Spiced Pumpkin Bread

October 13, 2015mayurisjikoni

EVENT: BREAD BAKERS

THEME: HEARTY FALL BREADS

RECIPE: SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD

Spiced Pumpkin Bread is a soft, delicately sweetish, spicy home baked yeast bread. Walnuts, raisins, pumpkin seeds and pumpkin pie spice mix makes this bread ideal for breakfast or as a tea time treat.

Memories

Do you write down everything in a diary to remind you what has to be done on which day? Do you still belong to the old school where its written and not on your mobile? I am, as I really cannot trust technology 100%. What if my mobile gets stolen, or it is not charged or refuses to work for some odd reason.
Last month’s theme was jotted down in my diary as a reminder. I had baked the bread before leaving for London. Just didn’t get time to write the post. Unfortunately, thought amidst all the wedding preparation I will be able to get away and blog for a while. I was mistaken. As a food blogger, people have a lot of expectations. I got busy cooking for a huge family and friends. Suddenly bakes by fellow bloggers appeared on Facebook and every other social media. I felt so sad, especially when I had already baked it, photographed it and eaten it! Anyway, there is a lesson to be learnt, what can be done tomorrow, do it now. I am also learning to use my mobile for reminders.

This Month’s Theme

The October Bread Bakers theme is Hearty Fall Breads hosted by Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm. Thank you Wendy for a this lovely theme. Though we don’t have fall season in Mombasa, the theme has given me the opportunity to bake with pumpkin which I have not done so before. We get pumpkin practically throughout the year. It is a much ignored vegetable or rather fruit. It is usually used as a side dish instead of potatoes, made into a soup or the tender leaves are used to make a local dish called mukimo.

Check Out What Others Have Baked For The Hearty Fall Breads

Apple Crumb Quick Bread from Food Lust People Love
Browned Butter Semolina Pumpkin Bread from Sizzling Tastebuds
Buttermilk Wheat Bread from Magnolia Days
Eggless Apple Sage Cheddar Scones from Spill the Spices
Fall Harvest Bread from Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
Fig Focaccia from My Catholic Kitchen
Harvest Grains Bread from Hostess At Heart
Mr. Potato Bread from What Smells So Good?
Multigrain Bread With Seeds from Sneha’s Recipe
Pumpkin and Apple Cornmeal Griddle Cakes from A Day in the Life on the Farm
Pumpkin Bread from la cocina de Aisha
Pumpkin Breadfrom Sara’s Tasty Buds
Pumpkin Bread Rolls from SpiceRoots
Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls from Recipes, Food and Cooking
Pumpkin, Poppy & Papaya Seeded Breadsticks from G’Gina’s Kitchenette
Pumpkin Scones from A Baker’s House
Pumpkin Sourdough Bread from Passion Kneaded
Schiacciata Con L’uva (Tuscan Style Grape, Olive and Goat Cheese Focaccia) from Ruchik Randhap
Sesame Seeded Semolina Bread from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
Spiced Pumpkin Bread from Mayuri’s Jikoni

My Bake For The Theme

I decided to bake a pumpkin yeast bread and began my search for the perfect recipe. The light orange hue and well risen loaf baked by Killer Bunnies.inc tempted me try her recipe out with a few additions of my own. Simply amazed at the beautiful yellow loaf. While the bread was baking, my whole house smelt of the delightful aroma of the pumpkin pie spice blend.
The slightly warm slices with melted butter is super tasty. Not too sweet. Added nuts and seeds gives a slight crunch to the otherwise soft bread.

Homemade Pumpkin Puree

I prefer to roast the pumpkin in the oven. It is so much easier as I don’t need to peel the hard pumpkin skin. Just cut it into half without damaging any of the fingers. Better still, I buy the already halved pumpkin from the store if available.
Brush the pumpkin halves or pieces with some odourless oil. Roast the pumpkin at 180C for 35-40 minutes. You can place the pumpkin cut side down or facing up. Insert a knife into the pumpkin, it should go in easily. Allow the pumpkin to cool a bit. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh.
For a smooth consistency, puree it in the food processor or mash it.

Some Ideas Where You Can Use The Pumpkin Puree

KETO PUMPKIN MOUSSE

Creamy, light, fluffy and tasty creamy mousse. Ideal dessert to serve after a heavy meal as its light on the stomach.

Check out this recipe

Pumpkin Banana Bread Muffins are ideal for lunchboxes or early fall picnics.

Make Pumpkin Spice Latte at home, the way you want it.

Italian Pumpkin Bread is a must try bread.

Spiced Pumpkin Bread Rollsare ideal for Halloween Parties.

Useful Tips

Shape the dough the way you want to. Make it into a round bread, braid it, bake in a loaf pan or make them into small buns.
As pumpkin has its own sugar, the top of the bread tends to brown easily. After baking it for 15 -20 minutes, cover the bread with foil and bake for the remainder of the time. This prevents the crust from becoming too brown.
Add nuts, raisins and seeds according to your taste. I sometimes add dried cranberries and pecans.
If you find the pumpkin puree is very pale in colour then add about ¼ tsp turmeric powder to it. It will give a beautiful yellow colour without comprising the flavour of the bread.
On cooling the top of the crust appears wrinkled. This is because I probably allowed the bread to cool in a cold draft. This means the bread cooled down suddenly. An oven/microwave is a good place to allow the bread to cool if the weather is cold.

Ingredients Required For Spiced Pumpkin Bread

All Purpose Flour Or Bread Flour – when I bake breads in India and Kenya, I add vital wheat gluten to the flour. Usually 1-2 tbsp is enough for the whole recipe. In Canada, the all purpose flour tends to have higher gluten content, therefore I don’t add any vital wheat gluten.
Yeast – I use instant active yeast. If you use active dry yeast then you will need to add it to the warm milk and allow it to ferment for 10-15 minutes before adding to the flour.
Pumpkin Puree – homemade or ready made. If you are using ready made, use one without the spices or sugar added to it.
Milk – warm milk. The quantity required will vary from flour to flour. Sometimes I need only ½ cup and other times up to ¾ cup. If you choose to add an egg then reduce the amount of milk you use.
Butter – Use unsalted or salted. The butter must be soft, room temperature.
Pumpkin Pie Spice Mix – if you don’t get it ready made in the stores, it is quite easy to make it at home.
1½ tbsp cinnamon powder
1 tsp ginger powder
1 tsp nutmeg powder
¾ tsp clove powder
¾ tsp all spice powder

Sugar – I prefer to use white granulated as brown sugar changes the colour of the bread.
Salt – I have used normal iodized salt.
Walnuts – can easily replace them with pecans.
Raisins – or any other dried fruit like sultana, cranberries, etc.
Pumpkin Seeds – roasted and shelled ones, unsalted.

Watch How To Make Spiced Pumpkin Bread and Homemade Pumpkin Puree