Pumpkin Oatmeal Bread

A chilly fall day calls for a bit of bread baking...is there anything like the smell of bread in the oven?  Out popped one of my favorite cookbooks: Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.  I still love this cookbook...it makes bread baking so easy.  Not that bread is all that difficult for lazy butts like me.  I do 5% of the work and let my friend do the rest...

Even so, if you can make bread even easier than throwing it into the KitchenAid, I'm game.  This recipe for Oatmeal Pumpkin Bread did call for a bit more effort than previous recipes.   It all started with a little pumpkin.

This little sweet pie pumpkin about killed me.  Step one instructs one to "split pumpkin in half."  Much, much easier said than done.  I gave it a try with each and every knife in my arsenal to no avail.  I couldn 't even pierce the outside.  In the end, it was pumpkin vs. concrete patio floor.  Sadly for the pumpkin, it lost this battle.  A bit of roasting, mixing and rising and into the oven the bread went.  Fall + baking bread = happiness indeed.

This wasn't the typical bread bread recipe from the cookbook but was every bit as tasty.    This was that soft smooshy white sandwich type bread--the one that mom was always pulling out of the oven when you got home from school.  A bit of butter and honey, and I swear I felt like I was 7 again.

Pumpkin Oatmeal Bread
Adapted from Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

1 pie pumpkin
2 cups lukewarm water
1½ Tbs granulated yeast
1 Tbs kosher salt
5 Tbs unsalted butter, melted
1/3 cup agave nectar
½ cup old-fashioned oats
¾ cup whole wheat flour
¾ cup rye flour
4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
neutral- tasting oil for greasing the pan
egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 T. water)

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Split pumpkin in half starting at the stem and place cut side down on a silicone mat or a lightly greased cookie sheet. Bake for 45 minutes. The pumpkin should be very soft all the way through when poked with a knife. Cool slightly before scooping out the seeds. Scoop out the roasted flesh of the pumpkin and mash it with a fork or puree it in your food processor. Set aside 1 cup for the dough and reserve the rest for other recipes that utilize pumpkin puree.
2. Mixing and storing the dough: Mix the yeast and salt with the water, melted butter and honey in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container.
3. Mix in oatmeal, pumpkin, and flours without kneading, using a spoon, a 14-cup capacity food processor (with dough attachment), or a heavy-duty stand mixer (with a dough hook). If you’re not using a machine, you may need to use wet hands to incorporate the last bit of flour.
4. Cover (not airtight) and allow to rest at room temperature until the dough rises and collapses (or flattens on top), approximately 2 hours. (I moved mine to a clean, lightly oiled bowl and covered it with a dish towel).
5. The dough can be used immediately after the initial rise, though it is easier to handle when cold. Refrigerate in a lidded (not airtight) container and use over the next 9 days.
6. On baking day: lightly grease 9×5x3-inch nonstick loaf pan. Dust the surface of the refrigerated dough with flour and cut off a 1½ pound cantaloupe-sized piece Dust the piece with flour and quickly shape it into a ball by stretching the surface of the dough around to the bottom on all sides, rotating the ball a quarter- turn as you go.
9. Using a small amount of flour, form the dough into a loaf shape. Place the loaf in the prepared pan and allow to rest and rise for 2 hours (or just 40 minutes if you’re using fresh, unrefrigerated dough).
10. Twenty minutes before baking time, preheat the oven to 350°F., and place an empty broiler tray on any other shelf that won’t interfere with the rising bread.
11. Just before putting bread in the oven, brush the loaf with egg wash  and place it on a rack near the center of the oven. Pour 1 cup of hot tap water into the broiler tray and quickly close the oven door. Bake the loaf for 45 to 50 minutes, until deeply browned and firm.
12. Allow to cool before slicing or eating.