Cooked pumpkin purée gets such a beautiful caramelised taste, that it is a joy to eat any dish made with it.
Delicious recipe savoury - sweet recipe and a must try.
RECIPE Bring a large pan of salted water to the boil. Add the pumpkin flesh and simmer steadily until soft and cooked through, about 20 minutes. Drain the pumpkin well and reserve the cooking liquid. Mash the pumpkin thoroughly and sieve, or puree in a food processor or blender, about 2 minutes. Leave the pumpkin purée and the reserved cooking liquid to cool until tepid. Sprinkle the yeast into 60ml of the reserved cooking liquid (or water, if using canned pumpkin purée). Leave for 5 minutes; add the honey and stir to dissolve. | YIELD 1 loaf RISING 1.5 hours PROVING 1 hour OVEN TEMPERATURE 220 deg C / 425 deg F BAKING 40 minutes YEAST ALTERNATIVE 15 gms |
Gradually mix in the flour to form a fairly firm, coarse, sticky dough. If the mixture is too dry, add a few tablespoons of the pumpkin cooking liquid (or water if using canned pumpkin purée).
Turn the dough out on to a lightly flavoured surface, Knead until very smooth, silky and elastic, about 10 minutes.
Put the dough in a clean bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave to rise until doubled in size, about 1.5 hours. Knock back, then leave to rest for 10 minutes.
Shape the dough into a round loaf. Place on an oiled baking sheet and cover with a tea towel. Prove until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Brush the dough with egg and milk glaze and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
Bake in a preheated oven for 40 minutes until golden coloured and hollow sounding when tapped underneath.
Leave to cool on a wire rack.