Pumpkin Seed Bread

The pumpkin season is upon us and what better way to enjoy it than by baking a delicious homemade pumpkin seed bread that you love to snack on.

Table of Contents

• Ingredients
• Visual Step-by-Step Instructions
• Storage & Freezing Instructions
• More Bread Recipes
• 📖 Recipe
• 💬 Comments

Do you like to bake homemade bread? Then you should definitely try this pumpkin seed bread recipe! One of the best fall inspired bread, which fits perfectly into the pumpkin season. Basically, though, you can bake it all year round.

The main ingredients are whole wheat flour and pumpkin seeds. Thus, it is somewhat more nutritious than ordinary white bread. Pumpkin seeds are very healthy and are almost considered a superfood. Because they are rich in zinc, magnesium, iron, selenium, and the vitamins A, B1, B2, B6, C, D and E.

In addition, pumpkin seeds give this bread a nutty flavor.

You can enjoy this bread with soups, as a sandwich, with this egg salad, or simply with some cream cheese (I like vegan cashew-based cream cheese) and garden cress!

Baking pumpkin seed bread is easy yet takes some time. Good news: Most of the time is taken by the dough rising, the active time on the kitchen is manageable. So, let’s get started and bake this delicious bread together! 😉

Ingredients

See recipe card for quantities.

• Whole Wheat Flour → Or whole grain spelt flour.
• Pumpkin Seeds → Give the bread valuable nutrients and a nutty flavor.
• Instant Dry Yeast → To make the dough rise nicely! Also works with active dry yeast if you activate it: Mix lukewarm water, sugar, and active dry yeast in a bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes until foaming.
• Water → For best results, use slightly warm but not hot water.
• Salt → An aromatic bread needs a good pinch of salt.
• Sugar → Helps the dough to rise. You can also use maple syrup, or it can be omitted if you are on a sugar-free diet.

Visual Step-by-Step Instructions

This visual step-by-step instruction will help you along the way – definitely recommended if you’re a baking beginner! 😉

• Mix the flour, instant yeast, salt and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer. Pour in the lukewarm water and knead for 10 minutes on medium speed until you have a smooth yet wet dough.

• Set aside a handful of pumpkin seeds for later, and fold the remaining pumpkin seeds into the dough.
• Cover with a damp tea towel (or plastic wrap), and let it rise at room temperature for one hour. 
• Knead the dough again briefly with a stand mixer.

• Grease a 12 inch (any size between 10-12 inches is fine) loaf pan with a little oil or butter.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface, form it into a log, and place in the prepared loaf pan.
• Brush the top of the dough generously with water and sprinkle with the set aside pumpkin seeds.
• Cover with a damp tea towel, and let it rise for another hour.
• Preheat the oven to 430°F (220°C).
• Bake the bread for 50 minutes and reduce oven temperature to 390°F (200°C) after 15 minutes.
• Remove the bread from the oven, let it cool for 10 minutes, then remove from the pan, and let it cool completely on a rack before slicing.

Hint: If you prefer a round loaf, shape the dough into a ball and place it on a with parchment paper lined baking sheet rather than in a loaf pan.

Storage & Freezing Instructions

Wrap the bread in a clean tea towel and store it at room temperature for 2-3 days. If the bread starts to turn hard, toast single slices before serving.

You can easily freeze this bread. The best way is to freeze it in slices in a freezer bag for up to 3 months. Individual slices can be defrosted briefly in the toaster or at room temperature and makes for fresh homemade bread whenever you are longing for it.

More Bread Recipes

• Healthy Nut & Seed Bread
• Fruit Bread
• No Knead Focaccia
• French Brioche Bread
• Homemade Bagels

📖 Recipe