Warm & Cozy Pumpkin Bread (yeast)

 

I love homemade bread.  Bread is actually one of my many weaknesses.  I can remember coming home from school on the days that my mother made bread. You could smell the bread baking before you even opened the front door. You knew then that this was a very good day!

Mom made beautiful bread. Light and fluffy. She would divide the dough for each loaf into two balls and place them into the bread pans to rise.  They would puff up and give us a loaf of bread with two humps like a camel. My favorite part was always what we called the fluff.  That bit where the two balls touched.

 

My ex husband also made very good bread. My children only ever very rarely got store bought bread. He made and baked all our bread, about a dozen loaves a week. He used to make our kitchen table dance across the kitchen floor when he was kneading it. His loaves always turned out light and fluffy as well.

I do not make good homemade bread from scratch.  I lack the patience and the technique, the power  (which is all in the kneading I have decided) to make a good loaf. My loaves from scratch always end up heavy. Great doorstops.

 

 

That's why I like my Bread Machine. My bread machine makes up for any lack on my part and produces lovely loaves of bread.  I have the Panasonic Automatic Bread Maker Model# SD-RD250.   This is the bread machine I have been using for over 20 years. I went through two of them in the UK.  My friend Jo, who was the housekeeper at the Manor for a few of the years that I worked there, had this particular model also.

We both swear by them. They are the best machines going.  They make beautiful bread and are quite a manageable size. I like the fact that they have a fruit and nut dispenser. I would never have another kind. In my opinion, it is the best, and makes the best bread.

The bread machine recipe I am sharing with you today is for a pumpkin yeast bread that I adapted from The Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook, by Tiffany Dahle of  Peanut Blossom.  I have the book on Kindle.  This is maybe the third recipe I have made from the book and so far every one has turned out perfectly.

I have made plenty of Pumpkin Quick Breads before and shared the recipes on here. My favorite one is the recipe from my late Mother In law.  I have been making that one for about 45 years now.

This was my first attempt at a Pumpkin Yeast Bread. I can tell you it won't be my last. This recipe makes one very beautiful loaf of bread!!

 

WHAT YOU NEED TO MAKE BREAD MACHINE PUMPKIN BREAD

Pretty simple ingredients.  You can make your own pumpkin pie spice. I tell you how. Amounts are for two different sized loaves, the 1 1/2 pound and the 2 pound loaf.

For 1 1/2 pound loaf:

• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
• 1/3 cup (82g) pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup (60g) water
• 1 large free range egg
• 1 1/2 TBS (21g) butter, softened and cut into pieces
• 3 cups (411g) bread flour
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten (optional)

For 2 pound loaf:

• 2/3 cup (160g) milk
• 1/2 cup (122g) pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup (80g) water
• 1 large free range egg
• 2 TBS (28g) butter, softened and cut into bits
• 4 cups (548g) bread flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten (optional)

 

Make sure you use Pumpkin Puree and not Pumpkin Pie Filling, the two are not the same thing. The Puree is just pureed pumpkin, quite thick and dry, not overly wet.  Pumpkin pie filling has other things (like spices and sugar) added to it to make a pumpkin pie with.

You can make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice for this bread.  Its very easily done and lasts for months.

Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months. 

 

HINTS AND TIPS FOR MAKING GOOD BREAD IN THE BREAD MACHINE

1. Measure by weight and not volume.  Weight is a much more precise way to measure. You can't go wrong.  I have a set of digital scales that I use. I just pop the bread pan onto them and measure away. My scales measure in grams, Kg, pounds and ounces, milliliters, etc. I started baking by weight when I lived in the UK and I would now never bake any other way.

2.  Bread machine loaves work best with bread flour.  Bread flour can also be labeled "Best for Bread" or "High Gluten flour."  

3. You can use regular flour, but if you do I recommend adding Vital Wheat Gluten to the recipe. This helps to boost the protein content of the bread.

