So today I am bringing you a recipe that I was lucky enough to get from a friend that stay's in Germany. The amounts are estimates as her mother simply said you must be able to feel when the dough feels right. Being a chef and a passionate baker my self I understand what she means by that. It the same with me when I cook at home, I never use exact amounts of each ingredients. But rather add this or that till I feel that the taste and texture is at the correct level or desire. But too make it a bit easier for all of you, I have decided to make the amounts as accurate as possible so you don't have to guess.   
As for the pumpkin to use when making this fabulous bread is really up too you. I would use a sweeter pumpkin just to ensure that the flavour is properly carried through out the bread. You can also prepare the pumpkin two different ways. The first way is to simply boil it until it is soft and you are able to mash it into a smooth paste. The second way is to roast it in the oven. This method will make the end product a bit sweeter as the natural sugars will be caramelise while in the dry cooking method. (I prefer to roast it, not just because of the extra sweetness but also because the paste will not be as wet) Too spice up this bread, great spices to add is cinnamon, nutmeg or even cardamon. To make it more of a sweeter bread, you can add a it more brown treacle sugar and a hint of vanilla extract. 
So with out a further a due here is the recipe and method to make this tasty bread. Enjoy and don't be shy to share your pictures and results. 

Ingredients 

• 350 g of pumpkin
• 500ml milk
• 30g fresh bakers yeast 
• 2 tbs brown sugar
• 200g butter
• 450g-500g white flour (depending on the wetness of your pumpkin puree)
• 1 tsp salt 
  

Method

1. Preheat your oven too 190C/374F after bulk proofing is done. 
2. Peel and deseed your pumpkin. If you choose to boil your pumpkin, use the milk to boil it in and once it is soft either use a hand blender or potato musher to break it down to a smooth texture. If you choose to roast it in the oven, place it in a baking tray and then cover with tin foil and place into the oven at 180C/356F till soft. Then place into the milk and blend until smooth. 
3. Allow the milk and pumpkin mixture to cool down before using.
4. Once the liquid to cooled down, you can start with your bread. 
5. Place all your dry ingredients into a bowl along with the yeast, then add in your milk and pumpkin (should not be cold but room temp) liquid and start to knead till you have formed a dough ball. If it's still sticky, add more flour till you have a smooth ball of dough. 
6. Now this is where the difficult part starts, add your butter now to the mixing bowl and start to work the butter into the dough. (this is quite messy and takes patience and constant kneading, at this point do not add any extra flour) Once all the butter is worked in and the dough is not sticky any more then your dough is ready for the bulk proofing. 
7. Bulk proof for 2 hours and after every hour degas your dough. 
8. Once the bulk proofing is done, shape your dough and place into you greased bread tin and allow to proof for another hour before placing into the pre-heated oven. 
9. Bake for 25-30 or until golden brown, remove and allow to cool down before cutting. 
10. Hope you enjoy it and make sure to share your photo's

So this is another one of my own inventions, and I had to bake about 8 breads before I got all my ingredient percentages right in order to get the desired consistency in my final product. All the Rye breads I've bought all seemed to be the same, they were all very heavy and dense. I personally don't like having rye bread like that, I would have preferred it to be a bit more aerated with a nice crisp crust. So I took it upon myself to make the kind of rye bread I would enjoy having. But lets first talk a bit about the main things that make rye flour different to that of normal white flour. The two main components which jump out to me is the flavour profile as well as the significantly lower gluten content. The flavour of rye flour is much more prominent than that of white flour, thus rye seeds are also used to make whisky, vodka and even beers. The significantly reduced amount of gluten has a huge effect on the elasticity of the dough, it doesn't allow stretching and instead breaks.  You will see when working with rye flour it resembles something more to that of a thick paste than dough. This makes it difficult to work with when your making your bread. Unlike when using white flour where the dough becomes stretched and strengthens when you knead it, rye flour simply does not strengthens at all. This causes a lot of people to add loads of white flour when they make their rye bread, which changes the ratios completely, meaning they won't get what the recipe intended at the end product. Making bread is a science, so when you make this recipe keep in mind not to add loads of white flour, simply combine all your ingredients as directed in the method and work it till everything is well incorporated. 

Another very important aspect to remember when baking bread and intending to increase the volume of bread is that you can't just simply double or triple all the ingredients. Each ingredient is given a percentage of the complete dough, and to ensure you get what the recipe intended you need to adhere to those percentages. If you just double or triple the ingredients, you will not have the correct consistency. This will leave you with a dough that is either over hydrated or under hydrated, and in return you will add more or less flour than what was intended. You will have noticed that in the final product your dough is very dense, is not well aerated or is even under baked because of this. 

I will be posting 2 pictures of examples where I increased the original recipe to 3.6kg. If you do not understand what I have done to get the new amounts simply leave a comment and I will be glad to help you out. I will discuss this topic at length on one of my other posts in the near future. In this recipe I've made use of a Poolish method (which is a loose preferment) to gain two different advantages from it, this being increased flavour and  gluten development. When you make a preferment, you allow for the yeast and the flour to create a more intense flavour profile. I have also used a small amount of whole wheat flour in the recipe, and made use of the little amount of gluten in there to create some sort of a stretch in the final dough, thus by using it in the preferment I'm allow it to form gluten. 
Note: The ingredients used in the Poolish method are not extra but instead are from the overall ingredients. Please don't use separate ingredient for the Poolish method.

