Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns

These sweet sourdough pumpkin buns are soft, fluffy and flavorful. Sweetened with brown sugar, they are the perfect bread to serve with to your Thanksgiving feast. 

I am here to tell you that my sourdough starter, John Dough, is a survivor! I abandoned him in my Houston refrigerator in May and when I got back in September, I fed him a couple of times and he is back to normal. Go, John, go! 

I had a back up plan, though. In her fabulous book, The Sourdough Whisperer, Elaine Boddy gives useful and easy to follow instructions on how to dry out a sourdough starter for foolproof transport. I tried it with Jane Dough (my Jersey, CI starter) before I headed back here to Houston but then I didn’t need to use it when John revived.

What that means though is that I have dried sourdough starter to share, if a friend happens to need some or if John Dough gets into a slump. I can highly recommend connecting with Elaine if you love baking with sourdough and/or want to get started. Her books are great for experienced bakers and beginners alike. Plus she’s a really nice person. Tell her Stacy from the delicious. group sent you!

Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns 

The dough for these sweet buns uses a fed sourdough starter. Your dough will rise nicely but there isn’t a pronounced sharpness from the starter. This recipe was adapted from one on Aberle Home.

Ingredients for 12 buns

1/2 cup or 113g FED sourdough starter (100% hydration)

1/4 cup or 60ml milk, lukewarm

1/2 cup or 120g canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling!)

2/3 cup or 132g dark brown sugar

1 large egg

2 3/4 cup or 344g unbleached bread flour

1/4 cup or 56g butter, softened

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

Optional to finish: 2 tablespoons melted butter

Method

In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix together the fed starter, milk, canned pumpkin, brown sugar and egg until well combined. 

Sift in the flour and mix again until there is no dry flour showing. 

Cover and allow to rest for 30 minutes. Mix in the butter and salt until thoroughly combined. 

Knead on medium speed (or in the bowl by hand) for an additional 8-10 minutes or until the dough becomes very smooth and elastic. You might need to scrape the bowl down a time or two at the beginning to incorporate butter that has stuck to the sides. I did. 

This is a really soft dough. Form it into a ball as best you can in the bowl, and cover. Allow to rise at room temperature until it has doubled in volume or overnight in the refrigerator. (If you do an overnight cold prove, allow time for the dough to come back to room temperature before continuing with the next steps.) 

I did a slow overnight rise for this batch of buns because I believe that the extra time also makes the dough more manageable. 

Turn the dough out onto a clean surface and divide it into 12 pieces (weigh dough for uniform buns - my whole dough ball weighed 864g/12 = 72g for each bun.) 

Dampen your hands with a little water so the dough doesn’t stick to them then form the dough into a tight ball by pinching the sides to the bottom. Cup your hand around the dough ball and push it around gently to create a nice round ball. 

Repeat to shape remaining pieces of dough. 

Place the balls in a baking pan lined with baking parchment, leaving room for them to rise. Ideally, they will touch once they have risen. For these buns, I used a 9x13 in or 23x33cm pan. Cover them with cling film and leave to rise for about 45-55 minutes.

If it’s cold in your kitchen and you have a microwave, put water in a microwavable bowl and heat it to almost boiling. Set the pan of buns on top of the bowl and leave the microwave closed for the rising time. Works like a charm. 

Near the end of your rising time, preheat your oven to 375°F or 190°C.

Bake the buns on the center rack for 12-15 minutes or until they are lightly golden on the edges. (The centers should read 185°F or on an instant-read thermometer when done.) Cool in the baking pan on a cooling rack. 

These are divine served warm. I like to brush them with some melted butter. You might like to as well. 

Enjoy!

It’s the second Tuesday of the month so that means it’s time for my fellow Bread Bakers to share their recipes. Since Thanksgiving is nigh, we are sharing breads that would be excellent additions to your Thanksgiving feast. Check out the list below. Many thanks to our host Swathi of Zesty South Indian Kitchen.

