This yeast bread made with puréed butternut squash is deliciously moist and full of the flavours of Autumn. Plus, it's a great way to get some extra veggies in your baking.
Prep time: 25 mins
Proofing time: 2 hours
Bake time: 35 - 40 mins
Total time: 2.5 hours
Ingredients:
400g Risen Mighty White Bread Flour
175ml whole milk
7g yeast/one packet
56g butter
50g honey
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
180g butternut squash, cooked and pureed
Handful of seeds to decorate - pumpkin, sunflower, sesame
1 egg
Method:
In a large bowl, mix the yeast, salt, nutmeg and Risen flour. In a small saucepan, gently heat the milk, butter and honey until melted and lukewarm. Add this to the dry ingredients and mix together. We did by hand but if you are using a stand mixer, use a low setting for 2 minutes. Add the cooked squash and beat on high 2 minutes. The dough will be fairly sticky to start with.
Turn dough onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 6-8 minutes in a stand mixer and 10 minutes if kneading by hand. The dough should feel smooth when finished.
Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, which should take one hour.
Punch down the dough. Turn onto a lightly floured surface and shape gently into an oblong. We flattened it then folded the dough over like an envelope and tucked in the sides. Cover with kitchen towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled, which should take about 45 minutes.
Preheat oven to 200C. Brush the top with beaten egg and sprinkle with whatever seeds you'd like. Grease a 7" by 4" bread tin and line with parchment paper. Bake for 30 - 35 minutes until dark golden brown. Cover loosely with foil for a further 5 minutes to prevent overbrowning.