PUMPKIN ROLLS WITH RUM FRUITS

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When I came back from my Hamburg trip it started snowing here in Bar Harbor. The thick, wet flakes soon melted from the streets but left the garden a wintery mess - no way to get rid of those pesky maple leaves covering lawn and flower beds now.

The first snow in our street

Hanaâ's ABC-bakers had posted their Cranberry Pumpkin Rolls for November already, but all their appetizing photos convinced me to tackle those little golden rolls, albeit belatedly, too.

Combining pumpkin, cranberries, raisins and crystallized ginger with warm spices like cinnamon and cloves was very tempting (the smell!) and just the right thing for this cold, unfriendly transition from fall to winter.

As ususual, I adapted King Arthur Flour's recipe to my preferences, exchanging a quarter of the white flour with whole wheat, reducing the salt, and, since the crystallized ginger was sugary, also the amount of sugar. Most important, I gave the dried fruits a bath in rum!

Dried fruits for the rum soaker

A slow overnight rise (with less yeast!) allowed the rich ingredients to meld and develop their flavors. And with pumpkin inside - why shouldn't there be pumpkin seed on top, too?

The little, soft rolls were so delicious that we devoured them within two days (I made half the recipe). Thanks to the long, cold fermentation they had a mellow spiciness, and the rum soaked fruits were soft and plump without any harsh alcoholic note.

With jam or just with butter: delicious!

PUMPKIN ROLLS WITH RUM FRUITS (nach King Arthur Flour)
(16 small rolls)

Fruit Soaker:
64 g dried cranberries
64 g golden raisins
53 g crystallized ginger, diced
1/8 cup/60 ml rum

FINAL DOUGH
18 oz/510 g all-purpose flour
2 oz/57 g whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cloves
1.4 oz/40 g brown sugar, light or dark
1 tsp./6 g salt
2 1/4 tsp./0.3 oz/7 g instant yeast
6 oz/170 g/3/4 cup canned pumpkin (or homemade*)
rum fruits (with soaking liquid)
2 large eggs
3 oz/90 ml water (or more, depending on the water in the pumpkin)
2 oz/57 g/4 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
egg, slightly beaten with a little water, for egg wash
pumpkin seeds, chopped, for topping

*homemade pumpkin puree see Dan Lepard's recipe) 


DAY 1
In the morning:
Mix dried fruits and rum in a small bowl, cover and leave to soak, stirring now and then.

In the evening:
Mix all dough ingredients at low speed (or with wooden spoon) until they come together (1-2 minutes). Let rest for 5 minutes. Knead at mediump-low speed (or by hand) for 6 minutes, adjusting with a little more water or flour as needed (dough should be soft and a bit sticky).

Then work the dough with stretching & folding as described here (S&F 3-4 times).  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl or container, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

After the last S & F the dough is ready for the fridge

DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using. It should have almost doubled in volume, if not, let it rise longer.

Divide dough in equal pieces and shape into rolls

Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 16 equal pieces, roughly 2.75 oz/78 g each. Shape pieces into rolls. Place rolls, smooth side up, on parchment-lined or perforated baking sheets. 

Shaped rolls before rising...

Brush rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds, pressing seeds lightly to adhere. Cover, and let rise for about 1 hour, or until they have grown at least 1 1/2 times their original size (finger test: a dimple should remain visible).

Preheat oven to 350ºF/175ºC. No steaming.

....and ready to be baked

Bake rolls for 20 - 25 minutes (rotating pan 180 degrees after half the baking time for even browning), until golden brown (internal temperature at least 190⁰F/90ºC). Turn rolls out onto a wire rack to cool.

Freshly baked - you can eat them warm

Serve warm or at room temperature.

STORAGE: Wrapped in plastic foil, the rolls can be kept at room temperature for three days. Or you can place them in a ziploc bag and freeze them.