• Crispy Sage and Garlic Parmesan Rolls by A Messy Kitchen
• Easy Sourdough Sweet Potato Dinner Rolls by Zesty South Indian Kitchen
• Keto Coconut Flour Sandwich Thins by Sneha’s Recipe
• Sourdough Cloverloaf Rolls by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns by Food Lust People Love
• Thanksgiving Stuffing Rolls by Karen’s Kitchen stories

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Sweet Sourdough Pumpkin Buns!

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Slow Rise Sourdough Baguettes

These slow rise sourdough baguettes are so flavorful that they just might be my favorite ever loaves. Slice and serve with butter. So good!

This recipe is made in several easy steps and can take a couple of days but most of it is hands-off time. The dough is very forgiving so if you get busy and miss a pull and turn or leave it a bit longer in the refrigerator, no worries. Just pick up where you left off and it will be fine. 

We start by making the dough which spends the first overnight in the refrigerator then the next day, the sourdough starter is added, and you’ll pull and fold the dough a few times to build up the gluten. Then there’s a final night in the refrigerator before shaping and baking the baguettes on the third day. 

Slow Rise Sourdough Baguettes

This recipe is adapted from one on The Fresh Loaf. Mine didn’t turn out near as holey but the flavor is all there. 

Ingredients for two baguettes

3 2/3 cups or 455g strong white bread flour

1 1/3 cups or 320ml cold water

2/3 cup or 160g 100% hydration starter (fed equal parts water and flour by weight)

2 teaspoons fine sea salt 

Method

Mix the flour and cold water together to form a soft dough. 

Put it in a bowl and cover that with cling film. Refrigerate for 12-24 hours. Mine went in at 2:40 p.m. on day 1.

On day 2, using your clean hands, mix the sourdough starter and salt into the dough until it’s evenly distributed. 

I did this step at 11:40 a.m. that day so my dough was in the refrigerator for about 21 hours. 

Leave the dough out, the bowl covered with cling film, at room temp (70 to 75°F or 21 to 24°C) for about three hours until it grows about 1/3 in volume. 

Stretch and fold it every half hour or so to develop the gluten. (I set a timer to remind myself. You might want to do the same.) If your kitchen is too cool, find a warmer place to set the dough.

When the three hours are up, put the covered dough bowl back in the refrigerator for another overnight stay. Mine went back in the fridge a few minutes after the three-hour rise time was up, so around 2:50 p.m.

On day three, when you are ready to bake, take the dough out of the refrigerator. If it has not doubled or nearly doubled, give it more time to rise at room temperature. Mine was just about doubled that morning around 8 a.m. but I left it out for two hours to warm up. 

After your dough is sufficiently risen, divide it into two equal balls and and rest them for 40 minutes. 

Shape the dough into baguettes using this method here from King Arthur Flour: https://youtu.be/IRDL3lPQSkc

Proof for 24-28 minutes, then score deeply with a sharp knife or lame. Again, I offer you a King Arthur Flour video for method: https://youtu.be/ZaLnzomvEF8 Even after watching that a bunch of times, I still didn’t cut as deeply as I should have! 

During that last proof, preheat your oven to 450°F or 232°C with an iron skillet, if you have one, or another baking pan, if you don’t, on the bottom of the oven. 

Put the baguettes into the preheated oven bake and quickly add boiling water to the skillet on the bottom. Close the oven door immediately to keep in the steam. 

Bake the baguettes for about 25 minutes or until golden brown and well risen. 

Remove from the oven and leave to cool on a wire rack. 

When cool, slice to serve. 

Enjoy! 

It's the second Tuesday of the month so that means it's Bread Bakers time! Many thanks to our host, Renu of Cook with Renu. Check out the recipe links we are sharing below:

• Chocolate Baguettes from A Messy Kitchen
• Gluten Free Artisan Baguette from Sneha’s Recipe
• No Knead Gluten Free Baguette from Cook with Renu
• Italian Pane Francese from Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Slow Rise Sourdough Baguette from Food Lust People Love

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Slow Rise Sourdough Baguettes!

