Cooking Lesson #946: Big Pot Pumpkin Bread

…from the Perspectives’ Holiday Kitchen

How you doin’? This no-knead bread is the perfect introduction to bread-making, but it yields a gorgeous, rustic, holiday loaf even the most experienced home baker will be proud to share.
 
The dough is super easy to work with and low maintenance: basically, you mix it, let it rise twice—once overnight—give it a quick shape, and bake it in a hot big pot or Dutch oven. It’s full of pumpkin, warm pie spices, and toasted pecans, so it smells truly amazing when it comes out of the oven, like hot cinnamon-raisin toast.
 
It’s a crusty, artisanal-style bread, and when you slice it open, you’ll find it has a bakery-quality crumb—just as tender as can be. It tastes nutty and spicy, and the pumpkin gives it a mild, fall sweetness. It’s such a good-looking boule, we like to put it on the table whole with the bread knife, cutting slices as we go. It’ll pair beautifully with an eggs-and-bacon brunch or a savory autumn lunch. It’s also the bread you want to bake off on Saturday morning, so you can eat it all weekend long. Think big slabs of toast coated in a rich, whipped butter and golden honey.
 
Prep time:  20 minutes
1st Proof time:  12 to 18 hours (passive time)
2nd Proof time:  1 hour (passive time)
Bake time:  1 hour (includes heating the pot)
Yields: 1 large boule that serves 4-6 people
 
Ingredients 
3 cups, plus 2 tablespoons bread flour, and more for dusting
1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2/3 cup toasted chopped pecans
1 cup water
3/4 cup pumpkin purée (not pie filling)
1/4 cup honey
 
Directions

1. In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine the bread flour, salt, yeast, spices and toasted pecans.
2. In a small mixing bowl, add the water, pumpkin purée and honey. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
3. Fold the pumpkin mixture into the flour mixture, combining just until all of the flour is absorbed.
4. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for 12 to 18 hours.
5. Place the dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape it into a ball.
6. Place the dough on a large sheet of parchment paper, and place the dough and parchment paper back in the bowl, cover it with plastic wrap, and let it rise for 1 hour.
7. Preheat the oven to 450⁰ F.
8. When the oven has reached temperature, place an empty big pot or Dutch oven with a lid in the oven for 30 minutes.
9. Remove the hot pot from the oven and use the parchment paper to lift the dough from the bowl and gently place it in the pot.
10. Cover the pot and return it to the oven and bake for 30 minutes.
11. Remove the pot from the oven and carefully lift the bread from the pot. Let it cool on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes before slicing—or until you can’t wait another minute.

ChefSecret:  I use a heavy bottom Dutch oven as that gives the best bake with a super texture. The internal temperature of the bread when fully baked is 190⁰ F to 210⁰ F.

Quip of the Day:  What do you get if you divide a pumpkin’s circumference by its diameter? Pumpkin π
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Do you have a question or comment? Send your thoughts to [email protected]. All recipes and cooking tips are posted on our website https://www.perspectives-la.com/covid-19-survival-guide.
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To you and everyone dear to you, be strong, positive, kind, thankful, and stay well and safe. Take a breath and count your blessings, and if you have a little extra to share with others, including those still suffering the effects of the recent hurricanes. Please consider donating to Feeding America, Tunnel to Towers, Union Rescue Mission, Samaritan’s Purse and/or American Red Cross.

#Baking #Pumpkin #PumpkinBread #YeastBread #Nutmeg #Allspice #Cinnamon #HolidayRecies #2024Recipes #URM #T2T #FeedingAmerica #RedCross #PerspectivesTheConsultingGroup 

                                                                            ©PERSPECTIVES/The Consulting Group, LLC, 2024

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