#SecretRecipeClub: Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread

Secret Recipe Club time again and I’m sharing a recipe for Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread! For those who haven’t seen my previous Secret Recipe Club posts, this club includes three group of bloggers who are assigned a different blog each month and secretly make a recipe to post on their specified Monday reveal day. I look forward to my assignment email every month and discovering new blogs. It is also fun to see what someone chooses from your blog. Unfortunately, this is the last reveal day for the club. It has been a wonderful 3 years!

For this last reveal, I was assigned to Sarah’s blog- The Pajama Chef. Sarah features “healthy, delicious recipes with a side of indulgence” on her blog. Along with creating a wonderful assortment of recipes, she also works as an academic librarian and has a Masters in Library Science and a Master of Arts in African Studies. She currently lives in Nashville, Tennessee with her husband, baby, and three cats. It was so hard to pick one recipe, but I finally decided on her Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread to keep with the season. I also pinned her Freezer Breakfast Burritos, Cookie Dough Dip, Peanut Butter Pretzel Granola Bars, Cheesy Taco Muffins, Chaider, Pumpkin Cloverleaf Rolls, Teriyaki Meatball Bowls, Pumpkin Bagels, St. Lucia Buns, and Homemade Magic Shell for later.

This bread is quite delicious on its own, but Sarah also recommends toasting the slices and topping them with pumpkin butter or peanut butter. Once the bread becomes stale, it would also be perfect as the base for French Toast.

The recipe is easily halved if you want to make one loaf (or four mini loaves like I did).

If you are using active dry yeast, increase the amount to 2 2/3 tablespoon and mix the yeast into the water first. Allow it to rest until frothy before adding to the remaining ingredients.

I used store-bought pumpkin puree (NOT pumpkin pie filling), but you can also make your own.

Check out what everyone else made!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Swirl Bread
Adapted from The Pajama Chef
2 loaves

1/2 cup lukewarm water, 105-115 degrees F
2 tablespoons instant yeast
2/3 cup lukewarm milk, 105-115 degrees F
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups pumpkin puree
2 tablespoon canola oil
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
2 teaspoons salt
1 1/2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
4 cups bread flour
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
Filling:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup brown sugar, lightly packed
2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

In a large bowl, mix together the water and yeast. Add the milk, eggs, pumpkin puree, oil, brown sugar, salt, and pumpkin pie spice.

Mix in half of the bread flour until just combined, then the remaining bread flour. Once combined, mix in the all purpose flour to create a dough. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough until smooth and elastic. Transfer to an oiled large bowl, turning to coat. Cover and allow to rest until doubled, about 1 hour.

Grease two 9×5 loaf pans. In a small bowl, combine 1/2 cup brown sugar and cinnamon.

On a lightly floured surface, punch down the dough and divide in half. Roll one half into a 9×11 inch rectangle. Spread half of the butter across the top, leaving a 1/2 inch border around the edges. Sprinkle with half of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Starting on the short-side, roll up the bread into a log. Seal the seam and sides by pinching together the dough. Place in the prepared loaf pan and repeat with other half of the dough.

Cover the pans and allow the loaves to rise until puffy and they reach the edges of the pans, 30-45 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Bake the loaves until golden and hollow sounding when tapped, about 30 minutes. Allow to cool before slicing.