Homemade pumpkin soda bread for a Halloween lunch with a crusty topping and a soft inside.
A few simple ingredients and no kneading or proving - what could be easier! Delicious served warm with a homemade soup.
450g plain flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
½ tsp baking powder
200ml buttermilk
125-150ml pumpkin puree (see below)
about 50g pumpkin seeds
Preheat the oven to 200ºC
Sieve the dry ingredients into a bowl and make a well in the middle. Measure the buttermilk in a jug and add the pumpkin puree, giving it a good stir. Then pour it into the middle of your dry ingredients and mix together with a knife, adding more buttermilk if needed. You should end up with a soft dough that is not too sticky.
Put the dough onto a well floured board and using your hands, shape into a round loaf, about 20cm in diameter.
Then place onto a floured baking sheet and cut a deep cross into the dough.
Now all you need to do is press the pumpkin seeds into the top of the dough and bake in your preheated oven for about 40 minutes or until the loaf sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.
Enjoy with a hearty autumn soup.
Check out the bread category for how to make a plain soda bread loaf.
Pumpkin puree
Simply cut a pumpkin in half across the width (or length if using butternut squash), scoop out the seeds and place the pumpkin, cut side down, on a baking sheet covered with tin foil.
Roast in a 180ºC oven for about 30 minutes.
Stick a knife in to see if it’s done, and when cool, scoop out the flesh and puree. I put the flesh in a large bowl and used a hand-held stick blender which made it very easy.
This will keep for a couple of days in the fridge and if you have some left over, you can easily freeze it until you’re ready to make the next loaf!
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