Harvest Bread

I found this recipe on the Cookingbread.com website.  It sounded so good and perfect for this time of year.  What made it sound interesting is that it is made using acorn squash and it is a yeast bread!  I thought to myself I've got to try this bread.  Fortunately my farmer's markets were still open and I knew the perfect place to get good acorn squash!

Harvest Bread

Ingredients:

Squash:
1 to 2 acorn squash
2 t butter
2 t brown sugar
4 T syrup (maple if you have it)

Day before you bake:
1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 t instant yeast

Day you bake:
2 3/4 cups to 3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup mashed squash (see above)
1 t instant yeast
a dash of salt
1/4 cup lukewarm water
1/4 cup flax seed meal
2 T flax seeds (I couldn't find flax seeds, so I used sesame seeds instead)

Directions:

Squash
Take your acorn squash and cut in half ( length wise ). Spread butter all around the inside of both halves. Pour equal amounts of brown sugar and maple syrup between both halves. Place the squash into a baking dish and add enough water to fill the dish about 1 to 2 inches. Bake in a preheated oven for 1 hour or till the squash is soft when poking with a fork. After baked, remove the inside of the squash and mash with a fork. Reserve one cup of the mashed squash and eat the rest. ( You can do all this the day before ).

Take the "day before" ingredients and mix together in a bowl with a wooden spoon. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest on the counter for 12 - 16 hours.

To make bread:
In a large bowl pour out the " day before"  mixture (above). It should have grown and bubbled. Add in the mashed squash, water, salt and instant yeast. Mix with a wooden spoon till the mixture is smooth. Add in the flax meal. Mix until well blended. Add in half the whole wheat flour and mix till smooth (I found it easier to knead with my hands in the bowl than trying to mix with a spoon).  Slowly add the rest of the flour a little at a time, about a heaping tablespoon. When it becomes to hard to mix, pour out onto a flat surface and knead the dough for about 8 minutes. You may need a little more flour, but you want the dough to be a little on the sticky side. After kneading, add a little oil to a large bowl. Place kneaded dough and flip over a few times to lightly coat all sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 1/2 hours or till double in bulk. Remove dough from bowl and press to release the gas. Cut into 2 equal parts. Shape into 2 round balls and place onto a piece of parchment paper sprinkled with cornmeal ( optional). Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest for 1 hour or doubled in bulk. Remove the plastic wrap. Take an egg white and beat till foamy. Brush the tops of the dough with the foam and sprinkle a little flax seeds on top. Score the top of the breads with a sharp knife. Place into a preheated 375 degree oven with a baking stone or on a cookie sheet. Create some steam by placing a cast iron pan on the bottom of the oven the same time that you turn on the oven. Once you place the breads into the oven pour about a cup of boiling water into the hot pan and close the door. Bake for 30 minutes or till when tapped on the bottom of the loaf it sounds hollow.

This recipe makes two small loaves. 

Verdict

I have to say that this is one of the best homemade whole wheat loaves I've had  in a long time!  Definitely a keeper recipe!  Most of the homemade whole wheat breads turn out very hard - made great doorstops!  Interestingly, you don't taste the acorn squash in it.  Don't think you will be disappointed with this bread!

Enjoy!