Pumpkin Pie Brioche and Ebelskivers, Healthy Bread in Five Minutes A Day

I am a member of the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day google group, and the first bonus assignment was to make this fabulous seasonal brioche- the deadline has passed, but I decided to go ahead and make it anyway and I'm glad I did. You may want to make this delicious bread for your table as well, Pumpkin Pie Brioche.

The Pumpkin Pie Brioche recipe was available on the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day web site, but has now be removed. You can access it from Michelle's blog {Big Black Dog} who has permission from the authors of HBinFive, Jeff Hertzberg and Zoe Francois. The changes I made in the original recipe were made because I live at a high altitude. I took the suggestions that were made in the book -- they worked beautifully. Here are the changes: 1 tablespoon and 1 teaspoon yeast, 1 rounded tablespoon kosher salt, and 2 rounded tablespoons vital wheat gluten.

The dough has a wonderful consistency and I found it easy to work with. I absolutely had to make a brioche, which will find it's self turned into french toast in the morning, but decided that pumpkin ebelskivers would be just the thing to best use this flavorful dough and they worked like a charm.

Christmas brunch at my house finds me making ebelskivers, it's been a tradition as long as any of my children can remember. These delicate puff pancakes can be quite delicious but unfortunately a bit of a time eater as well. This Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough worked out famously to cut down in the time area because I was able to make the pinch balls and set them out to rise and then cook them up quickly. I may have to think about mixing this into my menu this year. It is a winner recipe served with nutmeg syrup and orange butter.

When I make ebelskivers I use a cast iron pan. I love cast iron. It cooks these cute little pancakes evenly and perfectly light brown. I put the cast iron in a hot oven for about 15 minutes before I'm ready to cook to get the pan nice and hot. Once it's hot, place it on the stove top on a low setting. Put a little canola oil in the bottom of each round cup and place one of the risen pinched balls carefully into each hole. Watch them attentively until you get an idea of how quickly they will cook. You need to have a tool to turn with, I've used everything from a bamboo skewer to tongs. This year I have a set of new tools that I picked up at Williams-Sonoma made by Littledeer. They made quick work of lifting and flipping the delicate little babies. They were a bargain at $12. Once the ebelskivers are done, sprinkle them with powder sugar, serve and and watch them disappear.