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Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia #BreadBakers

Slightly sweet and a little savory, this feta and mixed fruit focaccia is the perfect snack to eat with a cup of tea or even a cold glass of beer or a cocktail. The somewhat bitter candied peel and soaked dried fruit are a great combination with the salty feta and soft pillowy bread.

It’s time for my Bread Baker friends to share their recipes again and today’s theme or ingredient is dried fruit. I was quite delighted when our host chose this theme because I have a big bag of mixed fruit that was supposed to be a steamed Christmas pudding, which never materialized. Mainly because my husband and I are the only ones who like it and who can be bothered some years, if you know what I mean. 

Mixed peel is a combination of raisins, sultanas and currants with candied orange and lemon peel. It’s used in fruit cakes, tea loaves, Chelsea buns, and, of course, traditional British Christmas cakes and steamed Christmas puddings.  

Mixed fruit is available year-round in British supermarkets but it really comes into its own during the holiday season. One spot on a shelf in the baking aisle often becomes a whole table of it in the front of the store with other seasonal items like fondant icing, marzipan, confectioner’s sugar and Christmas decorations.

If you can’t find mixed fruit where you live, you might find this Q and A on Nigella Lawson’s website helpful. 

Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia

This recipe is an adaptation of one from King Arthur Flour baking website. Theirs is much sweeter and doesn’t contain any feta. I stand by my decision. We enjoyed this version much more than we would have a wholly sweet bread. 

Ingredients

3/4 cup or 110g mixed fruit

3/4 cup or 80ml boiling water

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon instant yeast or active dry yeast

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided

1 1/2 cups or 187g unbleached bread flour, plus more for dusting

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 3/4 oz or 50g feta, crumbled

Method

In a large bowl, combine the mixed fruit with the boiling water; let soak for 10 to 15 minutes. Drain the fruit, reserving 1/2 cup of the soaking liquid; set the fruit aside.

Add the sugar and sprinkle the yeast over the top of the reserved soaking liquid and set aside to proof. 

If your yeast is active, it should start to bubble up and get frothy. Add 1 tablespoon of the olive oil to the soaking liquid.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the beater paddle, combine the flour and salt. Mix just to combine. 

Add the soaking liquid/olive oil mixture and all but about 2 tablespoons of the fruit. The reserved mixed fruit will be used to top the focaccia. Mix until the fruit is evenly distributed, but the dough is still tacky, about 3 minutes.

Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead for 1 minute.

Prepare one 8" or 20cm square pan by coating the bottom with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil. 

Place all of the dough in the pan. Grease your hands and spread the dough out as much as possible without tearing it.

Cover the dough and let it rest, pressing it out every 10 minutes until it fills the pan; this may take up to about 40 minutes. 

Then let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. 

Meanwhile, near the end of rising time, preheat your oven to 425°F or 218°C.

Just before baking, grease your fingers and press dimples into the risen dough.

Drizzle with the remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil, and sprinkle the reserved mixed fruit and crumbled feta over the top. 

Bake in your preheated oven until the focaccia is deep golden brown on the top and bottom, about 25 to 30 minutes. If it starts to brown before you think it's cooked through, cover the top with foil. 

Remove from the oven and transfer from the pan to a rack to cool. Despite the olive oil, mine tried to stick to the pan. A gentle prod with the spatula did the trick to release it. 

Cut into squares or rectangles using a serrated knife, and serve warm.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it’s Bread Baker time, the second Tuesday of every month and we are sharing bread recipes with dried fruit. Many thanks to our host, Kelly of Passion Kneaded! Check out all the links below. 

• Apricot Braided Breakfast Bread from Sneha's Recipe
• Cranberry Raisin Bread from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Fennel and Golden Raisin Bread from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia from Food Lust People Love 
• Panettone from Culinary Cam
• Pineapple Sour Cream Coffee Bread from A Messy Kitchen
• Walnut Raisin Wool Roll Bread from Passion Kneaded

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin this Feta and Mixed Fruit Focaccia!

