There has been quite a bit of challah in my day, but never ever have I thought to put pumpkin in a classic challah recipe and yes, I’m slapping my forehead about it. Because while challah itself is fluffy and tender and soft and flavorful, pumpkin challah is all of those things times ten thousand. Do I exaggerate? You’d have to ask the ladies of the dinner club I’m a part of (and that’s a cool/classy dinner club, btw, not an old lady snoozefest kind of one… I mean we even made homemade gnocchi last time and sometimes we drink peppermint tea at the end of the night!), because I brought the behemoth baby-size loaf to said dinner club and left with less than half of the loaf. So I’d say the odds are good that I’m not exaggerating that much.
So what did I do with the leftovers of this lovely loaf? YEP YEP YEP YEP I made pumpkin challah French toast. And it is every bit as glorious as you’d imagine. So if you’re not already enthralled by the thought of a warm, fresh-baked slice of soft pumpkin-y challah with a spread of melty butter on top, mayhaps the idea of using it to make French toast the next morning will put you over the threshold.
And don’t be fooled, savory carb lovers, by the addition of pumpkin to this loaf — the pumpkin flavor and pumpkin pie spices are subtle, so the bread plays nicely on both salty and sweet sides. I can imagine this bread also would taste phenomenal as a grilled ham and cheese sandwich, or in a savory bread pudding (or a sweet one, too!), or as croutons on top of a big ol’ autumn salad. But that French toast, though…
Oh, dear baby-sized pumpkin bread, you complete my every fall dream.
Pumpkin Challah
Ingredients
- ½ cup warm water, about 100 to 110 degrees F
- 3¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 cup whole wheat flour
- 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 cup pumpkin puree
- ¼ cup honey
- ¼ cup vegetable oil
- 1 egg
- 1 egg yolk
Topping:
- 1 egg yolk, for egg wash
- 1 teaspoon water, for egg wash
- sesame seeds, for topping (optional)
Instructions
- In medium bowl, stir water and yeast until combined. Let sit 10 minutes until slightly foamy.
- Meanwhile, in large bowl or bowl of stand mixer, stir flours, pumpkin pie spice and salt until combined.
- Once yeast mixture is foamy, whisk in pumpkin puree, honey, vegetable oil, egg and egg yolk until just combined.
- Make well in flour mixture. Pour pumpkin mixture into well. Use wooden spoon or dough hook of stand mixer on low speed to stir until dough forms. Knead dough by hand 10 minutes, adding more flour as needed just until soft, smooth, elastic dough forms; OR, use dough hook of stand mixer on medium speed to knead dough 5 minutes, adding more flour as needed just until soft, smooth, elastic dough forms.
- Shape dough into ball. Return to bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in warm place 1 1/2 hours until doubled.
- Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down risen dough. Divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into 14-inch long log. Braid dough, tucking ends under dough. Cover loaf with towel and let rise 45 minutes until doubled.
- Make the egg wash by beating together egg yolk and water. Brush top of loaf with egg wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake 35 to 40 minutes until golden brown and baked through.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Like this recipe? Rate & comment below!
Lina — I would not recommend it, as you’d then be adding more liquid to the dough and it could alter the outcome. The bread is somewhat sweet to begin with, but you could think about topping it with a honey-based glaze or icing after baking it to make it sweeter!
Hello,
Yes,it`s the season of the Pumpkin! I totally fell in love with this pumpkin bread!
However , can I put more than ¼ cup honey ? I would like it to be more sweet but at the same time I am afraid of making it without asking for an advice.
Thank you in advance!
Have a lovely day,
Lina
Breanne — So glad you made it and liked it! Sometimes bread flour and all-purpose flour are interchangeable, but sometimes they are not (I talk a bit more about this on my “tips & tricks” page). So when they are, I will indicate that, but in general I would go for exactly what the recipes calls for. Hope that helps!
Made this last night – so delicious! Your instructions were really easy to follow.
Just one question – you list bread flour or all-purpose flour. I used bread flour. Is all-purpose and bread flour really interchangeable like that? Just curious for the times I don’t have bread flour at home….