Sugar and Spice

I don't know about you, but I'm a huge fan of pumpkin-flavored baked goods, be it fall, winter, spring, or summer. Today's post is a variation on a recipe I found for pumpkin pull-apart bread. It was the first time I'd tried making it, and it was a huge success...so much so that it was demolished by the end of the day. It's a yeast bread, so it takes a little while to prepare and make, but I promise the end result will be worth the time and effort you put in. Also, anyone who tastes it is liable to fall in love with you. It's really a win-win. 

Pumpkin Spice Pull-Apart Bread

Ingredients

Bread

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1/2 cup milk

2 1/4 tsp (one envelope) active dry yeast

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup white sugar

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 cups bread flour

2 Tbsp unsalted butter

1 cup white sugar

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

Spiced Maple Syrup Glaze

2 Tbsp maple syrup

1/4 cup milk

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

1/8 tsp ground ginger

3/4 cup powdered sugar

Directions

In a saucepan over medium high heat, brown two tablespoons of butter. You want it to bubble and turn a dark golden brown, but be careful not to let it burn (or turn black). Once it's browned, remove the butter from the heat and carefully add the milk, then return it to the stove and heat thoroughly (you want the milk to be at least room temperature - I warmed mine up in the microwave a little before adding it to the butter, so the milk wouldn't clump). Pour the milk and butter mixture into a bowl and allow it to cool a little, to about 100-110 degrees. While it's still warm, add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar, then allow it proof for about 8 minutes. The top should look foamy and the liquid a little cloudy. Mine looked like this...

Add the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined, then add the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Knead for 6 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic. It should still be slightly sticky, but if it's too moist, add a little extra flour one tablespoon at a time.

Move the dough to a slightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow it to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes, until it's about doubled in size. Mine went from this...

to this.

When the dough is almost done rising, brown 2 more tablespoons of butter. In a separate bowl, combine the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Grease a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside.

When your dough has doubled in size, punch it down (always my favorite part) and flip it out onto a clean and floured surface. Knead for 1-2 minutes, then roll into a 20x12 rectangle, or as close as you can get to it (personally mine turned out looking like some kind of mutant sea creature, so don't worry if you can't get a perfect rectangular shape). If your dough is too difficult to roll, you can cover it with a towel and let it relax for a few minutes before trying again. After your dough is rolled out, brush the browned butter over it and sprinkle the cinnamon-sugar mixture on top, pressing it into the dough with the palms of your hands. Cut your rectangle (or amoeba) into about 6 strips, as even as you can get them. Lay the strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 pieces. Stack the pieces of dough vertically into your loaf pan. It should look something like this...

Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes. In the meantime, preheat oven to 350 degrees. When your dough is finished rising, bake the bread for 30-40 minutes, or until it's a deep golden brown (mine took exactly 35 minutes).

To prepare the glaze, simply combine the syrup, milk, spices, and sugar in a saucepan over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture starts to bubble slightly. Remove from heat and set aside.

When the bread is done baking, let it cool for a few minutes, then loosen it from the sides of the pan with a knife and flip it upside-down onto a large plate. Drizzle the glaze (generously) over the top, and voila! Finger-lickin' goodness. 

I hope you fancy this bread as much as my roommate and I did. It's a little time-consuming to prepare, but there's something about bread-making that's a bit abstractly spiritual to me. I couldn't help but think about the fact that act of kneading and baking bread is one that people have been engaging in pretty much since the beginning of life. As a student of history, I'm always profoundly struck by any connections we're able to make today with the generations of the past. At any rate, roll your sleeves up, throw some flour around, and get bakin'. Enjoy!

Lauren