Yeasted Pumpkin Raisin Spice Bread!

For those who remember- the famous comic book beagle, Snoopy, once set out to write a novel. It began, "It was a dark and stormy night"....I'm not sure he ever got any further than that! As I sat down to write today, I was reminded of those "famous" words as I was thinking back to our family's hayride last weekend. Except, "It was a dark and stormy MORNING"! Our Plan A was to catch the first early wagon out to the pumpkin fields so our sons could get back to work ASAP. However, the weather definitely was not inviting - storm clouds hung overhead and there was a damp chill in the air. The texts flew between households as we debated whether to take the small kids out in the weather. We ended up giving it the go-ahead, as our daughter/son-in-law were in from Columbus and we could truly make it a family affair. The clouds actually broke as we loaded on to the wagon. The tractor pulled out into the fields and began to drive off to the patch.....and the rain began to fall! We laughed as we gathered the kids under the one umbrella we had thought to bring (pitiful, huh?!). When the tractor halted in the muddy patch, we hurried the kids to find their favorite pumpkins and rushed them back under the umbrellas. Once we returned to the farm market, the sun agreed to briefly shine, during which time we tailgated with donuts and fresh cider. When the rain began again, we loaded kids and pumpkins into the car and scurried home. That night we gathered for bowls of warm soup, fresh bread and pumpkin-carving fun.    

                              

This easy-to-make yeasted pumpkin bread tastes of all the fun, sweetness and spice of the fall season. Beware, though......It's hard to stop eating it!!! Soooooooo good! 

Pumpkin Raisin Bread 

          Dough:

           ¼ Cup warm water

1 packet/Tbsp. Red Star Platinum Yeast

   ¾ Cup milk, warmed to the touch

1 Cup canned pumpkin

¼ Cup honey

½ Cup raisins

4 Cups + unbleached bread flour

1 ½ tsp. cinnamon

½ tsp. allspice

½ tsp. salt

Topping:  Just make a simple milk/confectioners sugar/butter/vanilla icing and stir a smidge of cinnamon in it! Drizzle over cake

Instructions:

Place warm water and yeast in EZ DOH bucket and stir to dissolve yeast. Let rest 1 minute. Add one cup of flour, then additional dough ingredients. EZ DOH-it for 2-3 minutes, adding enough flour to make the  dough smooth and soft and barely sticky and all ingredients are incorporated. Remove dough from bucket and spray the inside of the bucket with cooking spray. Cover and let rise until doubled.

Liberally spray a 10-cup bundt pan with cooking spray. You may also sprinkle the inside with coarse sugar, tilting to cover evenly. Tap out any excess sugar. Using spoons or spatulas, distribute the dough into the pan evenly. Once the dough is in the pan, give the pan a couple of firm taps on the countertop to “settle” the dough and to eliminate air pockets. Cover and let rise until doubled. (I put mine in the frig and let it rise there overnight- worked perfectly!)

Bake at 375 for 40-50 minutes, until top is browned and the bread sounds hollow when tapped. Cool 5-10 minutes in the pan. Loosen edges gently and turn the pan upside down to remove the bread. I topped mine with a little confectioner’s sugar icing with a dash of cinnamon in it –PERFECT!! 
Adapted from "The Creekside Cook"
Visit: http://www.wildyeastblog.com/yeastspotting/  for more delicious breads! 

Yeasted Pumpkin Raisin Spice Bread!