Pumpkin Challah - #BreadBakers

Oy with the [pumpkins] already!


Please tell me that you get that reference. Please also tell me that I am not the only one frantically re-watching seven seasons of Gilmore Girls in order to be ready for The Revival in November. I'm not? Great! So which episode are you on? I just started and am on season 1 episode 13 and by my calculations, I am a day behind schedule. No worries though - we have a holiday weekend coming up and methinks I will spend more than a little time watching Gilmore Girls. Some persons will be gallivanting at the beach, I'll be curled up watching Gilmore Girls. I'll pretend to have a life after November 25. I'm not even ashamed to admit that I have already watched the series at least 4 times. The last time was at least 5 years ago though so it's definitely time for a refresher.To make this viewing a little different, I am also listening to the Gilmore Guys podcast. Two guys talking about the Gilmores. Quirky but fun.

I could go on and on about how much I am loving Netflix' promotion of the series. The Instagram photos are fun. But turning coffee shops across the US and Canada into Luke's diners? GENIUS. As I was saying, I won't dwell too much because I know that you already know these things. You feel the same way. You're binge watching with me too and counting down the days to November 25. I guess we can then move on to pumpkin challah.

Tired of pumpkin yet? I probably would be if I had hopped on the pumpkin bandwagon earlier. The theme for this month's Bundt Bakers is fall fruits and vegetables. There was definitely a lot to choose from but I still found myself gravitating towards pumpkin. I just have not used it often so it still feels new to me. I love braiding dough so I easily gravitated towards making a challah. It's definitely not traditional but it sure is delicious.

Pumpkin Challah

(Yield: 2 1lb loaves)

Ingredients

2 eggs

3/4 cup mashed pumpkin

1/2 cup melted shortening

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast

2 teaspoon cinnamon

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

4 cups flour

1/4 cup water

1 egg + a tablespoon of water for egg wash

Directions

Whisk together eggs, pumpkin, shortening, sugar,  yeast, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and ginger until sugar is mostly dissolved. Add the flour and enough water to form a soft and slightly tacky dough. The dough should not be sticky. Knead until it's soft and cohesive then placed in a greased bowl to rise until doubled. The length of time will depend on the temperature of your kitchen.

When the dough has risen, divide the dough into two equal pieces. Divide each half into four equal pieces. Roll the pieces into logs about 12 inches long. Braid each set of four pieces into a round braid following the instructions here. Let rise until doubled.

Before the braids have doubled, preheat oven to 350 F. When the braids are ready, brush with egg wash then bake 25-30 minutes or until golden.

This month's for BreadBakers', we are baking bread with fall fruits and vegetables, for example, apples, grapes, pears, sweet potatoes, cauliflower, broccoli, acorn squash, butternut squash etc. Our host of the month is Pavani at Cook's Hideout. Check out what our fellow bakers have come up with:

• Apple & Olive Oil Boulé from Food Above Gold
• Apple Cider Muffins from A Baker's House
• Apple, Pear and Persimmon Stuffed Brioche from A Shaggy Dough Story
• Baked Cauliflower Breadsticks from Sneha's Recipe
• Broccoli Burger Buns from Herbivore Cucina
• Brown Sugar Pumpkin Apple Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chilli and Cheddar Potato Rolls from Mayuri's Jikoni
• Easy Apple Banana Bread from Food Lust People Love
• Figs Quick Bread from Basic N Delicious
• Harvest Bread with Sweet Potato from Cook's Hideout
• Kartofel Khleb - Russian Potato Bread from Ruchik Randhap
• Potato Bread Rolls from Gayathri's Cook Spot
• Pumpkin Challah from Passion Kneaded
• Sauerkraut-Nut Bread from Palatable Pastime
• Savoury Potato Rose Rolls from Sara's Tasty Buds
• Spiced Apple Star Bread from Hostess At Heart

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. You can see all our of lovely bread by following our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated after each event on the #BreadBakers home page.
We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient. If you are a food blogger and would like to join us, just send Stacy an email with your blog URL to foodlustpeoplelove@gmail.com.