This is a fun bread to bake using tangzhong method. It is so tasty with swirls of sesame paste in a pumpkin dough…and stay fresh and soft for days.

This is a fun recipe to make, especially that is Halloween…the combination of the sweet sesame swirl in between the soft, cottony pumpkin bread is just divine. Initially, people find a little skeptical because of the “black” swirl in the bread…no it is not mold…

The combination of the colors as well as the rolling and folding makes this recipe a fun process from the beginning to the end. But, don’t let me dictate how you should roll and fold…go ahead and handle the dough and the sesame filling however you wish.

Oh! Before I forget, I will be out for a couple of weeks and I am not sure if I will be able to “visit” you during this time, but I will make sure to catch up with you once I am back…

Ingredients:

Tangzhong or water roux

• 15 g bread flour
• 75 ml water

Bread dough

• 300 g bread flour
• 40 g sugar
• 3 g salt
• 4 g yeast
• 125 g pumpkin puree
• 15 g dry non-fat milk
• 30 ml water
• 30 g butter

Black sesame filling

• 45 g sesame paste
• 30 g sugar
• 10 g all-purpose flour
• 7 g corn starch
• 45 g water
• 10 g butter

Method:

Black Sesame Filling

In a small pan add the sesame paste, sugar, flour, corn starch and water. Mix well and cook under medium heat until a ball forms.

Remove from the heat and add the butter. Mix well until all the butter is incorporated into the sesame dough.Let is cool.

Set two sheets of plastic film and place the sesame dough in the middle. Gently roll the sesame dough with a roller pin to form a thin square of approximately 20 x 20cm.

Place the sesame sheet in the freezer until it is time to use as a bread filling/insert. For this particular recipe I used half of the sesame sheet.

Tangzhong or water roux

Whisk together the water and the flour until the mixture is well blended and free of lumps.

Stir the mixture while it cooks over the medium heat to reach 65C/150F. It takes about 2-3 minutes. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken. The mixture of flour will have “lines”.

Remove from the heat.

Transfer to a bowl, cover with a plastic film to avoid “skin” from forming.

Ready to add to the bread dough once is cool.

Water roux or Tangzhong can bend kept in the fridge for up to 48hours.

Bread dough

In the mixer, add all the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.

Turn the machine and stir for 2 to 3 minutes, until a ball forms.

Increase the speed to “2” and let it mix for 10 minutes. The dough will be very sticky, and less sticky as the gluten forms.

Add the butter and mix for 20 minutes more. Take a small portion of the dough (like a golf ball) and stretch gently until a very thin and transparent membrane (windowpane).

If the dough tears mix for another 5 minutes until you achieve the windowpane test. The windowpane test, demonstrated that the gluten is very well developed and it will create a very light crumb. The dough should be very elastic.

Remove the dough from the mixer and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.

Let dough proof until the dough tripled to its original size.

Assembly

Knock back the dough and roll the dough into a rectangle of approximately 20 x 30cm. Place the sesame insert into the middle and fold the dough over. Seal the extremities and fold into third and then into half. Again roll into a 20 x 30cm rectangle. Roll like a Swiss roll and cut into 6 into the baking pan.
into the Pullman pan (23 x 10 x 10 cm) and let it rise until almost 90% to reach the rim of the pan.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 to 30 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool.

Slice the bread after is cool.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

If you enjoy this bread recipe using tangzhong or water roux method you might want to check on Frangipane Rolls or Milk Bread with Raisin.

Did you know that sesame seeds come from a fruit called sesame? Moreover, sesame seeds come in many colors such as white, yellow, tan and black. Sesame seeds are rich in protein and good fat, which can help to lower cholesterol.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is an Asian inspired pumpkin soup made with kabocha and a hint of miso.  It is creamy and loaded with umami flavor.

Pumpkin season…all kind of squashes…I love them all…all kind of shape and texture…every different squash has its own quality.

Since my parents got a lot of Japanese influence when growing up, our table too was a reflection of it…and kabocha squash (Japanese pumpkin) was often seeing, either steamed or sauté…and of course I carried all my mom’s cooking tips with me…and often I call her to find out how she did this or that…and I add my “touch” into it.

I have been seeing this squash all year round in regular grocery store, even at Trader Joe’s…this squash is somehow sweeter than the other species, and the texture is somehow in between sweet potato and the flaky chestnut.

I usually scrub well the skin, cut into 1 to 1 ½ in cubes and steam or cook with a bit of water and serve as a side dish or add to salad. Because I decided to make soup, I removed the skin, so the color of the soup would look nicer, but if you do not care for it, go ahead and leave the skin.

