It’s the time of year for cooking fresh and homemade. Company’s a comin! And you KNOW that starting off from scratch is the real deal. And NOTHING says LOVE more than a kitchen-crafted loaf of soft country bread. Like, what could be nicer when the weather’s cold than a warm slice of homemade pumpkin bread.This bread is glorious! Its made from a simple country white bread recipe with an added dollop of home-roasted pumpkin puree (or even a scoop of organic canned pumpkin puree).

Less than half of a mini cantelope-sized pumpkin’ll do ya for this bread if you’ll be cooking it up the slow food method. But it’s okay to use canned organic pumpkin puree (no sugar added) cause that also works well.

So if you’re making pumpkin pie (like my sister did) using fresh pumpkin for the holidays, save a little for this awesome little bread recipe and you’ll be amazed how delighted your guests will be. This bread doesn’t have a pumpkin pie flavor (because pumpkin recipes usually have cinnamon, cloves and nutmeg — this doesn’t). So the result is just bright and moist and countrified. Oh, and the orange color is pretty dang cute, did I mention that?

We left the city for the river house to join with family and friends — and to count our blessings.

 The Merced River this time of year is cold. The salmon are starting to spawn and there’ll be no fishing on the river soon as the river closes down for the winter to let the salmon run.

We’re gathered around the fireplace, reading good books, chatting and cooking up some fun food events for the fam. Since we prep the food on the bar in front of the fire, the whole house grabs a bar stool to watch the action – and maybe to snatch a taste or two of the food action. Won’t you join us for a nice slice or two of this incredible easy-to-prepare homemade pumpkin bread? I think you’re going to love it, I really do.

Click HERE to check out our easy instructions on how to roast a mini pumpkin for pumpkin puree. Basically, just clean a mini pumpkin and throw it in the oven at 350 until it becomes fork tender (like a baked potato), then scrape out the pumpkin and puree it in a food processor or blender until it becomes a thick paste.

Ingredients:
3 cups bread flour
3 Tablespoons unsalted butter
3 Tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2-1/2 teaspoons yeast (we used bread machine yeast in a jar)
1 cup warm water
1/2 cup organic pumpkin puree (or fresh roasted room temperature pumpkin puree)

How to made homemade pumpkin bread:

1.) Mix all ingredients in a large bowl with a wooden spoon until it holds together.

2.) Sprinkle it with a little flour and work with your hands until the tacky or sticky feeling disappears. When the tacky feeling disappears, move it to the countertop.

3.) Set a timer and knead the dough, pressing firmly with the heels of your hands, for 10 minutes.

4.) Shape the dough into smooth disc and place it in large buttered bowl and cover with plastic wrap.

5.) Let the covered dough rise for 1 hour in a warm spot (like the oven with just a light on inside).

Here’s what it looks like when it has risen for 1 hour…

6.) Remove the dough from the rising bowl and knead it for 1 minute and shape it for final baking shape. Place the shaped dough into a buttered bread pan.

7.) Let the dough rise uncovered for 1 hour or until the bread just starts to rise over the top of the bread pan. I like to spray it with a light spray of water a few times to keep it moist.

8.) Bake it in pre-heated 350 oven for about 30 minutes until golden brown (internal temperature shoud be about 185 degrees).

Now you’ve got yourself a country soft servin bread, whoo hoo!

Serve it warm with honey butter. yum! Store the bread wrapped in wax paper or in a brown paper bag or wrapped in parchment.

Thank you for joining me on this homemade bread making journey! Check out our vintage cake recipes at Bake This Cake! and we’ll have some history fun in the kitchen together.

Let me know how it goes if you choose this bread recipe for your holiday table (and remember I love photos)! 😀

Leslie

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