Do you get in on the pumpkin craze? Whether the answer is yes or no, you should bust out your baking supplies and make a loaf of pumpkin pull-apart bread. It’s the quintessential fall treat to enjoy for breakfast, brunch or afternoon tea.
I took Tuesday off from work and tackled the recipe on a whim. The inspiration? A can of pumpkin purée sitting in the pantry, waiting to be used. (I bought it about a year ago with the intention of trying my hand at Girl Versus Dough’s pumpkin challah. Obviously that didn’t happen.) Prep started in the morning and by noon I was enjoying the fruits of my labor.
Pumpkin pull-apart bread is pillowy soft and perfectly sweet, with or without the cinnamon glaze. It tastes best fresh, but leftovers freeze well and reheat easily.
Recipe adapted from Better Homes and Gardens.
- ¾ cup milk (see notes*)
- 2¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar, divided
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg yolk
- 2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ½ cup pumpkin purée
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (see notes**)
- ¾ cup light or dark brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
- ½ cup powdered sugar
- ¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1½ teaspoons half-and-half or milk
- ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
- In a large bowl, heat milk until warm - about 30 seconds in the microwave should do. Add the yeast and 1 teaspoon sugar. Whisk together until thoroughly combined and let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Add the remaining sugar, butter, egg yolk, 2½ cups flour and salt to the yeast mixture and stir to combine. Continue adding flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until dough comes together to form a shaggy ball; it should be tacky but not sticky. Then knead the dough by hand (or with a dough hook attachment) until it's smooth and elastic - this will take about 10 minutes (or less if using a stand mixer). Shape dough into a ball and place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and let it rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
- While the dough rises, combine the pumpkin purée and butter in a small bowl. Set aside.
- In another bowl, combine the brown sugar and cinnamon. Set aside.
- Grease a 9"x5" loaf pan or pullman loaf pan (for a loaf with perfectly straight sides).
- After the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out dough to a 20"x12" rectangle.
- Spread the pumpkin purée and butter mixture over the dough in an even layer. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the pumpkin purée and butter mixture.
- Using a sharp knife or bench scraper, cut dough lengthwise into 6 equal-sized strips. Stack the strips on top of one another and cut the stack into 5 equal-sized pieces.
- Layer the dough stacks, cut sides up, neatly in the loaf pan. It helps to tilt the loaf pan a bit to keep your stacks from folding over on themselves.
- Cover loaf with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 45 minutes.
- About 15 minutes before dough has finished rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees.
- Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown. If the top of the loaf gets too brown before it is done baking, cover loosely with foil.
- Remove pan from the oven and let cool for 10 minutes before turning out bread onto a wire rack.
- In a small bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cinnamon, half-and-half or milk, and vanilla extract. Drizzle glaze over warm loaf.
**I used Clover Sonoma Cinnamon & Brown Sugar Culinary Butter for extra flavor.