The combination of the sweetness of the kabocha with the salty miso gives the ultimate “umami” flavor, a very unique and exquisite one.

Ingredients:

• Approximately 500 g kabocha, steamed
• 3 to 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 tablespoons olive oil
• 5 to 6 cups vegetable or chicken broth
• 2 tablespoons white miso diluted in 2 tablespoons of water
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Scallion for garnish

Method:

Wash the kabocha squash and dry it before cutting. Please be careful as the squash is somehow very hardy. Remove the seeds and the pulp with a large spoon. Cut into slices of approximately 1 in wedge. You can use the seed for roasting.

Place the kabocha in a steamer with enough water. Steam the squash under high heat for approximately 10 minutes. Once cooked it can be served cold in salad or drizzled with miso sauce. For the soup continue with the following.

In the medium pot sauté onion and garlic with olive oil under medium heat until the onion is soft, be careful not to burn.

Add the broth either vegetable or chicken. Then add the steamed kabocha and the diluted miso paste.

Let it boil for a couple of minutes and remove from the heat. At this point you can either transfer the soup mixture to a blender or use a emulsion stick to puree the soup.

Pour the mixture back to the pot and continue to cook for another couple of minutes in medium-low heat.

Adjust for salt and pepper and more liquid (broth) according to your taste.

Garnish with finely chopped scallion or pumpkin seeds.

Serve hot.

Did you know that kabocha like all the squash is rich in beta carotene? Moreover, it is rich in vitamin Ciron and potassium. Kabocha is available all year round and the skin is completely edible.

Thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is an Asian inspired recipe for soft, light and cottony savory pumpkin bread with cheese in between. It is fun to just pull-apart and savor it.

Pumpkin and cheese? Why not? As always I love baking bread, and most of the time (not always) I feel guilty using regular wheat flour…somehow I not a big fan of whole wheat, and I am always trying to find a healthier” version for bread…now I found a solution for it…pumpkin pure…

Pumpkin pure can be easily added to the bread dough without any fuss…and if I do not emphasize it, you might not even notice the presence of the pumpkin…well, that might not be true…because of the vibrant yellow…which gives a nice and healthy look to the loaf.

Now going back to pumpkin and cheese…who said that pumpkin yeasted bread has to be always “sweet”? Well, I can guarantee you that once you try this bread you will definitely change your mind…

Please note that in this recipe I used the Kitchen Aid mixer and the USA loaf pan, which is my favorite, no need to oil and the bread always come out so easily.

Ingredients:

Water Roux or Tangzhong

• 35 g bread flour
• 175 g water

Main dough

• 600 g bread flour
• 180 g pumpkin puree
• 80 g sugar
• 45 g dry milk
• 8 g sea salt
• 10 g dry yeast
• 2 to 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 60 g butter

Cheese Filling

• 250 g grated cheddar cheese
• 2 green onions finely chopped
• 1 ½ tablespoon butter, melted

Method:

Bread Dough

Water roux
Whisk together the water and the flour in a small pan until the mixture is well blended and free of lumps.

Stir the mixture while it cooks over the medium heat to reach 65C/150F. It takes about 2-3 minutes. Continue whisking until the mixture starts to thicken. The mixture of flour will have “lines”.

Remove from the heat.

Transfer to a bowl, cover with a plastic film to avoid “skin” from forming.

Ready to add to the bread dough once is cool.

Water roux or Tangzhong can bend kept in the fridge for up to 48hours.

Dough
Place all the cooled water roux and all the ingredients listed under main dough into a mixer except for the butter. Mix until all the ingredients are together, it will be sticky.

Increase the speed to number 2 and continue to mix for another 2 minutes until the dough is smooth.

Add the butter and continue the mixing until the dough is smooth, elastic and comes out of the mixing bowl, this will take approximately another 10 to 15 minutes. You will notice that the dough will no longer stick to the wall of the mixing bowl and pass the window pane test.

Place the dough into a medium to large bowl. Cover and let it proof until the size double from the original size.

Knock back the dough and split into 2 portions (approximately 600 g each) and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter.

Roll one piece of the dough out to form a square of approximately 27 x 27 cm (11 x 11 in).

Brush the dough with the melted butter for the filling and sprinkle it with the green onion and cheese.

Cut into three equal trips. Stack onto of each other and cut across six equal strips. Layer the squares into the loaf pan like a book. Do the same with the remaining dough.

