This time of year I love baking. Who am I kidding, I will bake any day of the year as long as I have a working oven and flour in the pantry. Heck, even if the oven was broken, I would probably figure out how to bake on the grill or run next door to my neighbor’s house with a bowl of cookie dough, praying she will let me use her oven!
Bottom line…I love to bake. But, there is something special about all those aromatic breads, cookies, scones, muffins, cakes, pies, tarts, biscotti, pastries…oh, sorry, I got carried away. All those yummy baked goods filled with tons of spices, nuts and ingredients that just seem to mark the beginning of Fall and the holiday season. Of course, you have all those wonderful apple and pear recipes that just scream Fall. But, let’s face it, it’s all about the pumpkin. I love making all my traditional recipes for pumpkin muffins, cookies and the like, but sometimes I like to get a little crazy and dream up something new. Well, this recipe did just that. I took a recipe I had for a pumpkin yeast bread and used it as the base for my Pumpkin Swirl Bread recipe. I take this bread to the next level by filling it with nuts, butter, cinnamon and what else…chocolate! Now, don’t get scared. Give it a try. When you take that first bite of the light, airy, pumpkin bread and then get that sweet surprise of the filling, I guarantee, you will be in pumpkin heaven.
- ½ cup plus 2 tablespoons water (70° to 80°)
- ½ cup canned pumpkin
- ¼ cup butter, softened
- ¼ cup nonfat dry milk powder
- ¼ cup packed brown sugar
- 2¾ cup bread flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice blend
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 package (1/4 ounce) Baking Yeast
- ⅓ cup light brown sugar, packed
- 1½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
- 1 Tablespoon butter, softened
- ⅓ cup walnuts or pecans
- ⅓ cup chocolate chips (optional)
- Place ingredients in bread machine pan in the order suggested by the manufacturer. Select dough setting.
- When Dough Cycle is done, turn out onto a floured surface and let rest for a few minutes.
- Finish with Assembly and Baking Instructions.
- Place warm water and brown sugar in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast over water and let soften for 5 minutes.
- In a large mixing bowl, combine pumpkin, butter, and dry milk powder. Mix on medium speed for 1 minute.
- Add yeast mixture and mix just until combined. Sift together flour, spice, and salt.
- Gradually add flour mixture, a little at a time, to wet ingredients. Mix on low speed with a dough hook for 10 minutes making sure all flour has been incorporated.
- Turn dough onto floured surface and knead 2-3 minutes until smooth.
- Place in buttered bowl, cover with a cloth and let rise about 1 hour until double.
- Punch down and let rest for a few minutes.
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- For the filling, combine ⅓ cup brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Turn dough onto a floured surface and roll out with a floured rolling pin into a 14 x 9 inch rectangle. Spread with 1 tablespoon of butter over the entire surface of the dough. Sprinkle with filling. Spread nuts and chocolate chips evenly over dough.
- Starting from both short sides, roll up each side into a spiral toward the center. Place rolled side up, in a greased 9 x 5 loaf pan. Cover and let rise for about 30 minutes or until nearly doubled.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until bread sounds hollow when lightly tapped.
- If necessary, cover the last 10 minutes of baking to prevent over browning.
- Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.
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