Perfect your pumpkin bread: Tips to avoid a soggy bottom
This is the perfect time to bake delicious pumpkin bread. The bread's flavour is so versatile that it can be served both sweet, for example, with jam, and savoury, with melted cheese. Unfortunately, baking pumpkin bread often results in a soggy bottom. If you want to minimise the risk of failure, be sure to learn this trick.
Risen and fluffy, yet soft and moist pumpkin bread is a great addition to the autumn menu. It's a shame not to take advantage of the good things nature provides us in the form of seasonal vegetables. Pumpkin is one of the most versatile culinary vegetables, although its potential is not yet fully explored. Let the pumpkin bread recipe help you discover the possibilities of pumpkin.
Pumpkin bread: Why does it get a soggy bottom?
If you follow the recipe, bread with the addition of pumpkin will be pleasantly fluffy and simultaneously moist. Some are tempted to add pumpkin purée (instead of grated pumpkin), which is not always advisable. Remember that the high moisture content of such purée can overly weigh down the batter and ultimately result in a soggy bottom.
Of course, not every pumpkin becomes loose-fleshed when baked: purée from a regular pumpkin will be watery, while butternut squash will give us a firm and meaty mousse. It's worth remembering that baked goods should be handled gently and with a measure of caution, and experimenting with purée can simply result in a soggy bottom.
Pumpkin bread with dry yeast: Recipe
Ingredients:
- 450 ml warm water,
- 14 g instant dry yeast,
- 2 level teaspoons of sugar,
- 700 g plain flour,
- 2-3 teaspoons of salt,
- 200 g shelled pumpkin seeds,
- 280 g pumpkin (peeled).
Preparation:
- Grate the pumpkin on a coarse grater.
- Sift the flour into a bowl. Add the dry yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix everything, then add the water and stir again to combine the ingredients.
- Add the grated pumpkin and pumpkin seeds to the mixture (leave about 30 g for sprinkling the pan). You can chop the seeds beforehand.
- Knead the dough, and once ready, set it aside to rise (covered in a warm place).
- Grease a loaf pan with butter and sprinkle with pumpkin seeds.
- When the dough doubles, lightly knead it on a floured surface, then place it in the tin. Set aside for another 10 minutes to rise.
- Bake the dough at 200°C for 60 minutes (until a skewer comes out clean).
- Once done, leave the bread in the tin for 10 minutes after removing it from the oven.
- Then cool on a rack.
