Pumpkin Wheat Bread Loaf. Vegan Recipe

Wow, its been months since I posted a bread recipe. Well technically I did post a whole lot of breads in October. Remember all the different Pizza crusts! All of the yeasted bready crusts can easily be converted into bread loafs or buns 🙂

This simple loaf has the leftover canned pumpkin Puree after making the Pumpkin Black eyed pea Chili the other day. The pumpkin addition makes for a moist and soft bread.



The loaf in the pictures is a plain loaf. Not savory or sweet, with a mild Pumpkin flavor. It works perfectly as Sandwich bread with beany burgers, or just toasted side with anything. You can add a bit of sweet and spices to the dough, for a subtle pumpkin pie taste and make delicious French Toasts. 
Or add dried herbs, onion flakes and a bit more salt to go the savory way. Thats the fun thing about Pumpkin:) It works any which way. 
Shape the dough into small buns, roll them in pumpkin pie spice + sugar, and place them half an inch apart in a baking dish for pull apart buns. 



For Vegan yeasted breads see here
For Glutenfree yeasted breads see here



Pumpkin Wheat Bread Loaf. Yeasted Sandwich Bread
Allergy Information: Dairy, Egg, Corn, Soy, Nut free.
Makes 1 medium 8.5 by 4.5 inch bread pan. Double the recipe for a regular 9 by 5 bread loaf

Ingredients:
3/4 cup water
1 Tablespoon raw sugar
1 Tablespoon active yeast
1/2 cup Pumpkin puree
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon extra virgin olive oil(optional)
1 cup wheat flour
1 cup bread flour
1 Tablespoon vital wheat gluten (optional)

Variations: Make the loaf sweeter with additional 3 Tablespoons sugar and a teaspoon of  pumpkin pie spice.
Make it savory/herbed, with 1/4 teaspoon more salt and a Tablespoon of dried herbs of choice.

Method:
In a large bowl, add 1/4 cup warm water, sugar and yeast. Mix well and let sit for 10 minutes or until frothy.
Mix salt, flours and gluten in another bowl. Add the flour and the other ingredients to the yeast mixture and knead for 5-6 minutes.
Knead into a soft dough.
Spray water on top the dough, cover the bowl with a towel and let rise for 1.5 hours or until doubled.(The bowl should be large enough to accommodate double the size of the dough. Else sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough to avoid sticking to the towel)
Take dough out and using 2-3 Tablespoons of bread flour knead for a minute and shape into a loaf.
Shape by either rolling the dough out into a rectangle and rolling up from one edge to the other like a jelly roll, or by making a ball and pulling from all sides and tucking under to make a loaf shape.
Place shaped dough in parchment lined or greased bread pan.
Spray water on top.
Sprinkle oats on top so the towel doesnt stick to the dough and also to make the loaf look pretty.
Cover with towel. Let the dough rise for 30 minutes.
Bake in pre-heated 360 degrees F for 35-40 minutes for a single loaf, 30 minutes for pull apart rolls.
Remove from pan and cool for 10 minutes before slicing. Enjoy warm with a dollop of earth balance butter.
Store in the refrigerator in a bread bag/ziplock for upto a week.



Another fun and easy Infographic via Peta! Though there are soy options, those can easily be substituted out.