Pumpkin Shaped Pumpkin Bread (vegan)
This adorable pumpkin shaped pumpkin bread is the perfect fall centrepiece. It looks impressive but is actually really easy to make! A lightly spiced pumpkin flavoured bread dough is tied with string before baking; as the dough bakes it bulges out between the strings, forming pumpkin shaped segments.
Servings 2 loaves
Equipment
- kitchen string/twine (do not use synthetic string)
- Stand mixer with dough hook (optional)
- lame (optional)
Ingredients
Dough:
- 600 g (5 cups) white bread flour
- 10 g (3 teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast
- 10 g (1 ¾ teaspoons) salt
- 3 teaspoons pumpkin spice
- 270 g (1 cup + 2 Tablespoons) pumpkin puree
- 80 g (¼ cup) maple syrup
- 73 g (⅓ cup) olive oil
- 120 g (½ cup) water
Glaze:
- 1 Tablespoon non-dairy milk
- 1 Tablespoon maple syrup
- 1 teaspoon olive oil
Decoration:
- 1 pecan nut, split in half lengthways
- 2 small bay leaves (optional)
Instructions
- To make the dough, combine the flour, yeast, salt, pumpkin spice, pumpkin puree, maple syrup, oil and water in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.600 g (5 cups) white bread flour, 10 g (3 teaspoons) instant/fast action yeast, 10 g (1 ¾ teaspoons) salt, 3 teaspoons pumpkin spice, 270 g (1 cup + 2 Tablespoons) pumpkin puree, 80 g (¼ cup) maple syrup, 73 g (⅓ cup) olive oil, 120 g (½ cup) water
- Knead on medium speed for about 10 minutes until smooth and stretchy, it may not reach a windowpane stage due to the pumpkin. The dough should be soft and very sticky but not wet. Alternatively you can knead the dough by hand on an un-floured surface. Use a bench scraper to unstick the dough from the surface as needed.
- Use oiled hands to shape the dough into a ball, place it in an oiled bowl, cover and set aside to rise until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
- Punch down the risen dough, give it a brief knead to knock out any air then divide it in half. Shape each half into a neat ball by pulling the sides into the centre and pinching them together. Flip the dough seam side down, cup it with your hands on either side and roll it until it is smooth; you are trying to create surface tension but don't go so far that the surface tears.
- Cut 8 long pieces of string, about 43 cm/17 in long. Lay two of them in a cross shape on the work surface, then lay another two across the first two, to create 8 spokes radiating from a centre point.
- Place one of the shaped balls of dough seam side up on top of the middle of the string. Bring the opposite ends of each piece of string up and over the loaf and tie them together on top of the dough. The string should sit loosely on the surface of the dough, not cut into it. Trim the long ends close to the knot.
- Repeat with the other ball of dough, flip them over and place well spaced apart on a lined baking sheet. Loosely cover with oiled clingfilm and set aside to rise until puffy, about 45 minutes. The dough should have started to bulge out between the pieces of string and if you press it gently with a fingertip it should spring back slowly most of the way but leave a small indentation. If it springs back quickly and fills in all the way then they need a little bit longer.
- While the dough is rising preheat the oven to 200℃/180℃ fan/400℉/gas mark 6. To make the glaze stir together the milk, maple syrup and oil in a small bowl.1 Tablespoon non-dairy milk, 1 Tablespoon maple syrup, 1 teaspoon olive oil
- Once the dough has risen, use a lame or sharp knife to score each of the dough sections. You can cut a single slash up the middle of the section, or make smaller, angled cuts. You can also make snips with a pair of kitchen scissors.
- Gently brush the dough with the glaze (or dust with flour instead) then bake for 30-35 minutes until the loaves are deep brown and the temperature in the centre registers 90°C/194°F on a probe thermometer or they sound hollow when tapped on the base.
- Allow to cool for 10 minutes then snip the strings and pull them out of the grooves. Brush the loaves with melted vegan butter or maple syrup if you like. Use a pair of scissors to cut a small X in the centre of the loaves and push a pecan nut half into the hole to make the stems, add a bay leaf as well if you like.1 pecan nut, , 2 small bay leaves
- Allow the loaves to cool completely on a wire cooling rack before serving.
Notes
- See post above for tips, details, storage instructions and step-by-step photos. If you have a question about the recipe I may have already answered it above!
- USE SCALES. As with all of my baking recipes I really do recommend using the metric measurements with a digital scales rather than the cup conversions. Cups are a wildly inaccurate measuring system and you will get far better, more consistent results using a scale, not to mention that it is also easier and less messy than cups!
- When tying the strings to shape the loaves, make sure to tie them loosely so that there is room for the dough to expand.