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Acorn Squash Milk Bread with Tangzhong
With the appearance of all kinds of squash at the grocery store this fall, I got excited to try a bread with acorn squash, my favorite. Initially, I was thinking to make a brioche, but the more I shopped for butter, the more I craved something a little lighter and easier to work with. So I decided to add to Breadtopia’s repertoire of recipes for versatile and fluffy Japanese-style milk breads with tangzhong. We already have milk bread recipes with refined flour with sourdough leavening, refined flour with yeast leavening, and whole wheat flour with sourdough leavening.
Now we have this fall-themed recipe that uses acorn squash for hydration, a little bit of whole wheat flour, and offers both yeast and sourdough instructions. Please note that you can use other squashes like butternut, honeynut, delicata, and more. I suspect spaghetti squash might call for pureeing with a food processor rather than mashing with a fork.
Don’t forget to toast and snack on the seeds. That might be the best part of fall squash season!
[Jump to recipe]
This acorn squash milk bread has subtle and delicious flavors that work well with everything from savory sandwiches to French toast. The tangzhong method involves mixing and cooking a portion of the flour with milk, which makes the bread stay softer for longer, and that step only takes a few minutes.
Cinnamon toast
In the recipe below, I’ve incorporated the longer final proof from Benny’s (@benito in our forum) whole wheat hokkaido recipe and his baking strategy to remove the bread from the pan and drop the oven temperature for the last 10 minutes of the bake. That helps this tall dough get more structural integrity and golden color all around.
Flour Choices
In the recipe below, I make the tangzhong with rouge de bordeaux whole grain flour to add some tasty wheat flavor, and because heating up the flour softens the bran. This way whole wheat flour then comprises about 12% of the total flour weight, but it’s fine to use refined flour or another wheat variety in the tangzhong if you prefer.
You can also substitute whole grain flour into the main dough if desired. See Benny’s recipe for tips and additional ingredients to help make this bread with all whole wheat flour. I felt that the acorn squash added a good amount of fiber and nutrients to the dough, so I went with bread flour to get more of an orange pop of color in the crumb.
Vegan Substitutions
I’ve successfully made this bread with light olive oil instead of butter and oat milk instead of cow’s milk. However, I have not tried an egg substitute. Here is an article that offers ideas for alternatives to eggs if you want to make this bread entirely vegan.
Pan Size
The recipe is scaled for a small Pullman pan, which is 9x4x4 inches, and the dough is shaped in two staggered rows of 4 balls. You can shape the loaf in any number of ways though e.g. see Benny’s video for making a four-lobed loaf, or just roll it into a single tube and maybe even bake it with the Pullman pan lid on. Baking the dough as 8 rolls in a nine-inch round pan also works well; shorten the bake time to 30-35 minutes.
The volume of a small Pullman pan is 144 in3 = 9x4x4 If you have a different loaf pan, you can calculate the volume and scale up the dough as needed. That said, I’ve baked this same dough size in a medium loaf pan of 123 in3 = 9x5x2.75 and was fine without scaling. There is some wiggle room up and down in size.
Check out the Photo Gallery after the recipe for process pics.
Acorn Squash Milk Bread with Tangzhong
Here's a fluffy bread with a subtle acorn squash flavor. A slice toasted with butter and a sprinkle of cinnamon reads like dessert, but it also works for avocado toast and savory sandwiches. This bread is perfect for French toast too, though there's no rush to use it up because the tangzhong method slows the staling process.
Ingredients
SOURDOUGH VERSION
Sweet Stiff Starter
Tangzhong
Final Dough
Pre-bake Dough Wash
Optional Post-bake Crust Wash
YEAST VERSION
Yeast Prep
Tangzhong
Final Dough
Pre-bake Dough Wash
Optional Post-bake Crust Wash
Instructions
Squash Prep
Sweet Stiff Starter / Yeast Prep
Tangzhong
Dough Mixing and Bulk Fermentation
Shaping and Final Proof
Baking
Notes
Mixing and Kneading by Hand
Mix all of the ingredients except the softened butter in a bowl using a spatula, dough whisk, or by hand.
Let the dough rest 10 minutes, then transfer it to your countertop and slap and fold the dough. Begin adding the butter 1 Tbsp at a time, slapping and folding between butter additions until the butter is incorporated and the dough stays together.
Now follow the instructions above from when you transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and start the bulk fermentation.
Shopping List
Pullman Loaf Pan & Cover — Small
High Protein Bread Flour
Sourdough Starter (Dry)
Rouge de Bordeaux Whole Grain Flour
Heirloom Rouge de Bordeaux Wheat Berries
Mockmill 100 Grain Mill
Bench Knife by Lamson — Walnut Handle
Dough Rising and Storage Bucket w/Lid – 2 qt. Round
Bowl Covers (5 pcs)
Stainless Steel Mixing Bowls — Set of 3
$39.99Acorn Squash Milk Bread with Tangzhong