My love for bread is no secret. I truly love them all… crusty breads and soft breads, sweet bread and savory bread, dense bread and light bread… I will take a slice of each one of those loaves, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be brioche. While there are other incredibly soft and flavorful breads, some of them take a lot of work and skill to bring together, but brioche is so buttery soft and incredibly delicious and then when you consider how reasonable it is to bake up, it slides into the number one position on my list.
As September comes to an end and October kicks off, I find myself needing two things…
Carbs and more pumpkin recipes, so why not combine these two cravings into one very special and very delicious loaf of bread?
Well, I did and it… is…. incredible. This pumpkin spice brioche is super soft and fluffy. It slices easily, but totally melts in your mouth. The flavor is complex with a beautiful combination of pumpkin, brown sugar, warm spices and that classic butteriness that brioche bread is famous for. When you slice into this loaf, that swirl of sweet pumpkin spices will call your name…
Let’s get this brioche started…
This recipe will make two loaves of pumpkin spice brioche. If you happen to not love pumpkin spice, you can absolutely skip the filling step and use this recipe to make pumpkin brioche loaves. The breads flavor is incredible, so the pumpkin spice is a delicious addition, but not a necessity to guarantee great flavor.
To get started, you will need 1 packet of active yeast, 1/3 cup of warm whole milk, 1 cup of pumpkin puree at room temperature, 2/3 cup of packed brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt, 5 large eggs at room temperature, 5 1/2 cups of all purpose flour, 4 tablespoons of butter at room temperature and 12 tablespoons of cold butter, thinly sliced (more on this later).
Begin by combining 1/3 cup of warm whole milk, 1 packet of active dry yeast and a pinch of brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer. If you are making this bread by hand, combine these ingredients in a bowl large enough to combine all of the dough ingredients in.
Allow the yeast to sit undisturbed for 5-7 minutes or until the surface is foamy and the yeast has bloomed.
Once the yeast has bloomed, add 1 cup of pumpkin puree, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 4 large eggs. Using the dough hook, mix on medium low until these ingredients are combined.
Add flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until 4 1/2 cups have been added and fully incorporated into the dough. Add 4 tablespoons of softened butter into the dough and knead on medium speed until all of the butter has been incorporated.
During the final kneading process, add additional flour, if necessary. Brioche dough is soft and moist, but it should only be slightly sticky. If the dough feels very sticky to the touch, add additional flour.
Once the dough is stretchy, elastic and only slightly sticky, cover the bowl with plastic and let the dough rest in a warm place for 60 minutes or until the dough has puffed to double it original size.
Once the dough has rested and is nice and puffy, transfer it onto a floured surface. Lightly dust the top of the dough with flour and roll it out into a large rectangle. The rectangle should be approximately 12 inches by about 18 inches.
Once the dough is rolled out, thinly slice 12 tablespoons of cold butter into long thin slices and place a single layer of this butter onto one half of the dough (photo below).
In order to get great layers of butteriness and that beautiful pumpkin spice swirl, we are about to do some folding and rolling.
Start by folding the empty half of dough over the half containing the butter, so all of the butter is covered with dough. Roll this folded dough out into a rectangle close to the original size (approximately 12″x18″).
Now fold this large rectangle into thirds (as in the photo above), by bringing one of the ends in towards the center and then folding the opposite end over that. This fold is often referred to as an envelope fold, but it is more like the letter that would go inside of an envelope. Once this fold is complete, wrap the folded dough in plastic wrap and place it in the freezer for 20 minutes to chill the butter before the final roll.
While the dough is chilling, combine 3 tablespoons of melted butter with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin spice.
Once the dough has chilled, unwrap it and roll it out into a large rectangle (this is the last time, I promise). Spread the melted butter and pumpkin spice combination over the rolled out dough.
Roll this dough tightly, starting on the long end, as you would a cinnamon roll….
Cut this roll in half, using a sharp knife. Look at those beautiful swirls of butter and pumpkin spice! Have you ever just looked at dough and knew it was going to be fabulous?
Transfer each half into a buttered 9″x5″ bread pan, cover the pans with a clean kitchen towel and let the dough rest in a warm place for 60 minutes or until the loaves are nice and puffy.
