Pumpkin Brioche

Pumpkin, butter, pumpkin spice... It may seem like a fall recipe, but I don't think there's any time of year that this won't caress the tastebuds.

Source: The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Recipes by Beth Hensperger

Ingredients:
3 tbsp warm water (105-115ºF)
1 tbsp dry yeast
Pinch of sugar
1 cup pumpkin purée
3 3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 cup light brown sugar (packed)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature, cut into pieces


Rising time: 4.5 hours plus overnight refrigeration
Baking time: 15-17 minutes

Instructions:
1. Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve until frothy, about 10 minutes.

2. In a large bowl or Kitchen-Aid mixer with the paddle attachment, combine the pumpkin, 1 cup of the flour, brown sugar, salt, and spices. Add the yeast mixture and beat until smooth.

3. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Slowly add 2 more cups of flour. Then add the butter a few pieces at a time, beating until well combined. Add the remaining 3/4 cups of flour and beat until creamy. The dough will be soft, sticky and resemble batter.

4. Scrape the dough into a greased container. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled or tripled in bulk, about 3 hours. 

5. Gently deflate the dough and refrigerate overnight.

6. Upon removing from the refrigerator, deflate the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured countertop. Grease three 1/2-inch fluted brioche tins or two, dozen muffin tins. Divide the dough into three equal pieces, then divide each third into five equal portions. Form each piece into a ball and place into a brioche tin or muffin cup. Use floured kitchen shears to snip a 1/2-inch deep X into the top of each piece of dough. Let rise at room temperature for 1-1 1/2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.

7. Twenty minutes before baking, preheat the oven to 400ºF. Arrange the rack so it is in the middle of the oven. Put the brioche tins or muffin tin in the oven and bake for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350ºF and bake 5-7 minutes longer, or until buns are golden and a cake tester or toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to cooling racks and allow to cool before serving.

Results:

I expected a little more flavor out of these, but they do taste good heated up with a dollop of butter. If I make again, I would add some additional spice to give it more flavor.

Coffee Cake with Salmonberries & Cinnamon Streusel

My Bible study devoured this crumby and moist coffee cake.

Okay, so I admit. This isn't really a scone or a bread recipe, but I was looking for something simple to make for a Bible study, and this fit the bill. 

Although it has to bake for 40-50 minutes, throwing it together was relatively simple, something I could do in half an hour  at the most. And it sounded divine. Who doesn't like coffee cake?




Source: The Dahlia Bakery Cookbook: Sweetness in Seattle by Tom Douglas



Ingredients:

Streusel--
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
6 tbsp unsalted butter, diced, cold

Cake--
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 cup unsalted butter, softened, plus more for pan
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup sour cream (I used Greek yogurt)
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups frozen raspberries/blueberries (I used salmonberries)

Instructions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350F. Grease a 9x13-inch baking pan and set aside.

2. Streusel: Combine flour, sugar and cinnamon in a medium-sized bowl for the streusel topping. Add the diced butter, blending with a pastry blender or fork until it looks like coarse sand. Set aside.

3. Cake: Sift together flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a bowl and set aside. 

4. In a Kitchen Aide mixer with the paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Scrape down the bowl and add the eggs one at a time. Beat each egg in well before adding the next; scrape down the bowl as needed.

Mix in the sour cream (or Greek yogurt), vanilla extract, and salt.

Add the dry ingredients 1/3 at a time, mixing until just blended together.

With a rubber spatula, gently fold in the berries. The batter will be thick.

5. Bake 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the cake is golden and a cake tester comes out clean with a few crumbs attached.

Allow to cool 10-15 minutes before serving. Serve warm.

Serves 12.

Traditional Scones with Raisins

Working through several cookbooks which I got for my birthday this past year, I just had to try these "traditional scones" from The Bread Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum. 

These are simple scones with only six ingredients.

Butter, Egg (beaten), Buttermilk, Raisins, Sugar

Ingredients:

2 3/4 cup self-rising flour
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cut into pieces and cold
1 large egg, beaten
3/4 cup buttermilk
3/4 cup raisins

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 425ºF. Combine self-rising flour and sugar in a food processor and pulse to mix. Add the chopped butter and pulse until incorporated into a sandy texture (8-10 pulses).

2. Mix the beaten egg and buttermilk together.

3. Transfer dry mixture to a large bowl and add the egg-buttermilk mixture. Stir with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon until it comes together into a soft, shaggy dough. (You may have some unincorporated bits, but that's fine.)

4. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured countertop and knead a few times to bring together.

5. Knead the raisins into the dough. Flatten the dough out to 1/2 inch height and, using a round cookie cutter, cut out scones, rejoining scraps as necessary.

6. Bake at 425F for 15-18 minutes, or until golden on top.

7. Remove and let cool for 10 minutes.

Graham Bread

Source: The Bread Bible: 300 Favorite Bread Recipes by Beth Hensperger

Ingredients:

4 1/2 cups warm water (105-115ºF)
2 tbsp yeast
1 cup brown sugar
1 2/3 cups instant nonfat milk powder
8 tbsp butter, melted
3/4 cup molasses
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp salt
4 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
3 cups graham flour
9-10 cups all-purpose or bread flour
egg glaze


Time: 
Prep and Kneading-approximately 30 minutes
Rising-approximately 3 hours
Baking-40-45 minutes


Instructions:
1. Pour 1/2 cup of the hot water into a small bowl, along with the yeast and a pinch of brown sugar. Allow to sit for about 10 minutes, or until foamy.

2. In your Kitchen-Aid mixer, using the paddle attachment, combine the remaining 4 cups water, dried milk, brown sugar, butter, molasses, and salt. Add the yeast mixture and the eggs. Beat to combine. Add the graham flour one cup at a time, and beat until smooth. Add the flour, one cup at a time, until the dough becomes shaggy and just pulls away from the sides of the mixer bowl.

3. Switch to a dough hook and knead until the dough is soft and springy (8-9 minutes, or 10 minutes by hand). Do not make your dough too firm, or it will be stiff and difficult to work with.

4. Place the dough in a large, greased container and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise for 1.5 hours, or until doubled. Gently punch dough down and allow to rise for another 45 minutes.

5. Gently deflate the dough and turn out onto a lightly floured surface. Grease your 9-by-5 inch pans (4) or line your baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide the dough into 4 equal portions and shape as desired. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until the dough rises 1 inch over the edge of the pan, or roughly doubled in size (about 30 minutes).

6. Preheat the oven to 350ºF at least 20 minutes before baking. Brush the tops of the loaves with the egg glaze. Bake 40-45 minutes or until golden. If baked in a pan, cool for 5 minutes in the pan and then transfer to a cooling rack, laying each loaf on its side to cool. Cool completely before slicing.

Pictures:

First Rise.

Shaped and ready to rise. This is 75% of the dough.

The final 25% of the dough I shaped into rolls and froze after the first rise.

Second rise.

Second rise.

Baking using the bottom of a cloche.

Baked.

Results:

This is a slightly sweet bread that goes well with a bit of butter spread on top.