This Sourdough Pumpkin Hokkaido Milk Bread is so soft and flavorful, and perfect for breakfast toast. 

It is the perfect bread for sandwiches and toast, and an excellent way to use up leftover pumpkin puree. The bread doesn't taste like pumpkin, but the puree adds a gorgeous color to the bread.

This bread takes a couple (or three) days to make, but it is well worth it. The flavor that is developed over time with this enriched bread is dependent on a long fermentation.

You may notice that the top of this bread is pretty dark. This is because I did not pay as close attention to the loaf as it was baking as I normally do, and did not tent it with foil. I was watching my Dodgers lose to the Cubs, and forgot to park myself in front of the oven window.

I've adjusted the original recipe's baking time to adjust for this, or if you like your bread "bien cuit," go for it. It's just the crust! And it's pretty dramatic.

The timing of this bread was dramatically different than the original recipe for me. The final loaf rose a lot faster, and the oven spring was amazing. Just be sure to use an active sourdough starter, and you will produce an amazing and colorful loaf.

This bread does not include a tangzhong, but I'm pretty sure you could add one if you like. Check out this recipe for a tangzhong sourdough.

This is the best bread for grilled cheese!

Sourdough Pumpkin Milk Bread

Ingredients

Levain

• 18 grams mature 100 percent hydration sourdough starter
• 30 grams milk
• 56 grams bread flour

Final Dough

• 276 grams bread flour
• 34 grams granulated sugar
• 85 gram pumpkin puree
• 1 large egg, beaten
• 15 grams milk powder
• 110 grams milk, lukewarm
• All of the levain
• 5 grams fine sea salt
• 34 grams softened unsalted butter

Instructions

1. Mix the levain ingredients, cover with plastic wrap, and let ferment for 10 to 12 hours, until puffy.
2. Mix the final dough ingredients together, except the butter and salt, until you have a shaggy dough. Cover with plastic wrap or a tea towel and let rest for 30 minutes.
3. Add the salt, and knead the dough in a stand mixer for about 5 minutes. Add the butter in two stages and continue to knead until each stage is incorporated. Knead on medium for about 10 minutes, until the dough is very elastic.
4. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for two hours at room temperature. Transfer the bowl to the refrigerator and let ferment for 8 to 24 hours.
5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 4 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball. Cover each ball with oiled plastic wrap and let rest for about one hour.
6. On a lightly floured surface, and using a lightly floured rolling pin. Roll each piece into an oval, and then roll the oval up like a jelly roll. Let the rolls rest for 10 minutes, and then roll the rolls out again into ovals and re-roll into a jelly roll shape.
7. Transfer the four rolls, seam side down, into an oiled one pound loaf pan and cover. Allow the loaf to rise until it reaches up to about 1/2 inch below the top of the pan. This should take about 3 hours.
8. About 1 hour before baking, preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. When the dough is ready, uncover, and transfer to the oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, rotating the pan half way through. Watch the loaf closely, and tent with foil if it gets too dark. The loaf's interior should reach about 190 to 200 degrees F.
9. When the loaf is done, turn it out onto a wire rack and cool completely before slicing.

Adapted from Cook Til Delicious adapted from TXFarmer on The Fresh Loaf