Pumpkin Whole Wheat Bread

I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with all that frozen pumpkin puree I have in the freezer.  Well, I’m pondering no longer.  I’m getting back into old-fashioned bread making, and adding pumpkin to whole wheat yeast bread has been a winner.

We can only make or tolerate so many pumpkin pies and quick breads.  And pumpkin or squash soups go a long way too.  But who doesn’t love a piece (or two or three) of freshly baked bread and butter?

The recipe below was adapted from one of our favorite cracked wheat breads.   Quinoa flakes were used because no one in this household cared for them as a hot cereal.  The kneading takes a little time and effort, but the end product is well worth it.  The bulk of the time involved takes place when the dough is rising, and that just means you have to be in the vicinity.

Pumpkin Quinoa Whole Wheat Yeast Bread Recipe

1 ¼ cups quinoa flakes (or rolled oats or cracked wheat or mystery grain???)

1 ¼ cup boiling water

Pour boiling water over quinoa flakes and let stand for 20 minutes until it cools.  Set aside.

1 ½ cups pureed pumpkin or squash, thawed and warmed if frozen

¼ cup molasses or honey

2 T. Olive Oil

2 tsp. salt

Stir molasses, oil and salt into warmed pumpkin until well mixed.  Set aside.

¼ cup warm water – between 105 to 110 degrees

1  T. dry baking yeast

½  tsp. sugar

Dissolve sugar in water and stir in yeast.  Let stand 5-10 minutes until bubbly.  Set aside.

After quinoa mixture has cooled, stir in pumpkin mixture and mix well.  Stir in yeast mixture.

3 cups whole wheat bread flour

Mix in whole wheat flour 1 cup at a time.

3 or more cups unbleached flour

Mix in unbleached flour 1 cup at a time and knead until dough is no longer sticky and flour is absorbed.  Form into a large ball and place in an oiled bowl.  Cover with a damp towel.  Set in warm spot and let rise for 1 hour until doubled in bulk.  If you have no really warm spot, place bowl in the oven (do not turn it on) with a pan of hot water on the bottom shelf.

Punch the dough down and knead a bit to remove air bubbles and divide dough into 2 pieces.  Let rest for 10 minutes.  (Most recipes tell you this but I’m not sure what the resting is supposed to do.)  Shape each half into a loaf form and pinch the bottom pieces together.  Place into greased 8” x 4” bread pans and let rise for another 45 minutes.  Don’t just press the dough into the pans or the top will be flat instead of rounded.

Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  Remove from pans and let cool as long as you can hold out – it will slice better if you can wait, and probably digest better too.