This is NOT a cakey, sweet pumpkin bread. It's a bit savory, a bit spicy, with chunks of walnuts, raisins and fresh cranberries. Heads up, it does need to raise for a few hours and then overnight in the fridge, so make the dough the day before you want to eat it. I'll start mine in the late afternoon and then it will be ready by afternoon the next day. And I make mine in 3 mini loaves, instead of 2 loaf pans. If this looks like too much work, just come visit me and I will make you some!
2 loaves
Ingredients
- 2 2/3-3 cups bread flour (I used all purpose)
- 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons tepid water (80 - 90 degrees F)
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temp
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 1 cup pumpkin puree or butternut squash, fresh or canned solid packed
- 1 large egg, room temp
- 3/4 cup walnut pieces, toasted
- 2/3 cup plump golden raisin or dark raisin
- 2/3 cup cranberries (if frozen, thaw and pat dry)
Directions
- Mixing and Kneading: whisk 2 2/3 cup flour with the cinnamon, nutmeg and salt.
Set aside.
Sprinkle the yeast on the water and allow to bloom about 5 minutes.
In a mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium speed until light.
Add the pumpkin and egg and beat until well blended. Don't be concerned if the mixture looks curdled.
Set the mixer to low speed and add the yeast, then begin to add the dry ingredients about 1/2 cup at a time.
As soon as the mixture starts to form a dough that comes together, scrape the paddle clean and switch to the dough hook.
If your dough doesn't come together (it might be because the pumpkin had too much liquid) add a bit more flour, a tablespoon at a time, until it does.
Mix and knead the dough on med-low speed for 10-15 minutes, scraping down the bowl and dough hook now and then.
At the start, the dough will look more like a batter than a dough, but as you continue to work, it will develop into a soft, very sticky dough that will ball up on the hook.
With the machine on low speed, add the walnuts and raisins, mixing only until incorporated, about 1 minute.
Add the cranberries and mix as little as possible to avoid crushing them, although some cranberries will pop and stain a patch of the dough red; think of this as charming and proceed.
FirstRise: scrape the dough into a lightly buttered large bowl, cover tightly with plastic wrap and set aside at room temperature to rise until nearly doubled- 2-3 hours.
Chilling the dough: when the dough has doubled, fold it over on itself a couple of times to deflate it, wrap it tightly in plastic and refrigerate overnight.
Shaping the dough: at least 6 hours before you want to begin baking, remove the dough from the refrigerator.
Leave it covered, in its bowl, until it reaches at least 64 degrees F on the insta-read thermometer. This will take as long as 3-4 hours- don't rush it. If you don't have an insta-read, look for the dough to be slightly cool and just a little spongy.
Lightly butter 2 loaf pans.
Working on a lightly floured surface, divide the dough in half and pat each piece of dough into a rectangle, keeping the short end facing you.
Start at the top and roll the dough toward you and seal the seam by pressing it with your fingertips.
Seal the ends, then place each roll in the pans, seams down.
SecondRise: cover the pans lightly with a kitchen towel and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the dough has nearly doubled. It will rise to just above the rim of the pans.
Baking:preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Bake about 50-55 minutes or until deep golden.
Remove the pans to cooling racks. After resting 5 minutes, turn the loaves out of the pans to cool to room temp.
The breads can be kept at room temperature for a day or two or frozen, wrapped airtight, for up to 1 month.
Yum! How do you toast nuts? I always see that in recipes and dont really know how to do it...maybe you should do a post about that :)
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