Pumpkin Brioche

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Mix dough: about 15 minutes
First fermentation: 1 hour at room temperature, then overnight in the refrigerator
Divide and preshape: 10 minutes
Chill: 20 minutes
Shape: varies
Proof: 1.5 – 2.5 hours
Bake: varies

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Ingredients

  • 768 g flour
  • 40 g (about 2) egg yolks, cold
  • 100 g (about 2) whole eggs, cold
  • 425 g (one can) pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie mix)
  • 14 g ( 4.5 t.) instant yeast
  • 14 g (2-1/3 t.) salt
  • 2 g (3/4 t.) ground cinnamon
  • 2 g (3/4 t.) ground ginger
  • 1 g (1/2 t.) ground nutmeg
  • 1 g (1/2 t.) ground cardamom
  • 154 g sugar
  • 307 g unsalted butter, at room temperature

Preparation

Step 1

Place flour, eggs, pumpkin, yeast, salt, and spices in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix at low speed for about 4 minutes. It is normal for the dough to be quite stiff at this point.
With the mixer in medium speed, add the sugar very slowly, in 3 or 4 increments. Mix for about 2 minutes following each addition. (If you add the sugar too quickly, mixing will take longer.)
Continue to mix in medium speed until the gluten reaches full development, i.e., you can stretch a paper thin, translucent “windowpane” from the dough.
Turn the mixer back to low speed and add the butter all at once. Mix for a minute in low speed, then turn the mixer to medium speed and mix until the butter is completely incorporated. You should now have a dough that is very soft and satiny, quite extensible (stretchy) but also strong and elastic (springs back after being stretched)
Transfer the dough to a covered, buttered container and ferment at room temperature for one hour.
Press the dough to degas it and refrigerate it overnight (8 – 12 hours).
Divide the and preshape the dough into the sizes and shapes you will need for your final product. (For the tart above, 300 g, preshaped into a ball. For small rolls, 50 g, also balls. For eight cinnamon rolls, 750 g, rolled into an approximately 8 x 10-inch rectangle.)
Space the preshaped dough on a parchment-lined baking sheet and slip the sheet into a plastic bag or cover with plastic wrap.
Refrigerate at least 20 minutes to re-chill thoroughly.
The dough is now ready to be shaped, proofed, and baked.

Pepita Cream

Yield: 3/4 cup (1/4 cup is needed for 8 cinnamon rolls)

Time:

Mix: 10 minutes
Refrigerate: up to 2 days (optional)
Bring to room temperature: about an hour

Ingredients:

56 g toasted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)
56 g fine granulated sugar
18 g flour
1.5 g (1/4 t.)salt
56 g unsalted butter, at room temperature
25 g egg (this is about half an egg; use the other half to egg-wash the tart)
2 g (1/2 t.) vanilla extract

Method:

Place pepitas, sugar, flour, and salt into the bowl of a food processor. Pulse a few times, then process until the pepitas are very finely ground.
In a bowl, cream the butter with a hand mixer until fluffy.
Add the egg, vanilla, and a tablespoon or so of the pepita mixture, and beat until the egg is incorporated.
Add the remaining pepita mixture and mix until just incorporated.
Refrigerate for up to two days. Bring to room temperature before using.

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