Pumpkin Challah Bread

I don't know what my obsession with bread baking is. I never get tired of baking yeast breads. If I can find more people to eat the bread I bake, I probably will bake more often. Here is an experiment of pumpkin challah. I tried one of the challah recipes and incorporated pumpkin puree into it. If you are an orange lover, add a TBSP of zest, use orange juice instead of water to make it a perfect autumn bread.

One Year Back - Pumpkin Chocolate chip bread
Two Years Back - Vegan Sourdough Chocolate Cake with peanut butter glaze
Three Years Back - Sourdough Pumpkin Spice Cake
Ingredients:  Makes two 8 X 4 loaves or two braids.
All purpose flour - 5 cups
Salt - 1 1/2 tsp
Active dry yeast - 2 1/2 tsp
Sugar - 1/2 cup
Oil - 1/3 cup
Eggs - 2 large
Pumpkin puree - 1/2 cup (measured in dry measuring cup)
Warm Water - 1/2 cup
Sweetened dried cranberries - 1 cup (optional)

Egg Wash:
1 egg mixed with 1 TBSP of water. (You will have left over egg wash)

Method:
Place oil, salt, sugar, water, eggs, pumpkin puree,flour and yeast in this order in the pan of the breadmachine and start on dough setting. When the machine beeps, add the dried cranberries if using. Let it complete the dough cycle. This dough doesn't rise much. When the dough cycle is complete, punch down the dough and divide into two parts. Either make braids dividing each part into three and braiding or shape into a loaf. Place in greased 8 X 4 pan if baking as loaves. You can keep the braids on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Cover and let rise for 45 minutes. It will not become double in size. Take care not to let it rise too much. If that happens, it will collapse after baking in the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Before placing the loaves in the oven, brush with egg wash. Bake for 25 minutes and then reduce the oven temperature to 325. Continue to bake for 20 - 25 minutes or until golden brown on the top and the bottom sounds hollow when tapped. Brush the loaf with melted butter or oil after taking out of the pan if desired. Cool completely before slicing.
If you want to make it by hand, refer to this post for the method for making the dough: Basic White Bread. 

This post is written for weekend cooking post that I write with Srivalli  and  Vaishali.