Pumpkin Milk Bread

I love this pumpkin milk bread with a moist, soft and slightly dense texture. The final brush of melted butter over the hot crust gave the bread a nice buttery aroma with a soft and slightly matte glossy shine. To me, by adding some mashed pumpkin paste to the dough, the bread seems to emulate brioche with less butter and egg 😋😉

Raw dough weight: 631g

Pan size: 26Lx9Wx7H cm

Baking temperature: Preheat oven to 190℃, bake at low rack, at 180℃ for 15 minutes, 170℃ for 15 minutes, off oven for 5 minutes.

Ingredients

250g bread flour

30g superfine wholegrain flour

40g raw cane sugar

3g instant dry yeast

1/8 tsp vanillin powder, optional

50g natural yeast, 100% hydration*

65g steamed pumpkin, mashed

110g milk, cold

10g evaporated milk/milk

20g beaten egg

25g cold water, to be added depending on dough condition

3g fine salt

30g unsalted butter, softened

Some milk for brushing before baking

Some melted butter for brushing after baking

* natural yeast can be replaced by 25g each of bread flour and water.

Directions

1. Mix bread flour, superfine wholegrain flour, raw sugar, instant dry yeast and vanillin powder in a big mixing bowl.

2. Gradually add in natural yeast, pumpkin paste, milk, evaporated milk, and beaten egg. Stir in one direction till all the ingredients form into a big lump. Add the water gradually depending on the moisture level of the dough.

Cover the dough and let it rests for about 15 to 20 minutes to under autolysis.

3. Knead the dough using a hand mixer fitted with a pair of dough hooks for about 2 to 3 minutes, or till the dough becomes smoother.

Add the salt, and continue to knead of about 30 to 60 seconds.

Knead in the softened butter. Stop kneading when the butter is well incorporated to the dough.

Perform about 300 to 500 sets of "slapping and folding" till the dough reaches window pane stage.

Window pane: the dough can be stretched into a thin membrane

Shape the dough into a ball, spray some water over, cover with a lid, and let it  proof for about 60 minutes.

After 60 minutes of proofing.

4. Invert out the dough onto a floured worktop.

Deflate and divide into 4 portions.

Shape the cut dough into 4 balls,

cover and let them rest for about 15 minutes.

5. Roll out the dough into a flat dough of about 1cm thick.

Flip over and fold in the two wings towards the center.

Slightly roll flat and roll up into a log.

Place the shaped dough into the pan pre-coated with a thin film of butter. Spray some water over, cover with a tea-cloth, and let the dough undergo second proofing for about 45 minutes, or till the top reaching the rim of the pan.

End of second proofing.

6. Preheat the oven to 190℃ for about 10 minutes. While waiting, brush a coat of milk over the top of the dough.

Bake at lower rack at 180℃ for 15 minutes, lower to 170℃ for 15 minutes, turn off the oven and bake for 5 minutes.

Invert out the bread immediately after leaving the oven.

Brush a coat of melted butter over the hot crust. 

Let the bread cool down before cutting 😋