Pumpkin Brioche
Romance is something that has changed for me over the years. When my husband and I first started dating, flowers and chocolates were the standard. I loved it when I’d open the door and see him grinning from behind a beautiful bouquet, perhaps with a box of chocolate hidden behind his back. After almost five years together, two of them married, I’m amazed that he still does things like that. But I also think it’s funny how certain things are amazingly romantic nowadays - things that I probably wouldn’t have noticed or appreciated as much pre-marriage. Like when he makes the bed in the morning, or when he spends time cleaning the kitchen after I’ve cooked dinner because he knows I hate waking up to a messy apartment.

And then there are times when he completely outdoes himself, times when he makes my jaw drop and thoughts like “How on earth did I get so lucky??” run through my head. Times like this weekend, when he came home with a huge bag from ‘Bed, Bath & Beyond’ and I found this inside:

Yes, I added the sparkle. It was the only way to approximate the ‘heavens parting and angels singing’ feeling in text form. Whee!
Is it just me, or are kitchen appliances incredibly romantic? Needless to say, we couldn’t wait to make something with our new mixer. I decided to make brioche because after hand mixing and kneading breads for so long it was one of the few that required too much mixing/kneading for me to do it by hand. I looked through all my baking books and finally decided on pumpkin brioche. Spiced with ground cinnamon, nutmeg and cloves, this bread smells heavenly and tastes divine.

The recipe is from one of my all-time favorite books, “The Bread Bible” by Beth Hensperger. I’ve posted three recipes from it before so this will be the last one (I have this rule about never posting more than four recipes from a book), but if you are ever in the market for an amazing collection of fool-proof recipes, this one is definitely worth getting. Chapters include quick breads, picnic breads, pancakes, waffles, crepes, popovers, muffins, celebrations breads, whole grain breads, and more, for a total of 300 delectable recipes. My favorites? Mexican Morning Buns, Spiced Applesauce Muffins, Bohemian Sweet Rolls, Hot Cross Buns with Dried Fruit, and Apple-Walnut Bread. I generally don’t like cookbooks without pictures, but I’ve been so happy with everything I’ve made that I’m more than willing to overlook it in this case. Also, I should note that Hensperger includes directions for mixing by hand and with a machine, as well as two chapters on making breads with food processors and bread machines. The recipe for pumpkin brioche was for brioche a tete but I wanted to make a loaf, so I modified the instructions using a basic brioche recipe found in “Breakfasts & Brunches” as a model.

Pumpkin Brioche
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Recipe is after the jump! I’ve included Hensperger’s by-hand instructions also - my arms were never strong enough to do it but if you happen to have a teenager in the house you may be able to bribe them into doing all the manual labor. This bread tastes especially good with a generous swath of apricot butter spread over a thick slice.

Pumpkin Brioche
Adapted from “The Bread Bible” by Beth Hensperger and “Breakfasts & Brunches” by The Culinary Institute of America.

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons warm water (105 to 115 degrees F)
• 1 tablespoon (1 package) active dry yeast
• Pinch of sugar
• 1 cup fresh or canned pumpkin puree at room temperature
• 3 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon grated nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature. Plus 1 egg for the wash.
• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter at room temperature, cut into small pieces
• Egg wash: 1 egg yolk whisked with 1 tablespoon whole milk

Pour the warm water in a small bowl. Sprinkle the yeast and a pinch of sugar over the surface of the water. Stir to dissolve and let stand at room temperature until foamy, about 10 minutes.

In a large bowl using a whisk or in the work bowl of a heavy-duty stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the pumpkin, 1 cup of the flour, sugar, salt and spices. Add the yeast mixture and beat until smooth.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Gradually add 2 cups more flour. Add the butter a few pieces at a time and beat until incorporated. Add exactly 3/4 cup more flour and beat until creamy. The dough with be soft, sticky and batter-like. (It will not look like regular bread dough, that’s ok!) Switch to a wooden spoon when necessary if making by hand.

Scrape the dough into a greased deep container. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at a cool room temperature until doubled or tripled in bulk, about 3 hours. Gently deflate the dough and cover it tightly with plastic. Refrigerate overnight.

Gently deflate the dough. Turn out onto a floured surface, flour your hands and gently form into a large ball. Pat into a flat circle shape large enough for the dough to be divided into 8 equally sized pieces. Cut into 8 pieces using a knife or pizza cutter, then shape each piece into a ball and place in a lightly greased loaf pan in two rows of four. Brush the dough lightly with egg wash, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise at a cool room temperature until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Half an hour before baking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Place the pan on a rack in the center of the oven and bake for 20 minutes . Reduce the thermostat to 350 degrees F and bake 10-15 minutes more, or until the loaf is browned, slightly crisp and has a hollow sound when tapped. Remove from oven and cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then remove from pan and cool completely on a wire rack before slicing and serving.