Double Braided Pumpkin Bread

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Posted by Kirbie / 2 comments » / Bread, Pumpkin

Those pumpkin bread rolls I previously made disappeared pretty fast. I decided to make them again, but instead as loaves. I made one regular loaf to be used for French toast at a later date. I also decided to try my hand at a double braided loaf. It looks pretty cool and it’s easy to make because it’s basically just one braid sitting on top of another braid.

I was happy with how my first double braided bread came out. I actually didn’t want to cut into it because I didn’t want to ruin the shape. The bread recipe, as I previously mentioned, is super soft. This is definitely making my Thanksgiving table dinner this year. I even put the leftovers in the fridge and it still maintained its softness days later.

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Double Braided Pumpkin Loaves

Yield: 2 loaves

Ingredients:

4 3/4 cups All-Purpose Flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast
15-ounce can pumpkin
2 large eggs
1/4 cup melted butter

Directions:

Combine all of the dough ingredients, and mix and knead them with the dough hook attachment on your mixer until you’ve made a smooth, somewhat sticky dough (I kneaded mine in the machine for 5 minutes). Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours; it should have expanded somewhat, but won’t be wildly puffy.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, divide it into four pieces. For each of the four pieces, divide them into another three pieces. Roll out three pieces to be long ropes about 1/2 inch in diameter. Make braid with the 3 ropes. Repeat with other pieces so you have four braids total. Pick two pieces to be the bottom pieces of the braided loaf. Then put a braid on top of each. Cover with plastic wrap for about 90 minutes, until they look puffy, though not doubled in bulk.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 35-40 minutes, until lightly browned and an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center reads 190"F (I didn't bother with the instant read thermometer. I just inserted a knife into it).

Recipe from King Arthur Flour