For BreadStorm users (also the free version) here the interactive formula to download:
Submitted to YeastSpotting

SPELT PUMPKIN BREAD

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It's October, almost November, but from the glorious sunshine and balmy temperatures you wouldn't think it is.

Only waking up when it's still dark, and having dinner in the kitchen instead of the porch are reminders of the upcoming winter.

Pumpkins are everywhere. The pumpkin dish I grew up up with, and loved, were my Pomeranian grandmother's wonderful pickled sweet and sour pumpkins.

Every year she bought one of those giant pumpkins, and, during an afternoon of hard labor, cut it down, cooked it with sugar, vinegar and spices, and filled a long line of glasses with golden pumpkin chunks embedded in aromatic syrup.

Every family member received his or her share, to be served with roasts and rice dishes.

My Omi was a great cook (with my son Per, age 3)

After "striking gold" with Dan Lepard's wonderful Pumpkin Whey Bread, I got back to one of my seasonal German breads, Kürbisbrot ("Pumpkin Bread").

It doesn't have such an interesting ingredient like whey (also hard to come by, if you are not in the yogurt making business.) But the German cousin is made with spelt, and therefore a little heartier.

The autumnal pattern is made with a large, leaf-shaped cookie cutter, pressed into the dough before it rises.

Both pumpkin breads share the same golden crumb, and nutty crunchiness from the toasted pumpkin seeds - and both taste equally good!

Golden crumb and nutty crunch makes pumpkin breads so good

 
SPELT PUMPKIN BREAD

Pumpkin puree and seeds

150 g water, lukewarm (95ºF/35ºC)
    4 g instant yeast
500 g whole spelt flour (or 1/2 spelt + 1/2  bread flour)
  11 g salt
    3 g dark brown sugar
½ tsp. cinnamon
 1 tsp. ground ginger
28 g/2 tbsp. butter, melted
212 g pumpkin puree (1/2 can)
  60 g pumpkin seeds, toasted

milk, for brushing (optional)


DAY 1
Stir yeast into the warm water, to dissolve.

Add all dough ingredients in mixing bowl. Stir together for 1 - 2 minutes at low speed (or with large wooden spoon), until all flour is hydrated. Let dough rest for 5 minutes.

Knead dough for 2 minutes at medium-low speed (or by hand), adjusting with more water as needed, (dough should be smoother but still sticky.) Continue kneading for another 4 minutes. Dough should be still slightly sticky. 

Transfer dough to lightly oiled or wet work surface. With wet or oiled hands, pat and stretch dough into a rough square. Fold it from top and bottom in thirds, like a business letter. Repeat with sides left and right.

Pick dough ball up, tucking sides under, and place it, seam side down, in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover, and let rest for 10 minutes. Repeat this stretch and fold 3 times. After the last fold, place dough in oiled container with lid, and refrigerate overnight.

The pumpkin dough has a beautiful golden color

 DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using.

Preheat oven to 450ºF/230ºC, including a steam pan.

Shape bread into a (not too tight) ball and place it, seam side down, on a parchment lined baking sheet. Brush it with milk, and using a large leaf shaped cookie cutter, press down deeply to score. Mist loaf with spray oil and cover with plastic wrap (or clean kitchen towel).

Use a large leaf shaped cookie cutter for the scoring

Let bread ferment at room temperature for 45 - 60 minutes, until it has grown to 1 1/2 times its original size, and dough doesn't spring back when gently poked with a finger.

Place bread in oven, pour a cup of boiling water into steam pan, reduce heat to 400ºF/200ºC, and bake bread for 20 minutes. Remove steam pan, rotate loaf 180 degrees, and continue baking for another 15 - 20 minutes, until the bread is golden brown, and registers at least 195ºF/90ºC on an instant-read thermometer.

Cool bread on a wire rack.

Lighter pumpkin breads with half spelt and half bread flour.

