Chocolate Pumpkin Bread with Hazelnuts

Name: Chocolate Pumpkin Bread with Hazelnuts
Total time: 20 min
Ingredients: ¼ cup maple syrup, room temperature; 1 (.25-ounce) package active dry yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons; 2 ¼ cups bread flour; 1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour; 1 cup hazelnuts, chopped; 1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips; 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon; 1 teaspoon ground ginger; 1 teaspoon kosher salt; ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg; ¼ teaspoon ground cloves; 1 cup pumpkin puree

The Estate Bakery

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread with Hazelnuts

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The Strategy:

This recipe aggressively forces heavy, wildly decadent ingredients into a deeply earthy whole-wheat yeast dough. By combining thick pumpkin puree, sharp spices, whole wheat flour, intensely dark chocolate, and wildly rich hazelnuts, the bread develops a staggeringly dense, wildly robust crumb. Baking this heavily loaded dough produces a fiercely crusty artisan loaf that brilliantly balances the bitter, dark chocolate with the warm, deeply spiced pumpkin crumb.

Makes: 1 loaf | Total Time: 20 minutes to form dough, plus about 1 ½ hours for bread to rise and about 40 minutes to bake

Ingredients

For yeast mixture

¼ cup maple syrup, room temperature
1 (.25-ounce) package active dry yeast, 2 ¼ teaspoons

For flour and mix-ins

2 ¼ cups bread flour
1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour
1 cup hazelnuts, chopped
1 cup mini semisweet chocolate chips

For spices and seasonings

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon kosher salt
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cloves

For pumpkin base

1 cup pumpkin puree

Ingredients arranged: massive mounds of unbleached bread flour and coarse whole wheat flour, a dark ceramic bowl of incredibly vibrant, thick orange pumpkin puree, small bowls of rich maple syrup, dark brown spices, chopped hazelnuts, and heaps of intensely dark mini chocolate chips surrounding a heavy metal mixing bowl on a marble prep board.

Instructions

Make dough

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.

Rise, shape and bake

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.

A cook's floured bare hands kneading a heavy, violently thick, intensely orange dough studded with dark chocolate chips and toasted hazelnuts directly on a floured marble slab. The rich ingredients are bursting through the soft, vibrant raw dough.

The full recipe lives in the Vault

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The Heart of the Table

Dropping a massive, heavy wooden board bearing a wildly crusty, deeply dark pumpkin and chocolate loaf directly onto the table instantly commands the entire room. The fierce, deeply spiced smell of hot cinnamon, dark melted chocolate, and wildly toasted hazelnuts forces guests to eagerly reach out, aggressively slicing massive, heavily loaded portions.

8 guests gathered tightly around a laden, sun-drenched rustic dining table, laughing loudly, slicing massive portions of crusty, orange pumpkin chocolate bread directly off a heavy wooden board, and smearing it with salted butter while drinking steaming dark coffee from large mugs in a Palm Beach Estate. A massive board of decadent bread anchors the lively coastal morning party.

Neighborly Grace

THE PRESENTATION: Do not casually slice this in the kitchen. Present the massively thick, heavily crusted loaf entirely whole on a dark rustic wooden board. Provide thick, heavy crocks of wildly soft, deeply salted European butter for immediate, aggressive smearing right at the table.
THE POUR: The fiercely earthy, deeply spiced notes of the pumpkin and dark chocolate demand a wildly robust, highly comforting pairing. A massively dark, fiercely hot pour-over coffee or an incredibly bold, deeply spiced chai tea perfectly slices through the rich butter while elegantly highlighting the toasted hazelnuts.
THE VIBE: Deeply cozy, highly energetic autumnal mornings. This is the wildly impressive project you execute for a massive, loud coastal brunch, served directly from the cooling rack to the sun-drenched breakfast room, demanding an atmosphere of incredibly relaxed, deeply authentic, and fiercely unpretentious indulgence.

Chef’s Recommendations

The Savory Half of Breakfast: Perfect Scrambled Eggs
Something Fresh on the Table: Blueberry Crumble Parfaits
The Salty Side: Caramelized Brown Sugar Candied Bacon
Something Hot to Drink: Hot Cocoa

The Estate Table

Build tonight’s menu around this dish.

✦ Set the Table

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread with Hazelnuts

Chocolate Pumpkin Bread with Hazelnuts

The full recipe lives in the Vault

The Heart of the Table

Neighborly Grace

✨ The Gilded Swaps