Pumpkin Brioche

Well technically I should call this Heirloom Blue Hubbard Squash Brioche but that just sounds a little unappealing now doesn’t it. So let’s just keep things easy and stick with pumpkin. Now, I know that my posts from the last few months have been a little pumpkin overkill but can you blame me for taking advantage of the plethora of winter squashes available? And it was just Thanksgiving so I would dare to say that NOT having a holiday pumpkin post would be plain wrong.

So anyway, I was heading home for break with an interesting vegetable in tow, a blue hubbard squash I picked up as the farmers market for a dollar. I had zero plans for it and it had been sitting in my pantry for two weeks.  I can only imagine what my roommate thought of me every time she saw the bulbous object, grey, rough, and elephantine, propped alongside my pretzels and pasta like some sort of Jurassic fossil. But the kind man who sold it to me swore it was sweeter and smoother than a pumpkin, so I was sold…but what to do with it.

I looked to the farmers market for yet another idea. A week earlier I bought a delicious loaf of pumpkin brioche, but for $5 per mini-loaf I was determined to make it for my own. So I eventually I found this recipe and tried it out with my curious little squash. And oh was it delicious. Not only does it make three medium-large loaves, but somehow my own bread was such lighter, more tender, and of course was quite the bargain comparably.

I started by roasting my squash, letting it caramelize a bit before pureeing the flesh. The grayish blue skin actually imparted this slight green hue to the yellow flesh giving the squash puree an odd neon color yet, despite the funny look, it tasted purely like pumpkin and was unbelievably smooth. In my mixer I combined the squash with flour, yeast, and a load of eggs before finally slowly mixing in two whole sticks of butter, letting the fat coat each and every gluten strand for maximum tenderness. I impatiently waited as it rose slowly in the fridge overnight but the dough the next day was soft and supple and easily formed into tight, spongy loaves. They came out of the oven looking picture perfect; marbled, deep-brown and flaky crusts encased the hidden, yet soon-to-be-discovered, orange and squishy crumb.

As if I have not expressed this enough, this bread is so soft. I’m sure that the cup of butter is the culprit but think that the addition of the velvety squash made it even more supple than just regular brioche. And we took advantage of this bread’s culinary uses in any way we could. The next day my mom and I soaked thick pieces in milk, eggs, and vanilla and cooked it on a griddle for custardy and sinful French toast. We ate it for breakfast, both toasted and not, smeared with mascarpone cheese, walnuts, and a drizzle of honey. We had it as a side to our Thanksgiving dinner, lightly coated with butter. And today, I even put leftover turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and spinach between two slices of the bread for the ultimate Thanksgiving leftover sandwich. It is perfection.

Pumpkin (or squash) Brioche
adapted from Hungry Oyster
makes 3 loaves

Don’t be afraid by how long the bread takes. The actual labor involved with making the bread is really simple and the dough it quite easy to work with. Also, don’t be tempted to add too much extra flour. The dough will be sticky at first but the gluten will really toughen and relax as it sits overnight and it becomes much easier to work with.

Ingredients
For the sponge:
¼ cup milk, at room temperature
2½ tsp. instant yeast
1 cup pumpkin or squash puree, canned is fine but fresh is suggested
1/3 cup sugar
1 cup bread flour (I used King Arthur organic)

 For the dough:
5 cups bread flour
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
6 large eggs, room temperature and lightly beaten
2 sticks softened unsalted butter

For the egg wash:
1 egg, lightly beaten with 1 tsp. water

First make the sponge. In the bowl of a standing mixer, whisk together the milk and yeast and let sit for 5 minutes. Add the pumpkin or squash puree, sugar, and 1 cup of flour to the milk and yeast. Stir to form a paste, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place for 30-40 minutes.

After rising, place the bowl in the standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the 5 cups of flour, salt, cinnamon, and eggs and mix on low for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and let the mixer knead the dough for about 5 minutes while occasionally scraping the dough off the paddle. Then, on a medium low speed, add the butter, 2 Tbs. at a time. Let the dough incorporate the butter and then continue mixing for about 5 minutes or until everything is combined and the dough is shiny and smooth.

Scrape the dough from the bowl and form into a ball, adding any extra flour as needed, but again be careful to not add too much. Transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and roll around to coat the surface of all the dough with the oil. Cover the bowl and let rise at room temperature for 2 hours. After this time, punch down the dough, reform it into a ball, and cover again with plastic wrap. Let rise in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day, remove the dough from the fridge and transfer to a lightly floured surface.  Lightly oil three 9 X 5 X 3 inch loaf pans. Cut the dough into thirds and use a floured rolling pin to roll to roll each piece onto a rectangle that is 1½ times as long as the loaf pan and twice as wide. Starting from the short side, roll up the dough like a jellyroll sealing the loose edges and ends when you reach the end. Place the dough into the pan, seam side down and gently press down on the dough to spread it out across the bottom of the pan as much as possible. Cover the three loaves with a towel and let rise for 2 hours.

10 minutes before the dough is done rising, preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Once the oven is heated, prepare the egg wash and brush over the tops of all three loaves. Place the tins in the center of the oven and cook for 10 minutes. Then lower the temperature to 350 and then continue to cook for 30 minutes, rotating the tins halfway through, until the crust is deeply golden and glossy. Remove from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes. Remove the bread from the tins and continue to cool on a rack until room temperature. Best if eaten within 3 days.