3 Words: Cheese, Beer, Bread. Let’s cut the chit chat and get straight to this!
Ingredients:
380g Pumpkin, grated on the coarse side of a box grater
20g Butter
3 Cloves Garlic, minced
A Few Rosemary Needles, finely chopped
Pinch Salt
Good grind Cracked Black pepper
100g Sharp Cheddar, grated
Roux:
25g Strong Bread Flour
100ml Water
Dough:
Roux From Above
400g Strong Bread Flour
1 tsp Salt
50g Butter, melted
200ml Beer/ Lager, plus extra to glaze
25g Honey
7g Fast Action Yeast
1 Large Egg
Method:
1. Begin the day before with the pumpkin. Heat the butter over a medium low heat in a sauté pan and add the grated pumpkin. Sauté for 5 minutes, then add the garlic, rosemary, salt, and pepper. Continue to sauté until beginning to caramelise, about 3 minutes more then remove from the heat and allow to cool. Leave overnight.
2. The next day, add the roux ingredients to a small pan and cook over a medium heat until a thick paste forms. Cook 1 minute more then transfer to the base of a stand mixer.
3. Add the beer and honey to the melted butter and very gently warm in a pan so when you touch it, it feels the same temperature as your body. Add the yeast and stand for 5 minutes to foam up.
4. Meanwhile, add the flour, salt, and egg to the roux in the mixer then pour over the beer mixture. Knead on medium speed for 8-10 minutes, or until you have a silky-smooth dough.
5. Transfer to an oiled bowl and leave to double in size, covered in cling film for 1-2 hours.
6. Line a large cake tin with baking paper and tip the dough out onto a floured surface.
7. Weigh the dough and divide into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a flat rope about 70cm long.
8. To the centre of each rope, add 1/3 of the pumpkin and 1/3 of the grated cheese. Bring the long sides together to cover and seal to form a stuffed tube.
9. Plait the tubes together and curl round in your tin to forma wreath. Cover with cling film and allow to rise for 30 minutes.
10. Preheat oven 180C. Brush the wreath with some extra beer and sprinkle with seeds if liked. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until golden and smelling delicious. Serve warm with a cold beer in hand.