Pumpkin cream cheese roll---in the form of sourdough bread

I know it’s spring…not fall but the pumpkins sold in supermarket look gorgeous. If you’ve read my previous pumpkin pancakes post, you know I hate pumpkin. However, I can take it when it’s mashed and mixed into pancakes and bread, and to be honest, I adore the striking yellow-orange colour they add to the dough.

Although I did some research on the proportion of pumpkin usually incorporated to bread dough, the hydration level and the cream cheese filling ingredients are totally are not adopted from other recipes. I just kept adding water until the dough felt right to me and adjusting the filling ingredients until it tasted well-balanced.

Pumpkin cream cheese roll---in the form of sourdough bread

For leaven:

25g      6.5%      Starter

17g      4.5%      Whole wheat flour

15g       4%       Water

For dough:

380g     100%     Whole wheat flour 

240g      63%      Water

220g      58%      Mashed pumpkin (I pressure cooked Kabocha squash, you may need to add more water if you                                      option for roasted pumpkin)

57g       15%       Leaven

6g         1.6%      Salt

10g       2.6%     Vital wheat gluten

For filling:

200g     53%      1/3 less fat cream cheese

25g      6.5%       Honey

20g         5%       Lemon juice

20g         5%       Water

______________

411.5g    100%     Whole grain

267.5g     65%     Total hydration (excluding the pumpkin which offers a significant amount of moisture) 

Combine all leaven ingredients and let sit until doubled, about 6-8 hours.

Roughly combine all dough and let ferment overnight for 10 hours.

Mix all ingredients for the filling into a spreadable paste and keep refrigerated until one hour before the dough completes the overnight ferment.

Turn the dough out of the bowl and stretch and fold for a few times, then let rest for 20 minutes. Gently stretch the dough into a rectangle with the 2 sides being the length of the bread pan (8 inch for mine). Spread the filling onto the dough, leaving at least one inch on the edges of the 2 sides with the length of the pan. Roll the dough into a log and pinch the end together. Place into the bread pan and let proof for 1.5 hours. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 204°C/400°F.

Bake at 204°C/400°F for 35 minutes. Turn the bread out of the pan and bake for 5 more minutes or until well-browned and internal temperature reaches a minimum of 190°F.

This bread is slightly sour and only very subtly sweet. It tastes like naturally sweet pumpkin but not sugary pumpkin pie so if you should add some cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg along with a few tablespoons of sugar if that’s the route you’d like to take. The cream cheese filling provided a pleasant tang and slight sweetness that goes really well with this surprisingly light-tasting bread.

The crumb is very moist and tender thanks to the pumpkin and sourdough even if it’s 100% whole wheat. The crust is slightly crunchy out of the oven but softens and turns pleasingly chewy as it cools. 

Who knows pumpkin bread can be so refreshing that it reminds me of spring? Let’s celebrate spring…with pumpkin cream cheese bread!