Kürbiskernbrot (Pumpkin Seed Bread)

So not to entirely ignore the German speaking, Schnitzel making, former Hapsburg ruled country of both my parents birth, I am going to make an Austrian style pumpkin seed bread. Austrian food has a lot in common with German food, but is also influenced by Hungarian and Slavic cooking, remnants of the Austrian-Hungarian Empire. This being said I think Austrian bread can claim a unique place in gastronomy because of its use (in its slightly stale form) in the creation of every Austrians favorite comfort food.....the dumpling or Knödel. Dumplings however are not what inspired this particular bread, rather it was my father's search for/stubborn insistence that pumpkin seed oil should be cheap, easily found and plentiful here in Montreal, just as it is in his native Austria. Its not. I've looked. You can find it, but it is pretty pricey and can usually be found in a health food store or your local Hungarian/German butcher (??!!!!). So as ode to the elusive (affordable) pumpkin seed oil in Montreal, I propose this Kürbiskernbrot.


Pumpkin Bread Tunes: ACDC, Dirty Deeds Done Dirt Cheap (1976)


Kürbiskernbrot Recipe:


-2 1/2 tsp. Dry Active Yeast
-1 cup Lukewarm Water
-3 tbs. Honey
-1/2 tbs. Pumpkin Seed Oil or Olive Oil
-1 1/3 cup Unbleached Bread Flour
-2/3 cup Rye Flour
-1/3 cup Cracked Rye Seeds (soaked 24 hours in advance) (optional)
-2 tbs. Gluten
-1 tsp. Salt
-1/4 tsp. Ground Allspice
-1/4 tsp. Ground Coriander
-1/4 cup Toasted Pumpkin Seeds


I decided that since this was going to be a pretty flavorful bread, I didn't need to make a starter (read LAZY). Combine the yeast, water, oil and honey in a bowl and mix well. Let the yeast mix sit for 10-20 minutes until it starts to froth. Then add the rest of the dry ingredients and form a moist dough. Knead the dough until it becomes relatively smooth and stretchy, but don't over work it (5-10 minutes). Place the dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or cling film. Let rise in a warm spot until double in size. Remove dough from bowl, knead briefly and form it into a loaf. Place it back into a bowl or a banneton (if you have one) and rise again till double. A banneton or brotform is a wicker basket, sometimes lined with linen, used to give the bread shape and some texture while proofing. Flip the dough onto a lightly floured baker's peel and cut slashes into the dough's surface. I use masa flour for the dusting on the baker's peel, it seems to slide off better with it. Put the bread into a 450 F. oven for 30-40 minutes. During baking i have been throwing a little bit of water on the bottom of my oven every 2 minutes or so. The water and steam it creates has been helping the bread to form a nice yielding crispy crust. Take the bread out when is sounds hollow to the tap.