Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Sprinkle yeast over warm water mixed with a little maple syrup and wait until foamy, then whisk bread and whole wheat flours with hazelnuts, mini chocolate chips, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves and salt. Stir pumpkin with the yeast water and remaining syrup into the dry mix, knead briefly, and let rise for 1 hour. Fold the dough onto itself in the bowl, rise another 30 minutes, then bake in a loaf pan at 375° until golden brown and cool on a wire rack.
This is a bread with a foot in two worlds — the tender, pillowy crumb of a yeast loaf and the cozy flavor of pumpkin, spice, and semisweet chocolate. It rises slow and patient like any good yeasted bread, but the pumpkin keeps it soft and the chocolate makes it feel like a treat. Sliced and toasted with a little butter, it is the kind of autumn bread that blurs the line between breakfast and dessert, and no one minds one bit.
Building and Proofing the Enriched Dough
Mix the leaven into a soft dough spiced for autumn, then let it proof until it is puffed and doubled. Yeasted dough rewards patience above all — give it the time and warmth it needs to rise properly, and the loaf will bake up tender and light rather than dense.
The Chocolate and Pumpkin Bake
Fold the chocolate-studded, pumpkin-spiced dough over on itself, then bake it until the crust turns deep and the kitchen fills with warm spice. The pumpkin keeps the crumb soft and moist while the chocolate melts into rich pockets throughout — a loaf that is as good toasted the next morning as it is fresh.
Chocolate Pumpkin Bread
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- Pour 1 tablespoon of the maple syrup into a measuring cup with 1 cup warm water.
- Sprinkle with yeast. Wait until the liquid is foamy, about 10 minutes.
- Whisk together the flours, nuts, chocolate, spices, and salt in a large bowl.
- Add the pumpkin to a bowl.
- Whisk in the yeast water and the remaining syrup.
- Combine the wet ingredients with the dry ingredients.
- Use a spatula to bring the dough together.
- Sprinkle your work surface with a generous amount of flour.
- Transfer the dough and knead the dough until it comes together and no flour shows through, about 2 to 3 minutes.
- Set the dough in a bowl coated with vegetable oil spray. Roll the dough around in the bowl to coat all sides.
- Cover with a clean dish towel and move to a warm place to rise for 1 hour.
- After an hour, remove the dough from its cozy hideout and use a spatula to fold the dough onto itself while you turn the bowl, about 8 to 10 turns.
- Cover again and move the bowl back to the warm place to rise for another 30 minutes.
- Preheat your oven to 375°.
- Coat a (9 x 5 x 3-inch) loaf pan with vegetable oil spray.
- Use a spatula to transfer the dough to the loaf pan.
- Bake until the top is golden brown, about 35 to 40 minutes.
- Cool in the pan for 10 minutes and then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
Notes
The Heart of the Table
A homemade yeast bread carries a warmth that no store loaf can match — the smell of it baking is hospitality itself. To slice a loaf like this, still faintly warm and studded with chocolate, is to offer someone real comfort, the kind of generous, from-scratch care that makes a house feel like a home.
The Art of the Host
Give the dough a full, patient rise for the best texture, and let the loaf cool before slicing so the crumb sets. It toasts beautifully the next day — a slice under the broiler with a little butter is the perfect way to enjoy any that lasts past the first day.
Neighborly Grace
- The Preparation: The dough can be mixed and given a slow, overnight rise in the refrigerator, so you can bake a fresh loaf in the morning. The baked bread also keeps and toasts well for several days, making it easy to enjoy over a leisurely autumn week.
- The Pour: A cup of coffee or a mug of chai spice tea is the natural partner to a slice of this loaf; for a cozy non-alcoholic pairing, warm pumpkin-spiced steamed milk carries the same autumnal warmth.
- The Vibe: Serve it sliced and toasted with butter for breakfast, or plain as a not-too-sweet dessert. This is warm, autumnal baking — the kind of loaf that fills the house with spice and makes a slow fall morning feel like a small celebration.