Now that October is here I can finally start baking with pumpkin! This past weekend I kicked off pumpkin season at my house with a loaf of spiced pumpkin toasting bread. It turned out to be just the right start. This quick bread (quick as in less than 5 minutes to assemble) is absolutely delicious and makes a perfect breakfast when toasted.
This bread is a great alternative to store-bought English muffins and is actually based on a King Arthur recipe for English Muffin Toasting Bread. To give it a fall flavor, I simply added some cinnamon and then swapping the oil for pumpkin. I also replaced the white sugar for brown sugar to add a little depth of flavor.
I always keep two different kinds of cinnamon in my baking cabinet and often use both together.
The first is King Arthur Vietnamese Cinnamon and I love this for a good all-purpose cinnamon. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing my Pampered Chef Cinnamon Plus is! The cinnamon base is mixed with very subtle touches of nutmeg, allspice, and orange peel. I add this blend to so many recipes and always use it when a recipe calls for apple or pumpkin pie spice.
The bread is extremely easy to assemble but requires a little planning ahead because it has to rise for 45 minutes to an hour.
Begin by preparing your loaf pan. The original recipe calls for greasing the pan and then sprinkling cornmeal around it. I have a great little trick for greasing pans that works every time for me. I have yet to have a cake or bread stick when I do this. To grease the pan, mix 1 T. melted butter with 1 T. all-purpose flour. Using a pastry brush (I prefer silicone), brush the mixture all around the pan. This works really, really well with bundt pans, too.
The bread dough will be very sticky when you pour it out of the mixer. It won't take long for it begin to bubble and rise. You don't want it to rise much above the top of the loaf pan. This won't take much longer than about 45 minutes, so don't leave it for too long. I have found that covering it very lightly with a dish towel while it rises instead of using plastic wrap works best. The plastic tends to stick to the bread and then it deflates a little when you remove it. You can see by the pictures below how it puffs up and rises.
The picture directly above shows just how much to let it rise.
Now it's your turn to grab a can of pumpkin and get started on your fall baking if you haven't already!
Spiced Pumpkin Toasting Bread
3 C. all-purpose white flour (I used King Arthur for this recipe)
2 T. light brown sugar
1 1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1 T. instant yeast
1 C. milk (I used 2%)
1/4 C. water
3 T. canned pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie filling)
Grease one loaf pan and sprinkle with cornmeal.
Combine flour, brown sugar, salt, baking soda, yeast, and cinnamon in the bowl of a standing mixer.
Heat milk and water in the microwave for about 1 1/2 - 2 minutes until temperature of liquid is between 120 and 130 degrees. Add liquid and pumpkin to the flour mixture and mix at medium speed for just a minute. The mixture will be really sticky but do NOT add extra flour.
Pour mixture into prepared pan. Using slightly wet hands, smooth the top of the dough. Cover with a dish towel and let the bread rise for 45 minutes - 1 hour or until the bread has risen just to the top of the pan or barely over the top.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 30 minutes. Allow to cool. Slice and toast.