Cover pan with the towel and let rest in a warm place for another 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Layer the squares into the loaf pan like a book. Cover pan with the towel and let rest in a warm place for another 45 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 350F and place pan onto the middle rack in your oven. Bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until the top of your loaf is dark brown.

Remove from the oven and let rest for 15 minutes on a wire rack. Loosen the edges around the loaf and invert it onto a wire rack.

Serve warm.

So…was I able to change your mind and make you accept pumpkin and cheese?

If you enjoy this recipe with pumpkin pure, you might want to try Pumpkin Dinner Rolls or Pumpkin Soft Cookies.

Did you know that pumpkin is loaded with antioxidants such as carotenoids? This explains its bright orange color. Pumpkin is also a great source of dietary fibers.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is an Asian inspired recipe for pumpkin sandwich bread loaded with chia seed. This bread is great for sandwich, French toast or simply toast.

Yes, I had made numerous variation of bread and rolls using chia seeds and the same with pumpkin, but this is the first one where I mixed pumpkin and chia seeds all in one dough…the pumpkin give its nice deep yellow color and it packed with the goodness of chia seeds.

The recipe is pretty simple, similar to the other bread recipes that I have been using…

I use the water roux or tangzhong method to accomplish the Asian bread texture, and adjusted the liquid content since the seed were soaked in water before being used in the dough. The texture of these sandwich bread are awesome, light, springy and cottony…not to mention that stay soft for many many days.

When baking sandwich bread, I love using my Pullman loaf pan, the sandwich loaf comes out perfectly square…just slice it to your thickness preference…

Oh! I will be on vacation as this post goes live…so please forgive me if I cannot make my weekly visit to you, I will be literally trying to do “nothing”, which seems kind close to impossible due to my personality…nevertheless, I will just try to relax and enjoy the environment…

Ingredients:

Water Roux or Tangzhong

• 40 g bread flour
• 200 g water

Main dough

• 8 teaspoons chia seed
• 1 cup water
• 300 g pumpkin puree
• 800 g bread flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar
• 4 tablespoons dry milk
• 1 ½ teaspoons sea salt
• 1 ½ teaspoons dry yeast
• 50 g butter

Method:

Water roux or Tangzhong

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 650C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film.

Dough

Soak the chia seed in the water for at least 15 minutes.

In the mixer bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.
Turn the mixer on the stir mode and increase to speed 2 until forms soft dough. The dough will be very sticky initially, and less sticky as the gluten forms.

Add the butter in and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough. Make sure that the dough is soft and elastic. I used speed 2 for approximately 30 minutes.

Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.

Let dough proof in a warm place until the dough tripled to its original size.

Knock back the dough and split into approximately 8 little balls and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter.

Flatten the ball making sure that the air is removed and fold into thirds, then roll it like a Swiss roll.

Place the Swiss rolls into the Pullman (4 each) pan and let it rise until almost 90% to reach the rim of the pan. Cover the pan and bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool. Slice according to your like.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy this Asian Inspired bread recipe with chia seeds, for more, please check Chia Seed Dinner Roll recipe.

Did you know that chia seeds not only contain omega-3 fatty acid but it is a good source of fiber and minerals?
In case you are wondering…yes, these are the same seeds that were very popular as “chia pets”, which sprouted chia seeds were used to produce the terracotta figures.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This light and fluffy buns made with pumpkin puree are great at anytime, especially during fall season. This is an Asian inspired recipe using tangzhong method, therefore the buns stay fresh and moist for days.

Yes, I kind of feel guilty not posting anything with pumpkin…not that I have not made anything with it…I actually made lots and lots of bread using pumpkin. I even made my first soufflé with butternut squash, which I will share with you some other time.

These pumpkin dinner rolls or if you wish you can make into a pull-apart loaf are very pretty and tasty. I again used the water roux method or tangzhong as known by many bakers…the recipe is very simple and the texture of these are so light, fluffy and very cottony.

I rely on my little Zojirushi bread machine to do all the kneading and them baked the rolls on a 8 inch round pan and the pull-apart bread was baked in mini loaf pans.

Ingredients:

Water Roux or Tangzhong

• 15 g bread flour
• 75 g water

Main dough

• 130 g pumpkin puree
• 300 g bread flour
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ tablespoons dry milk
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• 2 tablespoon butter

Garnish for:

Dinner Rolls:

• Pumpkin seeds for garnish

Pull-Apart:

• 1 ½ tablespoons butter (melted)
• Sugar
• Cinnamon
• Egg Wash ( 1 egg + 1 tablespoon milk)

Method:

Water roux

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65oC (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film.

