Pumpkin Yeast Bread with Raisins

This pumpkin yeast bread is a sweet bread filled with pumpkin puree, raisins, and warming spices. It’s delicious fresh or toasted and makes a delicious breakfast (and amazing French toast!)

I love adding pumpkin to bread dough – I do it for these pumpkin dinner rolls, cinnamon rolls, and sticky buns. It gives the bread a stunning gold hue. That, coupled with the seasonal flavors of pumpkin pie spice, makes it perfect for fall.

This pumpkin swirl bread uses a lightly enriched dough with great texture and flavor and can be made by hand or in a mixer. The fluffy bread is rolled up with a cinnamon sugar swirl. 

Equipment

• Kitchen Scale
• Stand Mixer
• Two 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans (You could also use 9×5 inch pans for a slightly less high loaf.)

Method

Warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C and pour the warm milk into a bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast and half the sugar over the milk. 

If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy; if using instant yeast, this step can be skipped.

Add flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices, remaining sugar, and eggs.

Fit the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and mix to form a thick dough. Add in the softened butter, a few cubes at a time.

Keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the sticky dough is smooth and strong and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.

Add in the raisins and mix on low speed until they are incorporated.

First rise

Once kneaded, form the soft dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a greased large bowl and cover it.

Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact time the dough rises will depend on your room temperature.

For extra flavor, the dough can undergo a slow cold rise instead. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for up to 16 hours. 

Shaping

After the first rise, punch down the risen dough and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. If the dough has come from the fridge, it will be very stiff.

Mix sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl for the filling—grease, and line two 8.5×4.5 inch loaf pans with parchment paper.

Cut the dough into two equal pieces and shape them into balls.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the pieces of dough into an 8×15-inch rectangle.

Sprinkle over half the cinnamon sugar mixture.

RolI the dough up tightly, jelly-roll style into an 8-inch log. Pinch the edges to seal them and place the log onto a prepared pan.

Repeat with the second piece.

Second rise and baking

Cover the loaf pans loosely and let the bread rise until doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).

Once risen, brush the tops of the loaves with milk and bake in the preheated oven for approximately 35 minutes until deep golden brown (with an internal temperature of 195°F.)

Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the loaves cool in their pan for 5 minutes before removing and cooling to room temperature. 

Storage

Store the cooled bread in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. The loaves can be wrapped tightly in a freezer bag for longer storage and frozen for up to 3 months.

I like to slice them before freezing so I can easily take pieces as I need them.

Variations

• Nuts: Add walnuts or pecans for added crunch.
• Dried Fruit: Substitute raisins with dried cranberries or cherries for a twist.

Related recipes

If you enjoyed this pumpkin yeast bread recipe, you might like these recipes too!

• Fluffy Orange Cinnamon Rolls
• Pumpkin Bagels
• Brown Butter Banana Bread
• Hokkaido Milk Bread

Continue to Content

Pumpkin Yeast Bread With Cinnamon Swirl

Yield: 2 loaves

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 35 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours 30 minutes

Total Time: 3 hours 25 minutes

This pumpkin yeast bread is a sweet bread filled with pumpkin puree, raisins, and warming spices.

Print

Ingredients

• 240g (1 cup) whole milk, plus more for brushing
• 2 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry yeast
• 65g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 690g (5 1/2 cups*) all-purpose flour or bread flour
• 225g (1 cup) pumpkin puree
• 2 large eggs
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 85g (6 Tablespoons) unsalted butter at room temperature.
• 150g (1 cup) raisins

Cinnamon sugar filling

• 65g (1/3 cup) granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tablespoon all-purpose flour

Instructions

1. Warm the milk to around 95-104°F / 35-40°C (not hotter) and pour the warm milk into a bowl of your stand mixer. Sprinkle yeast and half the sugar over the milk. 
2. If using active dry yeast, let this sit for around 5-10 minutes until it becomes foamy; if using instant yeast, this step can be skipped.
3. Add flour, salt, pumpkin puree, spices, remaining sugar, and eggs.
4. Fit the stand mixer with a dough hook attachment and mix to form a thick dough.
5. Add in the softened butter a few cubes at a time.
6. Keep mixing on medium speed for around 10 minutes until the sticky dough is smooth and strong and pulls away cleanly from the sides of the bowl.
7. Add the raisins and mix on low speed until they are incorporated.
8. Once kneaded, form the soft dough into a ball. Transfer the dough to a greased large bowl and cover it.
9. Let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, around about 1 hour. The exact time the dough rises will depend on your room temperature.
10. For extra flavor, the dough can undergo a slow cold rise instead. Cover it tightly with plastic wrap and place it in the refrigerator for up to 16 hours. 

Shaping

1. After the first rise, punch down the risen dough and pull it from the bowl onto a lightly floured work surface. If the dough has come from the fridge, it will be stiff.
2. Mix sugar, cinnamon, and flour in a small bowl for the filling—grease, and line two 8.5 x 4.5-inch loaf pans with parchment paper. You could also use 9x5-inch pans for less high loaves.
3. Cut the dough into two equal pieces and shape them into balls.
4. On a lightly floured surface, roll out one of the pieces of dough into an 8x15-inch rectangle.
5. Sprinkle over half the cinnamon sugar mixture. RolI the dough up tightly, jelly-roll style, into an 8-inch log. Pinch the edges to seal them and place the log onto a prepared pan. Repeat with the second piece.

Second rise and baking

1. Cover the loaf pans loosely and let the bread rise until doubled in size. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C).
2. Once risen, brush the tops of the loaves with milk and bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes until deep golden brown (with an internal temperature of around 195°F.)
3. Remove from the oven and cool on a wire rack. Let the loaves cool in their pan for 5 minutes before removing and cooling to room temperature. 
   
   

Notes

*The cup measurements are US-sized cups. Note that these are smaller than metric cups. For best results, use a kitchen scale.

Recommended Products

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• 
  USA Pan Bakeware Aluminized Steel Loaf Pan, 1 Pound, Silver

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 16 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 260Total Fat: 6gSaturated Fat: 3gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 36mgSodium: 184mgCarbohydrates: 46gFiber: 2gSugar: 11gProtein: 6g

This is an informational estimate only. I am not a certified Dietitian or Nutritionist