Completely updated and re-written post (original was posted 10/2010)

Submitted to Panissimo:  Bread & Companatico                                       
                                        Indovina chi viene a cena                                             
This month's Panissimo is hosted by Menta e Rosmarino

PUMPKIN WHEY BREAD - STRIKING GOLD

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I'm baking a lot, but, since it's summer, mostly for sale.

And then there are other time consuming projects like painting windows (with some tireless mosquitoes for company), massaging my husband's cramped neck (after installing aforementioned windows), and hunting for those friggin' Japanese beetles that turn my raspberry leaves into lace.

Beetle "lace"!

My list of "Equal Opportunity Breads" still waits for more items to be checked off - I did some more, but got a bit listless after a few stubborn loaves just didn't turn out the way I liked.

But in a recent weekend edition of "The Guardian", master baker Dan Lepard published an interesting bread made with whey instead of water. From my last batch of Greek yogurt I had a lot of whey left over, sitting in my fridge, while I wondered what to do with it.

Pumpkin Whey Bread was just what I was looking for!

Ingredients for Pumpkin Whey Bread: pumpkin puree, seeds, and whey

Dan Lepard cooked fresh butternut pumpkin for his puree, but here in the US good quality canned pumpkin is readily available, and preparing and draining pumpkin puree a time consuming process.

I always have a supply of pumpkin puree in my pantry (to satisfy a sudden craving for pumpkin pancakes or pumpkin chocolate chip muffins). But for those who don't (or prefer making their own), I'll include a link to the procedure.

What I like about Lepard's loaves is his minimalistic approach to kneading. Much as I admire Richard Bertinet's breads: compare his 30-minute-complete-upper-arm-workout to Lepards 10 seconds of gentle handling.

Normally I would use a stand mixer, but this soft dough can be easily (and less fussy) made by hand.

Preferring longer fermentation (with less yeast!) I mixed the dough the day before, and let it slowly rise overnight in the fridge. And, (for the good conscience,) substituted some white flour with whole wheat.

The crumb has a beautiful golden color

My Pumpkin Whey Bread turned out really nice. It had a delicate crisp crust, and a rich, dark golden crumb. Very flavorful, it is a true multi-purpose bread, and can be enjoyed with ham as well as jam. It is also good for toasting.

Stored in a brown paper bag, it keeps fresh for several days.

Wet ingredients for Pumpkin Whey Bread plus yeast and seeds

PUMPKIN WHEY BREAD  (adapted from Dan Lepard/The Guardian)
(2 loaves or 24 rolls)

450 g good quality canned pumpkin (like Libby's or 1-Pie) (for homemade: click here)
450 g whey, lukewarm
    5 g instant yeast (down from the 7 g of the original recipe)
200 g pumpkin seeds, toasted and cooled
  40 g olive oil (50 ml)
900 g bread flour
100 g white whole wheat flour
  18 g salt (4 tsp)


DAY 1
In a large bowl, mix pumpkin puree, whey and yeast until well combined. Stir in pumpkin seeds and oil, then add flour and salt. Using your hands, mix until all flour is hydrated, and you have a soft, sticky dough. Cover with plastic wrap, and let it rest for 10 minutes.

The dough will be soft and sticky

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled work surface and, with oiled hands, knead briefly (10 seconds), then place it in lightly oiled container, turn around to coat with oil, cover, and refrigerate overnight.

DAY 2
Remove dough from refrigerator 2 hours before using.

Mighty overnight rise means the yeast can be safely reduced

Divide dough into 2 equal pieces (or 24 pieces for rolls, about 90 g each). Shape 2 oval or round loaves (or rolls), place loaves, seam side up, in floured rising baskets (rolls seam side down on parchment lined or perforated baking sheets).

Place shaped loaf, seam side up, in floured banneton

Sprinkle breads with flour, and cover with plastic foil or a clean kitchen towel. Let loaves (or rolls) rise for 45 - 60 minutes, or until they have grown 1 1/2 times their original size (finger poke test: a dimple poked in the dough should not fill again, only come back a little bit.)