Dough

In the bread machine bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.

Turn the machine to knead mode until it forms soft dough, slightly sticky. Add more water of flour as needed since the content of water will vary between different pumpkin puree. Add the butter and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough.

Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.

Let both dough proof until the dough double to its original size.

For the Dinner Rolls

Knock back the dough and split into 20 to 22 little balls.

Place the little balls into the round pan, cover and let it rise until double of its original size.

Gently brush with egg wash. Garnish with pumpkin seeds.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let the bread cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or store the bread in an airtight container.

For the Pull-Apart

Knock back the dough and split into 3 balls. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes (covered).

With a roller pin, open the dough into approximately 9 x 7 inch rectangle.

Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar and cinnamon, generously.

Cut into four strips and again into smaller squares or rectangles.

Pile them together and place into a mini loaf pan. Proceed the same way with the remaining 2 portion.

Cover and let it rise until double of its original size.

Gently brush with egg wash.

Bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.

Remove from the oven and let the bread cool on a wire rack. Serve warm or store the bread in an airtight container.

If you enjoy this simple pumpkin dinner rolls you might want to check on the Pumpkin Chia Seed Sandwich Bread or Sesame Swirl Pumpkin Bread recipes.

Oh! I almost forgot…I will be out of town for a meeting in Chicago (so cold!) and will be back with new recipes after Thanksgiving…

Did you know that pumpkin is loaded of dietary fiber and anti-oxidants such as beta carotene, which is converted to vitamin A in the body? Moreover, pumpkin seeds are an excellent source of dietary fiber as well as mono unsaturated fat, which are good for the heart.

Thank you for stopping by Color Your Recipes…have a colorful week!

This is an Asian inspired recipe for sandwich bread using pumpkin puree. The bread is soft, pillowy and stays moist for many days because of the tangzhong method.

Thank you all for the nice words of support on my first post as “Color Your Recipes”, you all have been very kind and encouraging…thank you!

Before I share this post, as you might know Philippines was hit by a big typhoon Haiyan, and Tina from Pinay Cooking Corner is having a online bake sale to support the victims, please hop to her site for the details.

Now to the post…I could not let this month flyaway without posting something with pumpkin…so here I am…

This sandwich bread is so soft and cottony…delicious for any kind of sandwich, and because I did not add any spices the pumpkin puree just gives color to the bread which believe me it is very attractive…I don’t know if it is proper English to call a bread “attractive”… it is so good that I already baked 4 loaves of this bread.

I use the water roux method to accomplish the Asian bread texture, because the pumpkin puree contains water I just added less water to the dough. You want the dough to be slightly sticky, so the “cottony” texture can be achieved. When baking sandwich bread, In this recipe I used my 1 lb Zojirushi bread machine and Pullman loaf pan.

Before I go on with the recipe, the new issue to Desserts Magazine is out…and again it is free for a while…so if you are interested, check on the link, you might find something for your sweet tooth before membership is required in order to browse the magazine.

Ingredients:

Water Roux or Tangzhong

• 15 g bread flour
• 75 g water

Main dough

• 150 g pumpkin puree
• 2½ cup bread flour
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoon dry milk
• ½ teaspoon sea salt
• 1 teaspoon dry yeast
• ¼ cup water
• 1½ tablespoon butter

Method:

Water roux

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film.

Dough

In the bread machine bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.

Turn the machine to knead mode until it forms soft dough, slightly sticky. Add more water of flour as needed since the content of water will vary between different pumpkin puree. Add the butter and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough.

Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.

Let both dough proof until the dough double to its original size.

Knock back the dough and split into 4 balls and let it rest for 5 minutes on the counter.

Flatten the ball and shape like a Swiss roll, flat again and roll it again like a Swiss roll.

Place the Swiss rolls into the Pullman pan and let it rise until almost 90% to reach the rim of the pan.

Cover the pan and bake in a preheated oven of 350F for approximately 25 minutes.

Remove from the oven and flip the bread into a wire rack to cool.

Store the bread in an airtight container.

I hope you enjoy this pumpkin sandwich bread. For more Asian inspired bread recipes like this check on Chia Milk Sandwich Bread or Matcha Swirl Sandwich Bread.

Did you know that pumpkin is recommended by dieticians for patients in need to control cholesterol? Pumpkin contains high levels of dietary fiber, anti-oxidants, minerals and vitamins. Moreover, pumpkin contains high levels of vitamin A, a very powerful anti-oxidant.

Have a great week and thank you for visiting Color Your Recipes!