On Wednesday, I baked Spiced Pumpkin Bread/Kurbisgewurzbrot (Germany). [Umlauts should be over the two “u”s], a recipe from Stanley Greenberg’s blog at The Rye Baker (posted Nov. 1, 2016). I used my own pumpkin puree, as he recommends after having tried canned and his own. I was able to grind the caraway and anise seed in a Kuhn Rikon ceramic grater that I have but had not yet used. [Note: although the instructions state that grinding coarse salt will take away the odor afterwards, it still has the faint odor. I’ll leave it open and hope it fades.] My only change was to use active rather than instant yeast and to proof it w/ just a pinch of sugar before starting. I also held back about ½ cup of the wheat flour mixed with the salt to add after mixing all the other ingredients, and I put the oil in last. It is a sticky dough, and I resisted the urge to add more flour. My Cuisinart 7-qt. stand mixer does better with a larger amount of dough. I had to keep stopping during the kneading and move the dough around. It’s about 66F in our house, and a little colder in the kitchen, so I put the covered dough bowl on top of a wine rack that I have on its shortest side (8 compartments or 4x2) that holds my collection of rolling pins at the end of the counter. That puts it under a warm air vent with a temperature of 70-71F.
The first rise takes 60-75 min. at 70F, according to the recipe. I decided after 60 minutes to move the dough to the dining room table, and I gave it about 40 minutes longer. To shape it, I used white rye flour on my Silpat mat. The shaping was surprisingly easy. Given the issues with temperature, I put the shaped dough on a parchment covered baking sheet and set it on top of the range, covered with a long plastic cover I had. I then preheated the oven, so that a bit of that warmth would help the second rise, which is supposed to be 15-20 minutes. However, the oven is too well insulated, so after 20 minutes, I put it back on the dining room table for another 15 minutes.
I didn’t see “cracks” or broken bubbles, which the recipe states show that the bread has risen, but I did see the changes in the flour coating, and it had risen. The recipe does not specify slashing, but I made some slashes anyway—some of the best slashing I’ve ever done!—and put it into the oven on the rack right below center, which is where I bake my breads. The recipe states to bake about one hour, but I checked at 55 min., and it registered at 202F, so I took it out. The smell is enticing. Also, while there was a blowout along one side end, the loaf, my husband pronounced, looks as an artisan loaf should look. I’ve never achieved that before with a freeform loaf, and this one is all wholegrain, except for the white rye I used to dust the work surface. I will include it on the Thanksgiving table tomorrow, along with the rolls.
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