Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread

This time of year continues to have me yearning for all things pumpkin. I'm a huge fan of pumpkin quick breads, but I had never attempted a yeast bread that incorporated pumpkin. So, when I saw this recipe, I was excited to give it a try. Mmmm...this bread was so good! The pumpkin flavor is quite subtle, but it contributed a soft, moist quality to the bread that was just wonderful.

The dough was so easy to work with, not the least bit sticky. I did bake ours a bit differently, because when it was time to bake the bread, I realized that I didn't time my baking quite right and still had some whole wheat bread in the oven. Since I only have 1 large loaf pan, I ended up placing the pumpkin dough into mini loaf pans. This gave our bread a more "straight" appearance, but had I used a larger pan, I could have "staggered" the dough more. I think this would have made it prettier (you can see what I mean by clicking here for the original recipe). Still, it was fun to reach in and pull off a small piece, no knife or fork required!

While still delicious the next day, it's definitely best warm and gooey!

Pull-Apart Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bread

Ingredients:
Bread:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup milk, warmed slightly in the microwave
2 1/4 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups bread flour

Filling:
1 cup granulated sugar
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fresh ground nutmeg
2 Tbsp unsalted butter

Glaze:
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
1/8 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp milk
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp rum (I ommitted this)

Directions:

In a saucepan over medium-high heat, brown 2 tablespoons of butter, taking care to develop a nice caramel color. Once browned, remove the pan from the heat and carefully add the warm milk, return to stove and heat through. Pour the milk and butter into the bowl of stand mixer (fitted with a dough hook) and allow to cool to 100-110 degrees F. Once cooled, add the yeast and 1/4 cup of sugar and allow to proof (become foamy on top, around 8 minutes). Then add the the pumpkin, salt, and 1 cup of flour. Stir until combined then add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time and knead on low speed for 6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic and just slightly sticky. If the dough is too moist, add extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time.

Move dough to a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean towel. Allow to rise in a warm place for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.

While dough is rising, brown another 2 tablespoons of butter. Combine cinnamon, sugar, and nutmeg. Set both aside. Next, grease and flour a 9×5 loaf pan and set aside.

When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and flip out onto a clean floured surface and knead with hands for 1-2 minutes. Roll dough into a 20×12 inch rectangle. If dough is difficult to roll out, cover with a towel and allow to relax for a few minutes then try again. Brush browned butter over the surface of the dough and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar mixture. Cut the rectangle into 6 strips. Lay strips on top of each other and cut each strip into 6 even squares. Stack strips vertically into the loaf pan. Cover the pan with a clean towel and let rise for 30-45 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After rising in the pan, bake for 30-40 minutes or until top is a very deep golden brown.

To prepare the glaze, heat the butter, milk, and brown sugar in a small saucepan. Bring to boil then immediately remove the pan from the heat and stir in the rum and powdered sugar.

Drizze over bread shortly after removing from oven.

source: Sunny Side Up