Pumpkin Shaped Bread in an Hour
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This Pumpkin Shaped Bread is a delicious, soft, tender, slightly sweetened bread that’s perfect during the autumn months and is easier to make than you might imagine. And time? That’s easy too; it’s ready in about one hour!
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This bread is such a fun fall baking project. Perfect for special occasions, like Thanksgiving or any entertaining you might do. I love to serve this bread on savory charcuterie boards with cheeses, spreads, and fruits. Or as a centerpiece for a special dinner.
And easy? Incredibly so! If you’ve baked bread, this is a simple bread recipe. If you haven’t worked with shaping dough, this Pumpkin Shaped Bread will make you look like an expert. Plus… it’s fun!
What I Love About This Pumpkin Shaped Bread
There isn’t a major holiday when I’m not baking bread. It’s the perfect accompaniment to a feast. And this bread is no exception. When autumn’s vibrant leaves begin to light up the sky, I’m baking this easy fall-inspired bread. Here’s what I love about it:
- It’s delicious! It’s a cross between my favorite 1 Hour Homemade French Bread and Quick Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls.
- Centerpiece worthy for a festive table or to highlight a cheese board.
- Easy to make in about an hour!
Helpful Kitchen Tools
A stand mixer makes breadmaking incredibly easy. If you have one, definitely use it with the dough hook. Otherwise, you can also make it by hand. Once the dough comes together, you will want to knead it on a floured surface for about 8-10 minutes. Then, proceed with the recipe.
Here are some other tools you will need:
- Parchment paper for lining two baking sheets.
- Bakers twine for shaping the bread.
- Dough slashing knife (or razor blade) for cutting patterns into dough.
- A pastry brush is helpful for the egg wash.
Pumpkin Shaped Bread Ingredients
Specific ingredient measurements are in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.
- Flour: I prefer bread flour for the best rise and texture in this recipe, but you can also use all-purpose flour.
- Instant yeast: This recipe is written using instant yeast, which allows the bread to rise only once and for a significantly shorter time period.
- Granulated sugar to activate the yeast
- Warmed milk for moisture and texture
- Melted butter and salt for flavor (you can substitute cooking oil for the butter if desired)
- Egg Wash for optimum color
How to Make Pumpkin Shaped Bread
Consult the recipe card below for step-by-step instructions, but this will give you an overview on how to make this simple yet delicious bread.
Making the Dough
- Combine 3 cups flour, yeast, sugar, warmed milk (see temperature in the recipe card), salt, and butter or oil in a stand mixer and mix with the dough hook. Add one more cup of flour and mix until the dough pulls away from the bowl, adding 1/2 cup additional flour as needed.
- Knead the bread for 5 minutes, then do the “window check” to see if the gluten has developed.
- Remove the dough from the mixer and shape it into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat, and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 40 minutes; it should have doubled.
Shaping the Bread
Preheat the oven to 375°F and cut 8 pieces of baker’s twine into 20-inch pieces. Arrange pieces of twine on two parchment-lined baking sheets in a criss-cross pattern.
Divide the risen dough in half, shape it into smooth balls, and place it in the center of the crisscrossed twines. Brush egg wash over each dough ball.
Grasping opposite ends of the baker’s twine, draw together and tie loosely around the dough, giving it bread room to expand during baking. Cut the excess string before moving on to the next set of strings and repeat until the string has been tied and cut.
Using a dough scoring knife (or razor blade) cut slashes into the sections to create a pretty pattern.
Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.
Remove the bread from the oven. When cool enough to handle, cut and gently remove the twine and brush lightly with melted butter for additional shine.
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Pumpkin Shaped Bread
Ingredients
- 4½- 5½ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (not active dry yeast)
- 4 tablespoons granulated sugar or honey
- 2 cups warmed milk (110℉) or water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 2 tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg
- 2 tablespoons water
Instructions
- Gently heat milk to 110℉ in the microwave or on the stovetop.
- Combine 3 cups of flour, yeast, sugar, milk (or water), salt, and butter (or oil) in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, and mix until combined. Add 1 more cup of flour and mix to combine. With the mixer running, add more flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and slightly sticky when touched with a finger. If it's overly sticky, add a little more flour as needed.
- Knead the bread in the stand mixer for 5 minutes at medium speed. Then, stretch a piece of the dough between your fingers. If you can make it very thin where you can see through the dough without tearing, the gluten has developed. Otherwise, continue to knead the dough for another couple of minutes until you can.
First Rise
- Remove the dough from the mixer and shape it into a ball. Place in an oiled bowl, turn to coat all sides, then cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 45 minutes. The dough should double in size.
Shaping the Bread
- Preheat the oven to 375℉.
- While the dough is rising, cut 8 pieces of bakers twine into 20-inch pieces. Arrange pieces of twine on a parchment lined baking sheet in a criss-cross pattern. Repeat with the second set of four.
- Divide the risen dough in half. Pull the edges of each dough to the center to form two smooth balls and place in the center of the crisscrossed twines on the baking sheets. Brush egg wash over each dough ball for even browning while baking.
- Grasping opposite ends of the baker's twine, draw them together and tie them loosely around the dough, giving it bread room to expand during baking. Cut the excess string before moving on to the next set of strings and repeat until the stall strings have been tied and cut.
- Using a dough scoring knife (or razor blade), cut slashes into the sectioned dough in a pattern. This looks pretty and lets the bread expand without tearing while baking.
- Bake the loaves for 25-30 minutes, or until golden brown. An internal temperature should read 190°-200° on an instant read thermometer or sound hollow when gently tapped on the bottom of the loaves.
- Remove the bread from the oven. When cool enough to handle, cut and gently remove the twine and brush lightly with melted butter for additional shine if desired. For a stem, you can use cinnamon sticks or candy apple sticks work beautifully, too.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
I followed this recipe to a T. It still seemed like my dough was real crumbly, so I added a little bit more water and a little bit more melted butter. The dough just didn’t seem quite right to me. It’s on the stove sitting to rise. I hope it comes out.
That’s exactly the right thing do it. Sometimes you have to adjust, depending on how you measured the flour.