Fall is all about the changing leaves, the beautiful colors, Halloween, apples and of course pumpkin.
I open my Facebook Page every day and for the past few weeks all I can see is pumpkin this and pumpkin that and all I can think of is “oops, I have pumpkin nothing”. Yeah I’ll admit, I’m not a pumpkin fan, these pumpkin pies going around? They don’t do anything to me, in fact, from some reason pumpkin for me is associated with baby food. Don’t ask me why, but that’s how it is.
So I figured that making something with pumpkin puree and adding one of my favorite (oh so sweet) ingredients might be a good way to expose my taste buds to pumpkin.
I made this yeasty loaf, rolled with cookie butter (Biscoff Spread) that I got from Israel which lead me to discovering two things:
1. They don’t sell cookie butter here in Halifax, too bad.
2. Cookie Butter Pumpkin Laves can evaporate.
I have to find a way to get my hands on some cookie butter around here; I’ve made it my next goal and mission. Just thinking about all the good stuff makes me drool on my keyboard.
But back to pumpkin and fall and all, it appeared that the pumpkin made the dough softer and the baked loaf came out so fluffy and sweet. Apparently pumpkin enhances stuff, it also makes things orange (which is my favorite color) so you know what? I’m in. Pumpkin it is.
- 500gr All Purpose Flour
- 1 ½ Tbsp Yeast
- ½ Cup White Sugar
- 1 Cup Lukewarm Water (you may need less)
- ¼ Cup Vegetable Oil
- 3 Tbsp Pumpkin Puree
- 8 Tbsp Cookie Butter (Biscoff Spread) – or any other spread (Nutella, Peanut Butter etc.)
- 1 Beaten Egg for brushing (optional)
- In a stand Mixer Bowl place the flour, yeast and sugar.
- Add in the oil, ¾ cup water and pumpkin puree and start mixing slowly (Using the kneading attachment). If you see that the dough is too dry and stiff, add a bit more water gradually until what you get is a soft, even dough.
- Remove the dough from the bowl into a floured surface and roll the dough a bit in the flour until it is covered with it to avoid sticking.
- Divide the dough into 2 equally sized halves and set one aside.
- Using a rolling pin flatten the first piece of dough into a ½ inch thick rectangle. Flour the surface and the dough/ rolling pin a bit while you work on it to avoid sticking.
- Place 4 tablespoonfuls of cookie butter spread (or any other) onto the flattened dough and spread it gently using a spatula. Be careful not to press too hard against the dough so you don’t tear it.
- Once you’re done spreading the cookie butter, roll the dough lengthwise (so you end up getting a long roll) and cut the roll in the middle, scoring it into 2 long halves (you will see the filling now and each half will look like layers of dough and filling)
- Gently connect the ends of the 2 halves (just like you would when braiding) and start swirling the two halves together (just like a screw or a braid with two strands only). Make sure that when you do this, the part with the exposed filling is facing up.
- Transfer into a greased and floured loaf pan and continue to do the same with the other half of the dough.
- Cover the 2 loaf pans with a clean kitchen towel and let the loaves rest until they rise and almost double in size (about 40 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350F (180C)
- After 40 minutes, gently brush the loaves with the beaten egg (optional) and place in the preached oven for 25-30 minutes.