Preheat oven to 425ºF/210ºC, including steam pan. For the loaves, line baking sheet with parchment paper.

The bread is sufficiently proofed when it has risen by half

Turn breads out onto prepared baking sheet. Using a lamé or sharp knife, score in desired pattern. (Rolls: re-flour, if necessary, and slash across the middle).

Ready for the oven!

Place breads in the middle of the oven, (bake rolls on 2 tiers, using convection mode*), or keep second sheet in a cool place, until the first batch is done), steaming with 1 cup boiling water.

After 20 minutes, remove steam pan, rotate breads 180 degrees, and continue baking for another 20-25 minutes (rolls: 15-20 minutes), or until they are golden brown, sound hollow when thumped on the bottom, and register 195ºF/90ºC (instant thermometer).

Let breads cool on wire rack.

*)I bake breads usually with convection mode, my oven reduces the temperature automatically.

Submitted to YeastSpotting

Submitted to Panissimo:  Bread & Companatico

                                        Indovina chi viene a cena                                            

Rain and Pumpkin - Regen und Kürbis

It's raining cats and dogs, the first cold rainy days after a glorious spring and summer. Speaking of dogs - Buffy didn't even want to put a paw outside this morning! Now, of course, being near a 550 degrees hot oven means cozy comfort, not an ordeal, like a few weeks earlier.

Now pumpkins are everywhere, and remind me of my grandmother's wonderful Pomeranian Pickled Pumpkins. Every year she bought one of those giant pumpkins, and, during an afternoon of hard labor, cut it down, cooked it with vinegar and spices, and filled a long line of glasses with golden pumpkin pieces embedded in aromatic syrup. Every family member received his or her share, to be served with roasts and rice dishes.

I'm thinking of the perfect bread to celebrate the season. Last year I baked a whole spelt pumpkin bread that was quite good, but this year I wanted to make it even better - and nicer to look at.

Giant cookie cutters are a great way to score and decorate a bread. But its pattern shows best when the dough is not too dark. Therefore I lightened this year's pumpkin bread with some white flour. The result: a tasty and beautiful loaf celebrating autumn.

Draussen regnet's junge Hunde, der erste kalte und regnerische Tag nach einem glorreichen Frühling und Sommer. Da wir gerade von Hunden reden - Buffy wollte heute morgen nicht mal eine Pfote nach draussen setzen! Natürlich ist es jetzt sehr gemütlich, sich in der Nähe eines 260 Grad heissen Backofens aufzuhalten, nicht so eine Strapaze wie vor ein paar Wochen.

Überall sieht man Kürbisse, sie erinnern mich an Omis wunderbare eingelegte Pommersche Kürbisse. Jedes Jahr kaufte sie einen dieser Riesenkürbisse, zerteilte ihn in einem Nachmittag harter Arbeit, kochte ihn mit Essig und Gewürzen und füllte eine lange Reihe Gläser mit goldenen Kürbisstücken, eingelegt in würzigen Sirup. Jedes Familienmitglied erhielt seinen oder ihren Anteil, um ihn zu Braten oder Reisgerichten zu servieren.

Ich habe über ein perfektes Brot zur Feier der Jahreszeit nachgedacht. Letztes Jahr habe ich ein ziemlich gutes Weizenvollkorn-Kürbisbrot gebacken, aber dieses Jahr wollte ich es noch besser - und dekorativer - machen.

Riesenausstechformen eignen sich sehr gut, um Brot einzukerben und zu verzieren. Aber das Muster ist dann am besten erkennbar, wenn der Teig nicht zu dunkel ist. Deshalb habe ich das diesjährige Kürbisbrot mit etwas weissem Mehl aufgehellt. Das Ergebnis: ein leckeres und schönes Brot, um den Herbst zu feiern.