Rum Pumpkin Pull-apart Bread
This decadent yeasted bread can also be shaped and baked like Chelsea buns – but half the fun is in licking sticky rum glaze off your fingers after you prise your portion from the loaf.
2½ cups plain flour, plus extra for kneading
¼ cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons Surebake yeast
1 teaspoon salt
¾ cup cooked, mashed pumpkin (not too watery) ½ cup milk
30g (2 tablespoons) butter, melted
FILLING:
2 tablespoons dark rum 1 cup raisins 2 tablespoons butter, melted ¾ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
RUM BUTTER GLAZE:
2 tablespoons butter 2 tablespoons brown sugar 1½ tablespoons milk
¾ cup icing sugar, sifted 1 tablespoon dark rum
In a large bowl combine flour, brown sugar, yeast and salt. Make a well in the centre and add pumpkin, milk and butter. Mix well then turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead for 10 minutes to form a soft dough, adding extra flour as required.
Place dough in an oiled bowl and cover with oiled plastic wrap. Leave until doubled in size.
To make the filling, sprinkle rum over raisins, cover and leave to soak while dough is proving. Combine butter with sugar and spices.
Grease and line a 4-cup capacity loaf pan. To shape the loaf, tip dough onto an oiled surface and flatten into a rectangle, making the short end no wider than the length of the pan. Sprinkle dough with cinnamon sugar and raisins (save any remaining rum for the glaze). Roll up firmly from the short end and use a sharp bread knife or pastry cutter to slice into rounds as thinly as you can.
Pack rounds along the pan, Swissroll style. Cover with oiled plastic wrap and leave to rise again until nearly doubled in volume.
Heat oven to 180°C and bake loaf for 30-40 minutes, until deep golden brown. Tip out immediately onto a wire rack to cool.
Glaze: In a small saucepan, bring butter, brown sugar and milk to the boil. Take off heat and whisk in icing sugar and rum. Top loaf with glaze before serving.
This loaf is best enjoyed fresh and soft on the day it is made. Makes 1 loaf >