175C/155C Fan) and prepare an egg wash by whisking together an egg and a splash of water.
- After the buns have finished their second proof, brush each with the egg wash and bake in the preheated oven for about 20 minutes until risen and golden.
- Cool on a wire rack and add pieces of cinnamon sticks to look like pumpkin stems. Serve with butter or pecan paste.
Notes
Optional Filling Suggestion: These buns can be made with a filling. Follow the process up until cutting equal size pieces of dough. Before shaping these, flatten them lightly and add about a teaspoon (dependent on the size of the bun) of filling. I recommend using my candied pecan paste. Pinch to seal the bun shut around this. Then proceed with shaping, second proof and baking as directed.
Nutrition
Calories: 387kcalCarbohydrates: 61gProtein: 11.3gFat: 11.4gSaturated Fat: 1.5gCholesterol: 41mgSodium: 311mgPotassium: 187mgFiber: 3.7gSugar: 8.5gCalcium: 27mgIron: 3mg
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