Kabocha Pumpkin Bread Quartet

南瓜麵包四重奏 Kabocha pumpkin bread quartet: raisin loaf, mozzarella cheese baguette, focaccia, and boule.

It’s hard not to fall in love with pumpkins; their festive colors proclaim harvest and abundance, blessings from the land. I love especially the kabocha variety, which wraps its striking orange interior in a sedate green jacket. Having a delicately fluffy texture and exceptionally sweet flavor, kabocha pumpkins are celebrated in Japanese cuisine as taste of autumn, and appear in dishes such as tempuras, stews, and sweets. They are also superb soloist.

Steaming in a rice cooker is the most convenient and foolproof way to prepare kabocha: Place a stainless steel bowl in the rice cooker. Put in the bowl a wedge (Asian markets may carry cut kabocha.) – clean out the seeds and fibers in the center, but need not cube the flesh. Add 1 to 2 ounces of water outside the bowl (but inside the rice cooker, of course). Plug in the rice cooker and let it do its job. When the wonderful aroma of the steamed pumpkin assaults your nostrils, curb your desire to open the rice cooker immediately, but hold for a few minutes, allowing the steam to settle and pumpkin to rest. Then transfer to a beautiful plate, sprinkle a few grains of kosher salt (or not), and enjoy the simplicity and fullness of fall!

Without a rice cooker, you can steam them on a stove as any starchy root vegetable. Once steamed, they are easy to manipulate: cube, mash, puree…, just as you would abuse – I mean, treat – a cooked sweet potato.

I like making pumpkin breads with leftover kabocha. With a little assistance of modern technology, this is practically effortless. The only drawback, as with all yeast breads, is that it takes time! But as with most beautiful things in life, it’s worth the wait.

Basic Kabocha Pumpkin Bread (All ingredients are organic, except yeast and salt.)

Into the bowl of a bread maker, or of an electric stand mixer:

½ C steamed kabocha pumpkin, cubed. (Because the pre-cooked pumpkins get mashed pretty well during beating and kneading, chop them loosely if you like pumpkin chunks in your bread. I like to keep the skins, as they are full of nutrients and become playful little green dots glistering in the bright yellow loaves.)

¾ C water or milk. (If using milk, scald first to kill bacteria or enzymes that would interfere with the activity of the yeast.)

1T vegetable oil, pumpkin seed, canola, or grape seed. (This can be omitted if using whole milk.)

3C all purpose flour. Up to ½ C more maybe needed.

1t active dry yeast.

Dash of salt.

If using a bread maker, please follow the order of additions, so the yeast will not contact the wet ingredients too early to lose its effectiveness. Select the “dough” function, and start.

Flour may be added during the kneading process, small amount at a time, if the dough is too wet and sticky. When kneading finishes and a smooth mass is formed, transfer it to a large oiled bowl. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel to keep warm but allow the carbon dioxide produced during carbohydrate fermentation to escape.

Let the dough rise at room temperature until doubled or tripled in size. Because of the amount of yeast in this recipe, it can take 2~4 hours, up to 18 hours. Punch down and flip the dough once or twice during rising.

Turn the dough onto a surface dusted with flour. Divide into two equal portions. Shape each portion into a rectangle. Beginning at the long side, tuck the ends and roll up each rectangle to form a tight log.

Gently transfer the logs onto a silicone baking mat, seam side down. Let rise inside the oven, at room temperature, until 2 ½ times their original size, about 1 hour.

With the logs still in the oven, heat to 350F. When the oven reaches 350F, bake until the loaves are crusty and browned, about 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer the loaves to a cooling rack. Serve warm with cold butter. Or spread with pumpkin butter and cream cheese and serve as breakfast or dessert. Or top with prosciutto and mozzarella and serve as appetizers or snacks. They are also great as panini sandwiches.