This recipe will make 2 loaves.
- 1 cup cooked and mashed acorn squash*
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tbsp. honey
- 1/2 tsp. each of ground ginger and nutmeg
- generous pinch of salt
- 6 tbsp. unsalted butter, softened
- 1 1/2 tbsp. total finely ground lemon, lime and orange rinds
- 1 cup barely warm milk
- 1/3 cup warm water
- 1 tsp. brown sugar
- 1 tbsp. active dry yeast
- 4 1/2 cups flour
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tbsp. heavy cream
Cook squash until tender and drain all the liquid. Mash while still warm. Combine this now with the brown sugar, ginger, nutmeg, salt, butter, citrus rinds and warm milk. Mix thoroughly.
In 1/3 cup warm water and 1 tsp. brown sugar soften the yeast for about 5 minutes.
In a large mixing bowl (electric mixer with dough hook is perfect). Combine the squash mixture and yeast together. Begin working in the flour, 1 cup at a time, so the dough will pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes until it is smooth and elastic. Add more flour if required.
Butter a large bowl and place the dough into the bowl, turning to cover with the butter. Cover with plastic wrap and cover with a towel to let rise for about 1 hour, until doubled.
Turn the dough out and punch down and knead for 1 minute. Divide the dough into two loaves and place in greased loaf pans, seam side down. Cover with a dry towel and let rise until almost doubled. This should take about 35-40 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly brush the tops with the beaten egg and place in the lower third of the oven. Bake about 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and cool in the pans for 5 minutes.
Turn the bread out onto racks and cool at least one hour before serving. Serve warm with butter and a fruit compote.
(a l# squash should give this amount when cooked and mashed)