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Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread #BreadBakers

This Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread is leavened with baking powder and soda, no waiting on a rise. It mixes up quickly. Enjoy a savory, tasty loaf with only 55-60 minutes of baking.

This month my fellow Bread Bakers and I are sharing recipes to celebrate the harvest, using seasonal produce. Where I am right now, spinach is a year-round crop so it’s always seasonal! 

I almost always have a bag of fresh spinach in the refrigerator to eat as salad or to toss in pasta dishes, soups and stews. Spinach adds flavor and much needed vitamins and iron to any diet. I always have frozen spinach in the freezer! 

Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread 

This recipe was adapted from one on Every Day Healthy Recipes. Do not skip the spinach drying step to make sure your bread batter is not too wet. 

Ingredients

4 oz or 115g fresh baby spinach

2 cups or 250g flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

3 oz or 84g extra sharp cheddar cheese, coarsely grated

3/4 cup or 185g Greek style natural yogurt

3 tablespoons canola or other light oil, plus extra for the pan

3 large eggs, room temperature

1 large clove garlic, finely minced

Method

Preheat your oven to 350°F or 180°C and prepare your 9.5 in or 23cm loaf pan by greasing it lightly and lining it with baking parchment. 

Rinse and dry your spinach thoroughly with a salad spinner or, if you don’t have one, put the spinach in a clean towel and go outside and swing it around vigorously so that centrifugal force dries it out. If your spinach says wash and ready to eat, just do the drying part.  

Chop the spinach roughly with a knife then pulse it in a food processor until finely chopped but not pureed.

In a large bowl combine the flour, baking powder, soda and salt and stir thoroughly using a whisk. Tip in most of the grated cheese, reserving some for the top, and stir to coat it with the flour mixture. 

In another large bowl whisk together the eggs, oil, yogurt and minced garlic until well combined.  

Add the chopped spinach and stir until thoroughly mixed.

Pour the spinach mixture into the flour bowl and fold gently until just combined. 

Spoon the thick batter into your prepared pan, smooth out the top with a spatula or spoon and sprinkle the reserved cheese over the top. 

Bake in the center of the oven for 1 hour (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean). If it browns too much before it’s cooked through, cover the top with foil. 

Remove the loaf from the oven and set aside for 10 minutes then lift out of the pan with the paper and place on a rack to cool. 

Once cool, slice to serve. This bread was wonderful just as it is and also excellent toasted.

Enjoy!

As I mentioned above, it's Bread Baker time and we are sharing recipes with seasonal produce. Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host Wendy of A Day in the Life on the Farm.

• Broccoli & Oats Sandwich Bread - Gluten Free by Sneha’s Recipe
• Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread by Food Lust People Love
• Cranberry Orange Beet Bread by Palatable Pastime
• Honeyed Spelt and Oat Levain by A Messy Kitchen
• Pomegranate and Blueberry Jam Milk Buns by Karen’s Kitchen Stories
• Pumpkin Nasturtium Pull Apart Bread by Cook with Renu
• Sweet Potato and Cranberry Quick Bread by A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Winter Squash Sourdough Boules by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

 

Pin this Cheddar Spinach Quick Bread! 

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Peanut Butter Babka Buns #BreadBakers

These peanut butter babka buns have a tender crumb filled with a delicious ribbon of peanut butter in a slightly sweet dough. 

If you’ve never made babka before, these buns are an easier entry point to learn. In real babka loaves, the baker must stretch the dough out super thin but with these rolls, you can just roll the balls out with a rolling pin. 

My son-in-law was the babka master and it was such a pleasure to watch him in action. He managed to stretch the dough so thin you could see the grain in the wooden table below it. Truly impressive.  Like everything Dai did in the kitchen, he did it to the highest level possible. I give you example one: 

I hope he’d be proud of my buns, even if they are a sacrilegious flavor. Traditional babka are chocolate, as above,  or cinnamon. 

Peanut Butter Babka Buns

Like any enriched dough, that is one with eggs and/or butter, this one is quite sticky initially. You can make it by hand with great effort but I highly recommend the use of a stand mixer. 