Once rested, brush the tops of each loaf with a whisked egg and then place the bread pans onto the center rack of a preheated 350 degree oven. Bake the loaves for 40-50 minutes. If the tops of the loaves start to become too brown, lightly cover the loaves with foil.
The bread is done when the internal temperature reaches 200 degrees. The crust should be a deep golden brown and the loaves should sound a bit hollow when knocked on.
Look at those loaves!! So golden and buttery with a gorgeous swirl of pumpkin spice visible before you even slice into it.
Transfer the loaves onto a cooling rack and let the bread cool for at least 30 minutes before slicing. This is really important. Brioche is so moist and soft and if you slice into it too early, it will disrupt the moisture re-distribution that occurs during the cooling process. So, let it cool and your patience will be richly rewarded…
There are several things I love about this pumpkin spice brioche. The flavor is amazing. It is pumpkiny with a little swirl of pumpkin spice, but it is not overly sweet… it is just perfect as dessert or with tomorrows breakfast. The texture is fantastic. The interior is pillowy soft and the crust is so buttery and a little bit like a croissant, which I adore and last, but not least, this bread has filled my home with the most amazing fall time aromas.
I sincerely hope that you bake yourself a few loaves of this pumpkin spice brioche soon. It is one of the many ways to celebrate pumpkins, fall time and bread… and how much fun does that sound?
Happy fall everyone!!
Pumpkin Spice Brioche
Ingredients
Pumpkin Brioche Dough
- 1 packet of active dry yeast
- 1/3 cup whole milk, warm (between 100-110- degrees)
- 1 cup pumpkin puree, room temperature
- 2/3 cup brown sugar, packed
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 5 large eggs, room temperature
- 5 1/2 cups all purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons butter, room temperature
- 12 tablespoons butter, cold, thinly sliced
Pumpkin Spice Filling
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 tablespoon pumpkin spice
- 3 tablespoons butter, melted
Instructions
- Combine 1/3 cup of warm whole milk, 1 packet of active dry yeast and a pinch of brown sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer or a large mixing bowl, if kneading by hand
- Let the yeast sit undisturbed for 5-7 minutes or until the surface is foamy
- Once the yeast has bloomed, add 1 cup of pumpkin puree, 2/3 cup of brown sugar, 1 teaspoon of salt and 4 large eggs and combine using the dough hook attachment
- While kneading at medium speed, begin adding flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until 4 1/2 cups of flour have been incorporated
- Add 4 tablespoons of softened butter and continue kneading until fully incorporated
- Continue kneading for several minutes until the dough is elastic and only slightly sticky. Add additional flour if the dough is too sticky
- Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rest the dough in a warm place for 60 minutes or until the dough has doubled in size
- Transfer the rested dough onto a floured surface and roll it out into a large rectangle (approximately 12 inches by 18 inches)
- Thinly slice 12 tablespoons of cold butter and layer it onto one half of the rectangle of dough
- Fold the opposite half of the dough over covering the layer of butter
- Re-roll the dough out into a large rectangle
- Fold the dough in thirds by bringing one of the short ends into the center and then fold the opposite over this, folding as you would a piece of letter paper
- Wrap the folded dough in plastic wrap and chill in the freezer for 20 minutes
- Prepare two 9"x5" bread pans by greasing them with softened butter
- Combine 3 tablespoons of melted butter with 1/4 cup of brown sugar and 1 tablespoon of pumpkin spice and set it aside
- Once the dough has chilled, roll it out into a large rectangle and spread the melted butter and pumpkin spice mixture evenly over the surface
- Roll the dough tightly, starting with the long side of the rectangle, as you would a cinnamon roll
- Cut the roll in half and transfer one half of the dough into each of the prepared bread pans
- Cover the dough with a clean kitchen towel
- Rest the dough in a warm place for 60 minutes
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees
- Whisk one egg in a small bowl
- Once the dough is rested, brush the top of each loaf with the whisked egg
- Bake the loaves on the center rack in a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes or until the loaves have an internal temperature of 200 degrees
- Transfer the loaves directly onto a cooling rack and allow them to cool for 30 minutes before slicing
- Store loaves in an airtight container at room temperature
