Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread

What I Love About This Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread

Swirl bread has been part of my fall baking rotation since 2012, and this pumpkin version is the one I come back to once the weather finally turns.

• Yeast dough gives you a soft, sliceable loaf rather than a dense quick bread, so it toasts without falling apart.
• Plumping the raisins first keeps them soft all the way through the bake, the same step I use in my cinnamon raisin swirl bread.
• The filling goes on generously, so you actually taste the spice instead of hunting for it.
• Two rises sound like a project, but the hands-on time is short. Most of it is waiting.
• After 25 years in professional kitchens, slicing into a clean swirl still gets me every time.

Ingredients for Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread

• Raisins – Regular dark raisins give the loaf its deeper color. Golden raisins work if you want a lighter crumb. Save the soaking water and use it to proof the yeast, since it carries a lot of flavor.
• Active dry yeast – Buy your yeast right before you need it. Yeast works best when it is fresh, so I do not stock up far ahead of time.
• Milk – Whole or 2% both work here. The fat softens the crumb and helps the crust brown.
• All-purpose flour – This is what the recipe is written for. When I made my cheddar herb swirl bread, I swapped in bread flour and the texture came out noticeably softer and fluffier. Worth trying if you have a bag on hand.
• Cinnamon – There is cinnamon in the dough and more in the filling. That is on purpose. The dough cinnamon is background warmth, the filling cinnamon is the punch.
• Pumpkin puree – Look for cans labeled 100% pure pumpkin with no other ingredients. Pumpkin puree is not the same thing as pumpkin pie filling. Homemade pumpkin puree works beautifully, just watch the consistency, because homemade tends to run thinner.
• Pumpkin spice – A classic pumpkin spice mix is cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, and cloves. No jar in the cabinet? The recipe card gives you the exact spice-by-spice substitution.

How to Make Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread

1. Plump the raisins. Cover them in hot water for about 10 minutes, then drain. Soaked raisins hold their moisture through the bake instead of pulling it out of the crumb.
2. Proof the yeast. Use the warm raisin water. You want it warm, not hot. Give it 10 minutes and look for foam before you go further.
3. Build the dough. Stir in the milk, melted butter, cinnamon, and salt, then work in the flour. Knead until the dough is smooth and just slightly tacky.
4. Add the raisins last. Knead them in on low so they distribute evenly. Adding them earlier tears up the gluten you just built.
5. First rise. Cover and let it go about an hour in a warm, dry spot.
6. Roll it out. Keep the width just under the length of your loaf pan. Roll thin, about 1/6 to 1/8 inch.
7. Fill and roll up. Spread the pumpkin puree, leaving a half inch border, then sprinkle the sugar and spice mixture. Roll it tight and pinch the seam.
8. Seam side down. Place it in the greased pan with the seam underneath. Skip this and the loaf will unroll itself in the oven. Ask me how I know.
9. Second rise, then bake. Let it mound over the rim, top with the reserved spice sugar, and bake until deep golden. If you want certainty instead of guessing, use an internal thermometer to check. 190°F at the center is a solid doneness benchmark for most yeast loaves.
10. Let it cool. Slicing a hot loaf gives you a gummy crumb. Wait it out.

Pumpkin Spice Swirl Bread

Delicious homemade swirl bread made with pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice and raisins.

5 from 1 vote

Print Pin Rate

Course: Breakfast, Brunch, Snack

Cuisine: American

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 45 minutes minutes

Time for dough to raise:: 2 hours hours

Total Time: 3 hours hours 5 minutes minutes

Servings: 28 2 loaves

Calories: 83kcal

Author: Lyuba Brooke

Ingredients

• ▢ Bread:
• ▢ 1 cup raisins
• ▢ 1/2 cup warm water
• ▢ 1/2 tbs active dry yeast
• ▢ 1/2 cup milk whole or 2%
• ▢ 2 tbs cup unsalted butter melted
• ▢ 1/2 teaspoons salt
• ▢ 1 tsp cinnamon
• ▢ 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• ▢ Filling:
• ▢ 1/2 cup granulated white sugar
• ▢ 2 tbs pumpkin puree
• ▢ 2 1/2 tbs pumpkin spice
• ▢ OR if you don’t have pumpkin spice
• ▢ (1 1/2 tbs cinnamon
• ▢ 4 teaspoons ginger
• ▢ 2 teaspoon allspice
• ▢ 2 teaspoon nutmeg)

Instructions

• Put the raisins in a small bowl filled with hot water. Let the raisins plump up, about 10 minutes. Drain and set aside.
• Pour a cup of warm water into the bowl of a standing mixer or large mixing bowl. Add the yeast and stir gently. (You can use the water from soaking the raisins) Give it a about 10 minutes, then stir to fully dissolve the yeast.
• Stir the milk, melted butter, cinnamon and salt into the water.
• Add the flour and stir to form a shaggy dough. Knead in your mixer on low speed with a dough hook (or knead by hand for 8-10 minutes to form a smooth, slightly tacky dough). If the dough is too sticky, add a little more flour.
• With the mixer on low, gradually add the raising to the bowl and continue kneading until they are evenly distributed.
• Cover the dough with a saran wrap or a towel and place in the warm dry place. Let rise for about an hour.
• Roll the dough out on the counter. Make sure that the dough is a little less wide that your loaf pan. Try to make the dough about 1/6th to 1/8th of an inch think.
• Spread the pumpkin puree over the dough evenly, leave about 1/2 inch boarder.
• Combine sugar and pumpkin spice. Sprinkle the dough generously this mixture.
• Roll up the dough and place it in the greased loaf pan, seam side down.
• Let the loaf rise until mounded over the top, about 30 minutes. Sprinkle with some pumpkin spice and sugar mixture over the top.
• Preheat the oven to 375. Bake for 40-45 minutes until golden brown. Let cool.

Nutrition

Calories: 83kcal | Carbohydrates: 17g | Protein: 2g | Fat: 1g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.3g | Trans Fat: 0.03g | Cholesterol: 3mg | Sodium: 46mg | Potassium: 71mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 4g | Vitamin A: 201IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 15mg | Iron: 1mg

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