 

4. Measure very carefully.  If you don't add enough flour, no matter the type of flour you use, the bread will collapse and is often uncooked in the center.  If you add too much flour, you will end up with a dense, hard heavy ball.

5.  I add Vital Wheat Gluten to all of my recipes for bread making in a bread machine. You can purchase it online.  It helps to yield a much better loaf, helping the loaf to rise higher with a nicer texture than without.  

Note -Vital wheat gluten is best stored in the refrigerator (for up to one year), but you can store it on the counter if you think you will use it up within two months (highly unlikely for the home baker.) Vital Wheat Gluten is not the same as Vital Wheat Gluten Flour. Vital Wheat Gluten is much more concentrated and not to be confused with the flour.

HOW TO MAKE WARM & COSY PUMPKIN BREAD

Really making bread in a bread machine is a doddle. If you prefer you can do the dough on the dough cycle and then remove the dough, shape as per a regular loaf and bake it in the oven. Personally I am quite happy with the shape of it as it comes from my bread machine.

Add the ingredients to the bread machine as listed, according to the requirements of your particular model. (My bread machine likes the dry ingredients put in first and the wet second.)

Select the Basic/White program on your machine and then the coordinating setting for your loaf size and press start.

Sit back and relax.

When loaf is done remove it from the bread machine and loaf pan to a wire rack. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

 

This is a lovely loaf of bread with a beautiful even texture.  It smelled amazing when it was baking, all that pumpkin spice.  It came out lovely and light with a nice crust as well. I toasted some under the broiler and added some brown sugar cinnamon spread.  Yummy!

This would be great served with stews or soups. You could also use it to make French toast, or even an overnight French toast casserole, or bread pudding.  Both would be excellent with a lush caramel sauce drizzled over top.

 

Some other bread machine recipes which I have shared on here and which I think to be excellent are:

BASIC RUSTIC FRENCH LOAF - This is a basic French style of bread that I have been making for years.  It uses a combination of flours and is not totally white. It has a lovely texture and a really nice crisp and chewy crust.

FRENCH SANDWICH PAIN AU LAIT - This is one of my favorite loaves of bread. It makes a great bread for use in sandwiches with a lovely flavor and texture. It is a milk bread with a lovely tight texture. Prepare to fall in love.

Yield: 1 1/2 - 2 pound loaf

Author: Marie Rayner

Warm & Cozy Pumpkin Bread

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 4 HourTotal time: 4 H & 10 M

A yeasted version of a popular quick bread. This bread machine loaf has a beautiful light texture and is very easy to slice. Easy to fit into the toaster. Delicious toasted and spread with cinnamon sugar, or why not use some to make a really tasty version of French toast! Perfect for the holidays!

Ingredients

For 1 1/2 pound loaf:

• 1/2 cup (120ml) milk
• 1/3 cup (82g) pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup (60g) water
• 1 large free range egg
• 1 1/2 TBS (21g) butter, softened and cut into pieces
• 3 cups (411g) bread flour
• 3/4 tsp kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten (optional)

For 2 pound loaf:

• 2/3 cup (160g) milk
• 1/2 cup (122g) pumpkin puree
• 1/3 cup (80g) water
• 1 large free range egg
• 2 TBS (28g) butter, softened and cut into bits
• 4 cups (548g) bread flour
• 1 tsp kosher salt
• 3/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1 1/4 tsp bread machine yeast
• 1 TBS vital wheat gluten (optional)

Instructions

1. Add the ingredients to the bread machine as listed, according to the requirements of your particular model. (My bread machine likes the dry ingredients put in first and the wet second.)
2. Select the Basic/White program on your machine and then the coordinating setting for your loaf size and press start.
3. Sit back and relax.
4. When loaf is done remove it from the bread machine and loaf pan to a wire rack. Leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing.

Notes

Make Your Own Pumpkin Pie Spice: Mix together 1 TBS ground cinnamon, 2 tsp ground ginger, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, 1/2 tsp ground allspice, 1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg and a pinch of ground mace or ground cardamom. Store in an airtight container out of the light for up to 6 months. 

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