Ingredients 
Overall amount 

• 300g Rye (75%)
• 100g W/w Flour (25%)
• 100g Rolled Oats (25%)
• 400g Water (100%)
• 12g Salt (3%)
• 40g Sugar (10%)
• 10g Dry Instant Yeast (2.5%)

Poolish Method (these amount are to be taken from the overall amount)

• 100g Rye (33.33%)
• 100g W/w Flour (100%)
• 100g Rolled Oats (100%)
• 300g Water (75%)
• 4g Yeast (40%)

Poolish Method 

1. Place the yeast into a medium to large container and add the 300g of water (the water should be between 34-42˚C) and allow to bloom for a minute.
   
2. Now add in your oats and two flours, mix well till totally incorporated and then allow to ferment for 12 hour or over night in a dark warm place. 

Method

1. Once your preferment is ready, place your salt and sugar in a mixing bowl first, then your flour and water, and then yeast ( never place the yeast straight onto the salt or sugar). 
2. Mix till most of the flour is incorporated and next add all of your preferment.
3.  If you're using a mixer, turn the speed up to medium and allow to mix for 2 minutes and then scrape down the sides and mix for another 3 minutes. 
4. If you kneading by hand, you will notice it is very sticky and does not come together like normal dough. Don't worry just continue kneading till all the ingredients are well incorporated ( this should take about 8-12 minutes).
5. Now place the dough into a air tight container or simply wrap with plastic and allow to bulk ferment for 1 hour in a dark warm place. 
6. After the hour has passed dust a bit of flour over the top and simply degas it by knocking it down in the bowl. Allow to ferment(proof) for another hour. 
7. In the mean time you can pre-heat your oven to 190˚C
   
8. Now that the bulk proofing is complete, remove your dough and place on a well floured station. Simply fold the dough onto itself once or twice and then form into a rectangle that will fit into you baking tin. 
9. Brush you baking tin with either butter or oil, and then place dough inside and allow to final proof for 45-60 minutes (remember to cover the dough with a lose plastic sheet).
10. Once final proofing is done drop 3 ice cubes in the bottom of your oven and place your bread in the oven. Bake for about 20-25 minutes. It should have a lovely dark golden top when complete. 
11. Remove and allow to cool down for 30 minutes. 

Enjoy with a bit of salted butter.  


Edited by: Monique Boaventura

Akita Komachi Rice:
This is one of two Japonica medium-grain rice, which is favoured for making sushi and other dishes which include sticky rice. It is not only cultivated in Japan, but also in California, and many other American States.  

Arborio Rice:
Arborio rice was named after the town in Italy where it is grown. Arborio is located in the Po Valley. This round-grain medium length rice is actually more of a tan colour than pure white, it also has a distinctive white dot in the center  of the grain. This grain has the ability to absorb great amounts of liquid and in doing so can take on loads of flavour. Once cooked it has a creamy texture (this is due to its high starch content) with a chewy center (al dente) and is mostly used for risotto.  I was told by my Chef at College that a good risotto should not take more or less than 20 minutes. 

Baldo Rice:
Baldo rice is a rice which was created by crossing Arborio rice and the Stripe 136 rice variety. This made Baldo rice high in starch (which made it stickier than most other rice varieties used for risotto) and allowed it to cook faster and keep its plump shape at high cooking temperatures. These characteristics made it popular amongst chefs, using it instead of the traditional Arborio. It is also the favourite rice used in Turkish Cuisine, included in risotto like dishes, and can also be used in other applications. 

It is also of the Japonica variety, and is classified as a super fine rice. 

It is mainly grown in Turkey, Italy as well as Vietnam 

Basmati Rice:
This centuries old long-grain, slender rice has been cultivated at the foot of the Himalayas in Pakistan and India. The word Basmati in Hindi when literally translated means "pearl of scents" or "queen of scents" due to its aromatic aroma when cooked. This rice is non-glutinous and separates once cooked. When cooked it also only swells length wise. It has been exported to Arab countries for centuries, where it is used in rich aromatic dishes. 

When cooking this rice the ratio of rice to water is 1 part rice 2 parts water. 

Always wash off the rice, then place on a high heat with the water. Once it starts to boil, time it for 5 minutes then cover with tight fitting lid and turn off the heat completely. Leave covered for 20 minutes and have perfect rice every time. 

Bhutanese Red Rice:
This beautiful rusty brown red coloured rice is also grown in the Himalayas, but it is grown 8,000 feet above sea level ( 2438.4 meters). The name is some what named ofter the place where it is cultivated, which is the Himalaya Kingdom of Bhudan. It is said that the rice is irrigated (watered) by a 1,000 year old glacier which is rich in trace minerals, which gives it its earthy and nutty flavour. Once cooked, it has a soft texture and has a slightly pinker appearance. Bhatanese red rice is the staple of the Kingdom. 

Black Rice (Forbidden rice):
The term forbidden rice comes from when the Chinese Emperors were the only ones allowed to consume this unique black rice. It is a non-glutinous rice unlike other varieties from Asia. It has a deep nutty taste as well as hints of chocolate in it, making this the perfect rice to cook on valentines day. This rice is not just special because of its black appearance when raw and deep purple appearance once cooked but because it is high in fiber, amino acids as well as vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, potassium and iron. 

Research has also shown that it benefits your eyes, kidneys, spleen and stomach. 

Edited by: Monique Boaventura

This coming week will be dedicated to building up my Ingredients list on my website, starting with all the different types of rice. And if you think you know your rice, then think again! This list of different types of rice will "BLOW" your mind! Don't believe me? Just wait and see. These are but a few of the many different rice strains you can get! So keep an eye out for that, and brush up on your rice knowledge! 

Edited by: Monique Boaventura