Pumpkin Bread with the Thermomix® uses 700 g of Hokkaido squash and 550 g of flour to make a moist loaf with 12 slices. The skin of the Hokkaido stays on (no peeling needed), the pumpkin is blended to a puree in the mixing bowl and gives the bread a beautiful orange-yellow colour as well as vitamin A. The 40-minute bake at 200°C is worth every minute. The bread stays moist in a bread bag for 3 to 4 days.
We bake pumpkin bread in autumn for a harvest breakfast, as a striking orange-yellow centrepiece at Halloween, and to stock up the lunchbox (frozen in slices, it keeps for 3 months). The recipe works identically on the TM31, TM5, TM6 and TM7. The only difference is that the TM6 and TM7 have a dedicated kneading mode that makes the dough smooth about 30 seconds faster.
Pumpkin Bread with the Thermomix®
Ingredients 0 / 8 ✓
- 500 g water
- 700 g Hokkaido pumpkin
- 1/2 cube fresh yeast
- 100 g milk
- 1 tsp salt
- 550 g flour
- 50 g butter melted
- 1 egg
Instructions 0 / 5
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1
Add the water to the mixing bowl. Halve the pumpkin, peel it, remove the seeds and cut the flesh into pieces. Place 400 g of flesh into the Varoma steaming basket and cook for 12 min / Varoma / speed 2.
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2
Discard the cooking liquid, place the pumpkin into the mixing bowl and blend for 10 sec / speed 9, then set aside and leave to cool. Rinse the mixing bowl.
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3
Add the yeast, milk and salt to the mixing bowl and warm for 3 min / 37°C / speed 1. Add the pumpkin puree, flour and butter and knead for 4 min / kneading mode to form a smooth dough. Leave to rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.
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4
Line a baking tray with baking paper. Knead the dough again with floured hands, shape into a round loaf, place on the tray and cover. Leave to rise for 1 hour.
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5
Preheat the oven to 200°C top and bottom heat (fan 180°C). Whisk the egg, brush it over the bread and score the top with a sharp knife.
Bake on the middle shelf for approximately 40 minutes. Leave to cool on a wire rack.
Tip: The dough should hold its shape and not be too sticky. If it still feels too soft after kneading, add a little more flour and knead for another 2 minutes. If you fancy trying a sweet pumpkin loaf, simply add 50 g of sugar in step 3. It tastes wonderful that way too.
Video
Nutrition per serving
Hokkaido or butternut: which tastes better
Hokkaido is the straightforward choice because the orange skin can be used in full without peeling. The skin contains the most carotenoids (vitamin A) and gives the bread its vivid orange colour. Butternut works just as well and has a nuttier flavour, but it does need to be peeled. Muscat squash brings the most intense flavour, though it is only available regionally. The Bavarian State Institute for Viticulture and Horticulture recommends Hokkaido for baking because of its ease of preparation and high nutrient content.
The flour-to-pumpkin ratio is crucial
500 g Type 550 flour, 700 g pumpkin puree, 220 g water, 1 cube of yeast, 1 tsp salt, 1 tsp sugar. This ratio produces a well-formed dough that is soft but not sticky. Use more pumpkin (1 kg) and the dough becomes too wet and will not rise properly. Use less pumpkin (500 g) and you end up with a fairly ordinary bread that only hints at pumpkin, without the characteristic moistness.
Many recipes online and on Cookidoo use 400 g of pumpkin. We deliberately go up to 700 g because only at that level does the bread truly carry the pumpkin flavour. Less pumpkin simply gives you a standard yeast bread with a slight orange tint.
Baking and the skewer test
200°C top and bottom heat for 50 to 60 minutes in a 30 cm loaf tin. Start the skewer test from minute 45: insert a wooden skewer into the centre and it must come out clean. Tap the base of the loaf: a hollow sound means it is done. If the crust is browning too quickly, cover loosely with foil after 30 minutes. For a crispy base, tip the loaf out of the tin and return it directly to the oven shelf for the final 5 minutes.
Five bread variations for autumn
Seeded pumpkin bread (add 50 g pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds to the dough and scatter more on top), walnut variation (100 g roughly chopped walnuts), multigrain (300 g Type 550 flour plus 200 g multigrain flour), sweet Advent loaf (3 tbsp honey plus 1 tsp cinnamon plus 50 g raisins), savoury (50 g feta and 1 tsp rosemary folded into the dough).
What goes well with pumpkin bread
Great for an autumn brunch alongside our pumpkin soup, with our Obazda spread or our date dip. You will find more breads in our bread collection and more autumn recipes in our autumn category.
Serve with: butter and cheese.
Also worth a look: 5-minute bread with the Thermomix®.
