Pumpkin Bread & Hot Spiced Apple Cider

The Halloween is here! And also the cold weather... This time of the year always reminds me of pumpkin bread or pie and a hot cup of apple cider.

There are many leavening agents for bread, and you might have heard of yeast, baking powder, and baking soda. Each leavening agent has different characteristics. Baking powder and baking soda is creating bubbles (chemical reaction) in the barrel and are usually used for cakes, soft bread, or cookies. On the other hand, yeast is a micro-organism which consumes carbohydrates (sugar) and produces carbon dioxide (gas). And, the gas, which is captured in a net-like gluten structure, expands in heat and push up the dough during the baking.

Gluten makes the dough chewy, so yeast is not a good leavening agent for cakes or cookies, however, the chewy texture is good for bread, and the fragrance from yeast adds more flavor to bread as well.

Warm youself up with a cup of spiced apple cider and freshly baked pumpkin breads & sweet orange marmalade this afternoon.


Pumpkin Bread & Hot Spiced Apple Cider

- Yield: 2 loaves pumpkin bread & 4 cups apple cider
- Pumpkin bread cooking time: 2.5 hours
- Hot apple cider cooking time: 40 minutes


Hot Apple Cider
Ingredients:
+ 1 quart apple cider (3 cups)
+ (optional) 1 Tbsp maple syrup*
* If apple cider is sweet enough, you don't need to add maple syrup.

Spices
+ 1 cinnamon sticks
+ 1 pod green cardamom
+ 2 whole cloves
+ 3 whole allspice berries
+ 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
+ strips of orange peel from an orange




Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients:
+ 500g all-purpose flour (~4 cups)
+ 8g instant yeast
+ 35g white sugar
+ 35g light brown sugar
+ 8g salt
+ 80g butter (~5 Tbsp), softened in room temperature
+ 60g egg (about one egg)
+ 100g milk
+ 250g pumpkin puree
+ 60g chopped walnut




Hot Apple Cider
Procedures:
1. Wrap all the spices (except nutmeg) with cheese clothes.

2. Mix maple syrup and apple cider in a pot, and place wrapped spice pocket in the liquid. Grate nutmeg over the pot.





3. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve with a cinnamon stick when it is warm.


Pumpkin Bread
Procedures:
1. First, cut a small pumpkin into two and steam it after scooping out the seeds.

You will need only half of the pumpkin for 250g pumpkin puree.

2. Cool down the steamed pumpkin to room temperature. Scoop out the pumpkin flesh and make puree with milk in a blender.


3. Mix flour, pumpkin puree + milk, yeast, white sugar, yeast, egg, half butter (40g) and salt in a mixing bowl at low speed until all the ingredients are mixed.


4. Speed up the mixer and knead the dough until enough gluten is formed. If you can stretch the dough thin enough to let the light through without it tearing, gluten is formed properly.


5. When gluten is formed, add rest of the butter, light brown sugar and chopped walnut. Mix all the ingredients well.

6. Grease a large bowl or a container with vegetable oil, place the mixed dough and cover with plastic wrap. Leave the bowl in warm area for 40-50 minutes until the dough doubles in volume.


7. Flatten the dough with palm and divide the dough into two.


8. Roll the dough tightly and place the dough into two greased baking pan.


9. Preheat the oven to 385ºF (195ºC).

10. Leave the dough in warm place again for 20-30 minutes until the dough doubles in size again.


11. Bake the bread for 25-30 minutes until the top is dark brown.


12. Unmold the bread and cool down the bread over wired rack until the exterior of bread becomes crispy, so that the bread can hold the shape. Slice the bread and toast lightly before you eat it.



Enjoy~