2 Ways Pumpkin Bread

Preparation: 40 min
Cooking time: 20 min
Waiting time: 90 min
Portion: 9 pumpkin breads or a loaf 20×20 cm
Difficulty: 3/5

Ingredient
-Butternut squash or pumpkin: 160 gr
-Milk: 110 ml
-All purpose flour: 170 gr
-Bread flour: 170 gr
-Granulated sugar: 50 gr
-Beaten egg: 1 – divide into 2 parts: 35 gr and 20 gr
-Unsalted butter: 30 gr
-Instant yeast: 7 gr
-Salt: ½ tsp (~ 3gr)

Decorating
-White sesame: 2-3 gr
-Almond: 5-10 gr

Kitchen utensil
-Dough mixer or electric egg beater with dough hook
-Square pan 20×20 cm or food cooking string

Instruction

1. Mixing and kneading dough

• Peel the pumpkin and cut into small cubes.
• Steam the pumpkin and mash with a fork to paste and mix with 110 ml milk. Leave aside.
• In a mixing bowl, mix bread flour, all purpose flour, sugar and salt together.
• Add and mix instant yeast in flour mixture

Please note that instant yeast will be deactivated if it interacts directly with salt, so you need to mix salt well with flour before adding yeast.

• Create a flour well in mixing bowl, then pour pumpkin milk mixture with 35 gr beaten egg into and mix the ingredient together until they turn to dough
• Knead the dough by hand or with a mixer in 5-10 minutes to elastic.
• Add 30 gr soften butter in and knead together with the dough until they’re all combined.
• Shape the dough to ball shape, cover and proof at room temperature in 45-60 minutes to double its size.

2. Shaping and Baking

• When the dough is double its size, press it several times to remove gases inside
• Roll the dough up and cut it into 9 equal pieces
• Shape each piece into balls and put aside.

For bread shaping, you can choose between these 2 options as below:

1. Pumpkin shape

• Tie several circles around the dough by food cooking string (as video)
• Place string-tied dough on a baking tray and repeat the same process with others.
• Proof the doughs in 45 minutes to double their size.
• Preheat oven at 180 Celsius degree in 15 minutes
• Brush a thin layer of egg wash on and bring the doughs to bake at 180 Celsius degree in 15-18 minutes
• Remove baked bread from the oven and let it chill for 5-10 minutes.
• Remove food strings in bread and stick an almond on top to create pumpkin stem.
• Serve within a day.

2. Pull-apart

• Arrange dough balls into baking pan that lined parchment paper and proof them at room temperature in another 30-45 minutes
• Preheat the oven at 180 Celsius degree in 15 minutes
• Uncover the doughs and brush a thin layer of beaten egg on top and sprinkle with some sesame seeds.
• Bring dough balls to bake at 180 Celsius degree in 18-20 minutes

To prevent the bread from turning too brown, you can place a layer of foil paper on the baking pan

• When the bread is baked completely, remove it from oven and let it cool on rack
• Best serve within a day or you can store the bread in closed bags in 2-3 days.