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 Bread from 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. 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
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
SPICED PUMPKIN BREAD
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose/bread flour
- 1 tsp salt
- ¼ cup white sugar
- 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice mix
- 2 tsp instant active dry yeast
- ½ cup walnuts chopped
- ½ cup raisins
- ¼ cup pumpkin seeds unsalted and roasted
- 3 tbsp butter
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ½ - ¾ cup warm milk
- extra flour for dusting
Instructions
- Mix flour, pumpkin pie spice, sugar, salt and yeast together in a mixing bowl.
- Add 1 tbsp butter and rub into the flour.
- Add the pumpkin puree and warm milk. Add milk according to how much is required.
- Bring everything together into a rough dough.
- Dust the worktop with some flour ( about 1-2 tbsp).
- Rub your hands with a bit of butter.
- Take the dough out onto the worktop.
- Knead for 10-15 minutes till it is smooth and elastic.
- You can knead it in the dough maker for 7-10 minutes.
- Rub butter on your hands as and when needed. Don't be tempted to add more flour. However, if the dough is too sticky then add a tbsp at a time.
- Add the walnuts, seeds and raisins. Knead well.
- Shape the dough into a big ball.
- Grease the bowl lightly with butter.
- Place the dough in the bowl. Cover it with a lid, damp cloth or cling film and keep it in a warm place.
- The dough should double the size. Mine took about 45 minutes. Depends on how warm your kitchen is.
- Dust the worktop or board with flour again. Knead the dough gently.
- Grease a a loaf tin (9" X 5") with butter.
- Flatten the dough out into a rectangle or square, nearly the same length as the tin.
- Roll it tight. Pinch the seams.
- Tuck in the ends underneath. You now have a log shaped dough.
- Place it in the prepared tin. Watch the video above on how to shape the dough.
- Cover it with a tea towel or a shower cap. Let it rise again till the top rises about an inch above the rim of the loaf tin or till its double the size. Mine took only 40 minutes.
- Preheat the oven to 180°C.
- Brush the top of the risen dough with milk.
- Place the tin in the hot oven to bake.
- Bake for 20 minutes and check the bread. If the top is already golden brown, then cover it with a foil.
- Bake for another 10 -15 minutes.
- Remove the tin from the oven. Place the loaf on a wire rack to cool.
- Slice and enjoy it some butter and marmalade.
Notes
- If you add an egg to the dough, reduce the amount of milk.
- Toast the bread, it tastes really good with some butter.
- Add pecans instead of walnuts.
- Add dried fruits of your choice.
- Shape it into a ball and bake. Or make small buns. For a festive look divide the dough into 2-3 parts and braid it.
- Cover the bread with foil after about 15 -20 minutes as the top does become brown too quickly.
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A Little Request:
If you do try this recipe then please either
- add a comment below,
- send a picture to my email mayuri.ajay.patel62@gmail.com
- tag me as #mayuri_jikoni on Instagram
- or tag me on Twitter as #Mayuri1962