(Recipe courtesy of Sunny Side Up in San Diego- http://jessicainsd.blogspot.com/search/label/Pumpkin).
This was delicious. I'm going to be honest, it took a loonnngggg time to make. Although it was a lengthy process, it wasn't too difficult and was very tasty! This is a perfect recipe for Fall :)
Okay, my pictures are not that great because I don't have a very good camera! Sorry about that!
Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
-For the bread-
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
-For the glaze-
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
**The original recipe called for 1 Tbsp. rum instead of vanilla. I'm not a huge rum fan, so I opted for vanilla instead. It just depends on what you prefer!
Directions
In a saucepan over medium heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter. This happens fairly quickly so be careful not to let it burn!
Once browned, add the milk. Stir to heat through.
Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of standing mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and let it sit for about 2-3 minutes so that it can cool down a bit. Add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar. Stir to combine and then let it sit for about 10 minutes (this is a baking technique called 'proofing'). DO NOT STIR, just let it sit :). After the 10 minutes are up, it should look foamy and cloudy.
Next, add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined then add the rest of the flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. I ended up adding an extra 3 tablespoons of flour to get the batter to the right consistency. You don't want it to be too sticky.
Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size. I waited about 1 hour and 15 minutes.
While dough is rising add the sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg to a bowl. Melt 2 Tbsp. of butter and add to the cinnamon-sugar mixture. I used my *clean* hands to mix the butter and the cinnamon-sugar mixture together. You want to make sure that the butter is evenly distributed within the mixture. Set aside.
Next, grease and flour a 9x5 loaf pan and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
When the dough has doubled in size, flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20x12 inch rectangle (it doesn't have to be a perfect rectangle). Evenly sprinkle the dough with the cinnamon sugar mixture and press into dough.
Cut the rectangle into 6 strips. Then cut each strip into six equal squares (cut in half then each half into thirds). Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. **I made a mistake here and stacked the strips in the pan horizontally instead of vertically. Either way will work! When you move the strips to the pan, some of the cinnamon-sugar will fall off. Sprinkle what you have left over onto the dough once it is in the pan.
The original recipe said to let the dough rise in the pan for another 30-40 minutes before baking. I let mine sit for about 15 minutes and then put it in the oven (I got a little impatient LOL), but it worked out just fine!
Bake for 30-40 minutes. Mine took about 35 minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the glaze. Heat the butter, milk and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then remove from the heat. Whisk in the vanilla and powdered sugar until you have created a nice glaze. If it is too thick, add more milk.
Remove from the oven and top with the glaze.
YOU MUST MAKE THE GLAZE! It wouldn't be the same without it!
It was legitimately a pull-apart bread. So yummy!
Love, Alex
