Pan de Calabaza, Spiced Pumpkin Challah

Pan de Calabaza

I have a few friends on Instagram that bake weekly from this fantastic book called A Blessing of Bread by Maggie Glezer.  The book chronicles the recipes of many old-world Jewish bakers, capturing their traditional recipes, handed down for generations, and preserves them.  

I watched these two incredible bakers @thelavenderbakery and @lisamcohen produce one stunning loaf after another from this book and I knew I needed to join them.  

My first bake is the Pan de Calabaza, which is a Sephardic pumpkin Challah bread made with pumpkin, cinnamon and cardamom.  

I bulk fermented the dough in the fridge for 24 hours before shaping the loaves.  Then I allowed them to proof on my counter for a couple of hours, brushed them with an egg wash, sesame seeds and a touch of cinnamon, and baked them.

MY HOUSE SMELLED AMAZING as I baked this bread.  I wish I could capture that smell and share it with you.   I plan to cut into these loaves and taste them tomorrow, when a friend comes over for lunch. 

I believe the recipe for this bread has been published online through Fresh Direct, if you want to try making it.