Pumpkin bread

Preparation -- 50 minutes with 1 hour waiting time

Peel the pumpkin, remove the seeds by using a spoon. Cut the pumpkin into small cubes of about 2 cm. Fill a large pan with water and bring to a boil. Cook the pumpkin cubes along with the (whole) cloves and sage leaves for about 10 minutes.

Drain the pumpkin, remove the cloves, then transfer to a blender and blend until pureed. ADD wheat flour on top of your kitchen counter. Make a hole in the middle of the flour. Pour the milk (which should be at room temperature) into the hole and lightly mix the yeast through it.

Sprinkle salt on the edge of the flour and add the remaining ingredients: olive oil, spices and finally pumpkin puree. Gently mix the centre flour with the rest of the flour by grabbing a small portion of the flour from the edge of the hole.

Do this until all of the flour has been mixed in with the rest of the ingredients. Start kneading, you can do this manually but we prefer using a stand mixer. Attach the dough hook and knead at medium speed.

Add some more flour when you notice the dough sticks too much to the dough hook ( or your hands ). Knead for about 10 minutes or until a nice elastic ball can be formed with the dough. 

Shape the dough into a ball and put it back into the stand mixer bowl, cover with a wet kitchen towel and let rest for about an hour. The best place to put it is in an oven that has been pre-heated at the lowest setting and then turned off. 

Baking the bread -- 1 hour

When the dough has risen ( which usually takes up about an hour ) form the dough into a shape you like. You can also divide the dough so you can bake multiple smaller pumpkin bread. Put on a lined baking tray and cover with a cloth.

Let the dough rise for another half an hour. In the meanwhile preheat your oven to a temperature of 200 degrees Celsius or 392 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake the pumpkin bread in the oven for 30 to 35 minutes depending on the size of the bread. You can see if the bread is ready when the outside has a nice brown tint and when the bread sounds relatively hollow when you tap it.