My eldest girl lives for Halloween and all things spooky. So as soon as the pumpkins hit the shops we really have to reel her in.
From late September she has been angling to go pumpkin picking and now eight out of ten doodles involves a pumpkin headed scarecrow. Her pumpkin love has spread to her sister who has taken to calling her tangerines ‘mini pumpkins’…
As we’ve now entered October, I’m going with ‘if you can’t beat them, join them’. I’ve seen a few exotic looking pumpkin bread recipes but this has been given the BWK treatment.
The batch makes 6 good sized individual bread rolls, and the recipe is super simple. A basic bread dough, with soft cheese and an easy glaze for the lovely orange colour.
Top Tip before you start and if you’re new to bread making, dough rises quickly in warm, humid environments. So if your dough is taking its sweet time, you may want to pop it in a warmer location.
You will need a baking sheet, lined with baking paper.
Ingredients:
For the dough
- 400g strong white flour
- 2x teaspoons fast action yeast
- Teaspoon of salt
- 30ml vegetable oil
- 250ml warm water
- 6 x heaped teaspoons soft cheese (we uused primula)
To finish
- Plenty of plain string
- 1 small egg beaten
- Few drops orange food colour
- 2 French beans – chopped into 6 half inch pieces
Firstly you have been warned of the messiness involved when baking with kids. This bread dough starts off really sticky so be prepared with a few towels nearby and sleeves well rolled.
In a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook or large bowl, add all the dough ingredients and mix well to form a sticky mess dough.
Continue to knead for 5 to 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Pop back into the bowl and cover with a tea towel. Leave for an hour and a half or until at least doubled in size.
Divide the inflated dough into six portions of roughly equal size. (This is a great activity for little ones to move on from a sensory activity to fine motor and problem solving).
Flatten out each portion and add a teaspoon of cheese into the centre. Pinch the dough around the cheese to form a ball.
The next bit may be more of a grown up job, depending on the age of the kids you’re cooking with.
Roll the dough balls in flour to ensure the surface is no longer sticky.
Cut lengths of string apx 35cm long and wrap around the balls of dough, crossing underneath as you go to form sections. Try not to tighten the string; the dough will puff up around it afterwards.
Preheat the oven to 220°C/ Gas mark 7.
Place on a lined baking sheet and leave for 40 minutes or until the rolls have puffed up to about an extra third of their size.
In a mug or jug, mix the egg with a few drops of orange food colour.
Brush the rolls with the egg mixture and pop into the oven for 30 minutes or until the bottom of the rolls sound hollow when tapped (grown up job).
Allow to cool slightly before carefully removing the string.
Top with a piece of French bean to serve 🎃🎃🎃
Baking With Kids 