Pumpkin and butternut squash-in their pure form-have never been some of my favourite vegetables. They are too sweet for me. Saying that, I must admit that I love sweet potato. But something about pumpkin and butternut just doesn’t sit well with my taste. I eat a lot of vegetables throughout the day both in cooked and raw form, and I will always give veggies a chance. So, even though I don’t love pumpkins I thought I’d use them in a bread dough recipe once again.
One of the first Halloween series videos was a sourdough bread made with pumpkin puree and shaped like a pumpkin much like the one you’re looking at right now. Things have changed since that time, so I decided to modify the old pumpkin bread recipe to fit my new style of baking. There is no kneading involved and the dough is cold fermented which makes the bread much more flavourful and also easier to handle.
All the water in this recipe comes from the pureed pumpkin. If you don’t want the hassle of making your own fruit puree you can use tinned pumpkin instead. But the freshly made version will be superior both in taste and colour.
You can divide this recipe into 4 and make little pumpkin buns.
Watch the video down below for detailed instructions.
Ingredients
For the dough –
270g (9.5oz) white bread flour
30g (1oz) whole wheat bread flour
3g (0.1oz) instant dry yeast or 3.6g (0.13oz) active dry yeast or 9g (0.32oz) fresh yeast
6g (0.21oz) salt
15g (0.5oz) olive oil
280g (9.9oz) pumpkin puree
1 egg for glazing
To learn more about no-knead bread dough temperature control click here.
The flour I use has a protein content of 13%. If your flour is weaker, then you may need to lower the hydration.
If you are using active dry yeast, then you may need to let it sit in the pumpkin puree for 10 minutes before adding the other ingredients or else it could take a lot longer to raise the dough.
Method
- Peel, dice, and cook the pumpkin until completely soft. Leave it to cool down and mash it into a smooth paste. You can use a food processor, but even a fork will do the job.
- Add the yeast, salt, olive oil, and whole wheat flour to the cooled down pumpkin puree. Mix well to dissolve the salt and yeast. Add the white bread flour and mix to a dough. *Desired dough temperature around 26C (79F). If your dough is warmer, then it will ferment more rapidly. If it is cooler, then it will take longer. Adjust fermentation time accordingly.
- Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
- Fold.
- Place back into the fridge and cold ferment for 18 – 24 hours.
- Lightly pre-shape the dough and leave it to rest for 30 minutes.
- Prepare the strings by moistening them with water. Lay the strings on a piece of baking paper in a cross pattern with equal spaces in between. Shape the loaf and place it in the centre of the arranged strings.
- Cover and proof for 1.5 hours. During this time pre-heat the oven to 180C (355F) fan on or 200C (390F) fan off. Also, pre-heat the baking vessel if you’re using one.
- Once the loaf has proofed, brush it with egg and leave it to dry for 5 minutes and then give it a second coating. Tie the strings around the loaf leaving a little room accounting for the oven spring.
- Place the loaf in the pre-heated pan, cover it with a lid, and place it in the oven. The initial bake will take 25 minutes. After the timer as rung, remove the pan from the oven and remove the lid from the pan. Place the loaf back into the oven for 10 more minutes of baking to finish off the crust.
Leave to cool down and enjoy.
Keep in mind that the conditions in each kitchen are different, so fermentation times may vary for you. It is up to the baker to control the bread and react accordingly.
Your oven may be different too, so your baking time may vary.