Ingredients - for 6 buns

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

3 tablespoons lukewarm milk

1 2/3 cups or 208g all-purpose flour

1/8 cup or 14g nonfat powdered milk 

1/4 cup or 25g sugar

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 large egg

1 egg white (save yolk for egg wash before baking)

4 1/2 tablespoons or 63g room-temperature unsalted butter

Canola or other light oil for drizzling the dough bowl and greasing the muffin pan

For the peanut butter filling:

1/2 cup or 125g peanut butter, slightly warmed

1 1/2 tablespoon dark brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon vanilla

pinch salt

Egg Wash:

1 egg yolk, whisked with drizzle of water

Method

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the yeast with the warm milk and set aside for  few minutes to activate the yeast. You should start seeing some foaming and bubbles which tell you the yeast is still alive. 

Add the flour, powdered milk, sugar, salt, the whole egg, egg white and butter.

With the dough hook, mix together all of the dough ingredients to form a mostly smooth, shiny dough. Don't worry; what starts out as a sticky mess becomes beautifully satiny as it kneads. Knead this dough on medium speed for about 5 minutes.

Drizzle a little canola around your dough and use a spatula to lift the dough and coat the bowl under it so the dough ball isn’t stuck to the bowl. 

Cover the bowl with cling film and let it rise for 1 1/2-2 hours, until doubled, or overnight in the refrigerator.

To make the peanut butter filling: Place all of the filling ingredients in a bowl and beat until thoroughly combined.

On a liberally floured surface, dump the dough out and form it into a rectangle.  Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces and roll them into balls. Cover with a damp cloth. 

With the first piece of dough, roll it out into a 4 1/2-inch wide by 12-inch wide long rectangle. 

Spread a few teaspoons of the filling evenly onto the rectangle, stopping before the edge. 

Roll the rectangle tightly, in a horizontal fashion, into a log. 

Transfer the log to a platter that can fit in your freezer and put it in there. Repeat with the other pieces of dough. Transfer the logs to the freezer as you make them. 

Brush the muffin pan with canola and set aside. 

Remove the first roll of dough you made from the freezer and trim off the edges on both sides of the roll. Using your clean kitchen scissors, cut the roll in half, lengthwise, almost all the way to the end, so the striations of the dough and filling are visible. Leave the very end connected on one side. 

With the cut sides facing up, place the left side of the log over the right and then repeat with the right over the left until you've braided or twisted the two together. Pinch the cut end closed. 

Shape the braided dough into a circle, making sure the "ends" go past the circle and overlap one another. 

Tuck the long ends under the up through the center hole.

 

Transfer to the greased cavities of your muffin pan. Repeat with the remaining logs.  

Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise 1 hour or until the rolls have risen out of the muffin pan. Preheat the oven to 350°F or 180°C

Gently brush the tops of the buns with egg wash and transfer to the oven to bake for 15-17 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Allow to cool in muffin pan for 5 minutes and then move to a cooling rack. 

Enjoy! 

It's time for my Bread Bakers group to share recipes for babka! Check out the links below. Many thanks to our host, Kelly from Passion Kneaded. 

• Baby Babkas from A Day in the Life on the Farm
• Chocolate and Pistachio Babka from Passion Kneaded
• Chutney and Paneer Babka from Magical Ingredients
• Cinnamon Blueberry Babka from Karen's Kitchen Stories
• Nutella Babka Buns from Sneha's Recipe
• Peanut Butter Babka Buns from Food Lust People Love
• Pecan Pie Babka from A Messy Kitchen
• Savoury Babka with Sun-dried Tomato, Feta, and Coriander Chutney from Cook with Renu

#BreadBakers is a group of bread loving bakers who get together once a month to bake bread with a common ingredient or theme. Follow our Pinterest board right here. Links are also updated each month on this home page. We take turns hosting each month and choosing the theme/ingredient.

Pin these Peanut Butter Babka Buns!

 .