Spiced Pumpkin Yeast Bread

 

We think of pumpkin bread as a cakey loaf good for snacking.  This is different.  Although it's a yeast bread with low sugar, I wouldn't go so far as to call it savory, but it would still be good in sandwiches. The original, King Arthur Flour recipe is made with all-purpose flour; the recipe I actually worked from uses Einkorn flour.

Here's what I used:

1/4 cup warm water
1/3 cup warm milk
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup pumpkin purée
1 tablespoon olive oil
3½ – 4 cups Einkorn wheat flour (2/3 white whole wheat, 1/3 AP)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/8 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup pecans, roughly chopped

In a large bowl, combine the liquid ingredients: water, milk, eggs, pumpkin, oil.  In a medium bowl, combine the 3 cups of Einkorn flour, brown sugar, salt, instant yeast, ginger, cardamom and cinnamon.  Add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and beat vigorously for 2 minutes.  Gradually add remaining flour, a little at a time, until you have a dough stiff enough to knead.  Turn dough out onto a floured surface.  Knead, adding flour as necessary, until you have a smooth, elastic dough.  Put dough into an oiled bowl.  Turn once to coat the dough with oil.  Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.

Turn dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface.  Shape dough into a loaf and place in well-greased 9 x 5-inch pan.  Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.  Bake the loaf in a preheated 375°F oven about 30 minutes.  Check the internal temperature with an instant-read thermometer; a reading of 190°F means loaf is done. Immediately remove the loaf from the pan and cool on a wire rack to prevent crust from becoming soggy.  For a shiny crust, brush tops lightly with oil.

I didn't follow the directions exactly.  I threw all the wet ingredients into the dry mixture one by one (not pre-mixed) and then kneaded it in the food processor about 45 seconds in two batches (since the whole batch was too much for my processor.)  I then kneaded the dough by hand to incorporate the last ½ cup flour and the nuts.  I used the stretch and fold technique from this Honey Oatmeal Bread and let it prove in the refrigerator overnight before finishing the following day.

Conclusion:  Nice, but nothing to write home about.  Even though I doubled the spices, they were still pretty much undetectable, and the whole wheat overpowered the pumpkin flavor.  It needed a little more nuts, too.  It would be fine for sandwiches as it is, but for morning toast I'd want more flavor.

Recipe:  Einkorn Pumpkin Yeast Bread via Bread Experience, adapted from Pumpkin Yeast Bread via King Arthur Flour