This recipe comes from the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day cookbook. The premise behind this cookbook is to make a refrigerated pre-mixed homemade dough ahead of time. When you’re ready to bake, you simply take some of the dough out of the fridge, shape it (thus the 5 minute part), give it time to rise, and it’s ready for the oven. There is a ‘plain’ version of this pumpkin bread offered in the cookbook, but I turned out the more fancy version of added dried cranberries and toasted pepitas.
How to make Oatmeal Pumpkin Seed Bread:
Straight from the fridge, the make-ahead dough is rolled out slightly, sprinkled with the cranberries and toasted pepitas, and then it’s rolled up again.
The dough is then shaped into a loaf and placed into a loaf pan to rise for a couple of hours. I brush my loaf with an egg wash after rising and add some extra pepitas for decor on top. The Oatmeal Pumpkin Seed Bread loaf turns a nice, golden brown and the top crust remains crispy. Resist cutting into it while warm as the authors of the recipe suggest that the texture of the bread improves as it cools. I do have to say that I like the premise behind this bread baking cookbook and, believe me… I’m no bread expert. I can definitely count on one hand the number of times I’ve made a yeasted bread. But I followed the directions that these authors put forth and it all worked out great. My family was overjoyed when I told them I had made pumpkin bread. I crushed their enthusiasm when I explained that it actually wasn’t a sweet bread, but rather more like one that would be appropriate for toast or tea. A smidge of butter and a dollop of fresh cranberry jam, and this Oatmeal Pumpkin Seed Bread makes quite the delicious breakfast. I think it would also be good bread for a turkey and cranberry sandwich. If you’re looking for more bread loaf recipes, you might also enjoy my Honey Whole Wheat Bread or this White Sandwich Bread. Challah Bread and Ciabatta Bread are also delicious bread recipes.
