Sourdough Butternut Squash, Turmeric and Black Sesame Bread

I have long been a fan of Dan Lepard.  As well as his book: Short and Sweet, I also have The Handmade Loaf which I bought back in 2006.  He recently posted on Facebook about a sourdough Pumpkin, turmeric and black sesame loaf which he was making for a Charity Event in Australia.  Alas I cannot find the recipe....but having spent nearly two years working my way through  Jane Mason's Perfecting Sourdough, I drew on my inner bread baker, and went for it.

Since I have no pumpkin, I baked a butternut squash till soft...and used 300 g of that, having blitzed it first. As I went along I made sure to write the quantities in my recipe book.  The loaves were slower to rise than I had anticipated, most probably because at last it is a little cooler.  The loaves seemed just about ready to bake, so they went into the fridge, while the dinner was being roasted.  The first loaf to go into the oven was the long one, just before we sat down to eat.  I didn't have time to egg wash this one.  

For the second batch, I had time to add  an egg glaze and sprinkle of black sesame seeds. 

We cut into the loaf today at lunchtime...absolutely delicious!

I used a mixture of wholewheat flour, Kamut flour, and white...with 50g pumpkin seeds which I soaked overnight, and just one teaspoon of turmeric.  The flavour is wonderful...can't wait  for pumpkin to be in season again.  In the meantime Butternut Squash works very well.

It was a little tricky getting the dough to leave the baskets.  I follow Karen's Kitchen Stories, dipping in, and learning new techniques.  I was interested to hear her describe using plastic proving baskets, where you can spray it with oil which helps to release the the dough.  I may investigate this further.