Braided Fresh Pumpkin Bread

This mellow yellow loaf is really just a soft white bread with the goodness of pumpkin baked into it.

Ingredients:

2 1/2 tsps instant yeast

2 tbsps warm water (105°F)

1 cup mashed pumpkin

1/3 cup warm milk

1/4 cup soft butter

1 egg

2 tbsps brown sugar

1/4 tsp salt

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

1 egg, beaten

I cooked up this small pie pumpkin and had enough mashed pumpkin for this recipe plus a couple others coming to the blog soon! Just cut in half and scoop out the seeds, or even easier leave it whole and pierce a few times. Then roast in a 375°F oven for about 45 minutes or until it can be pierced easily. Once cool enough to handle scoop out the pulp. Or if cooked whole, cut in half, remove the seeds then scoop it out, mash it and it's ready to use.

Or buy pumpkin purée in the can, but not pie filling!

Dissolve yeast in warm water and let stand for 10 minutes. Then combine the mashed pumpkin with warm milk and butter and add to the activated yeast. Add the egg and brown sugar. Now add flour, about 1/2 - 1 cup at a time until well combined and a soft dough forms.

Knead 5 minutes on a floured surface, or just a couple of minutes if you let the mixer do most of the work, until smooth.

Place in a large greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm place for 1 hour.

And after 1 hour the dough will have risen nicely!

Turn dough out of the bowl and cut into thirds. Roll each piece into an 18" rope then braid the pieces together. Pinch the ends and tuck then underneath the bread.