Pull-Apart Bread With Pumpkin and Spinach
4.5
(27)
This stunning bread gets its branch-like form by taking a shaping cue from the classic French baguette bread, Pain d'Epi (a.k.a. wheat stalk bread). Use sharp scissors to cut the dough and gently move each piece to the side to keep the rolled filling as tight as possible.
Recipe information
Total Time
2 hours, 25 minutes
Yield
Serves 6–8
Ingredients
Preparation
Step 1
Mix flour, pumpkin, milk, sugar, yeast, nutmeg, 2 Tbsp. butter, and 1 tsp. kosher salt in a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook until dough comes together. Knead with your hands or dough hook until dough is soft and smooth, about 10 minutes. Form into a ball.
Step 2
Lightly grease a large clean bowl with oil; transfer dough to bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Step 3
Meanwhile, purée cheese, spinach, pepper, garlic powder, 5 Tbsp. butter, and remaining ¼ tsp. kosher salt in a food processor until smooth. Add egg and pulse to combine.
Step 4
Arrange racks in upper and lower thirds of oven; preheat to 375°F. Divide dough into 2 equal pieces. Roll each piece to a 14x8" oval.
Step 5
Transfer 1 oval to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Spread half of spinach mixture in a thin layer over. Starting at long side, tightly roll dough around filling into a long tube (like a cinnamon roll).
Step 6
Arrange tube diagonally on sheet. Starting 1" from end closest to you, use sharp kitchen shears to make a deep incision at a 45-degree angle away from you, cutting almost to the bottom without cutting through. Carefully shift small cut piece to the left, keeping the bottom connected. Make another 45-degree incision 1" from first. Carefully shift piece to the right. Continue cutting and shifting to alternate sides for a total of 12-14 pieces. Repeat rolling, filling, and cutting with second piece of dough on another parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet.
Step 7
Brush dough with 2 Tbsp. butter; sprinkle edges with sea salt. Bake, rotating sheets halfway through, until golden brown, 25-30 minutes.
Step 8
Brush bread with remaining 1 Tbsp. butter and let cool slightly before serving.
Do Ahead
Step 9
Dough and filling can be made 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Bring to room temperature before rolling and filling.
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Reviews (27)
Back to TopI've made these twice in the past month, including yesterday for Christmas. It's delicious and super impressive looking. The second time I added a bit of cayenne to the filling. I also made the dough the day before and let it sit in the fridge. This recipe seems quite forgiving and flexible--and fun!
Anonymous
SF Bay area
12/26/2023
Amazing. Made it for thanksgiving, will make again soon! Dough was really wet, added 1/4 cup more flour and still didn't look like the video but it rose well and tasted great. Filling was wet too despite draining the spinach with gravity, maybe needed to be squeezed out with a cheesecloth? Turned out well anyway.
Anonymous
Boston, MA
11/28/2020
This is delicious and easier than I expected. Next time I'll put some red chile powder in the spinach mix and add a stronger cheese. Someone suggested gruyere, which I think would be brilliant. After the trial run, I'm slated to make it for thanksgiving!
stephanieanne331828
Albuquerque, NM
10/29/2020
This bread took me a little practice to perfect, but it is DELICIOUS and is now a family favorite. We have it every Thanksgiving and it is VERY impressive to bring to a dinner party or potluck. For me, the toughest thing to learn was the cutting of each “leaf,” but if you watch the video and follow the directions precisely, you’ll get it. You’ll cut like 97% all the way through the dough, just leaving a tiny bit attached.
lgibson2006
Austin, TX
4/23/2020
I'm no genius at making bread, and this did come out well for me. Yay! Of course, mine was not as pretty as the photo shown, but it got eaten all the same. I'll definitely make this again. I think it'll be great at a cocktail party instead of the usual hors d'oeuvres.
junamaria
Sonoma, CA
11/8/2019
Made this bread today after staring anxiously at it for months. Just delicious, and not as difficult as I expected. I did find it was a little flatter and more spread out than the photo (anyone know why that might happen?) but still looked great and tasted even better.
ilvjamie
Chicago
10/13/2019
I love this bread! It looks spectacular and tastes delicious. As I was making it for a 50th birthday brunch, I trialled it a few times and made just a few changes: I used strong bread flour rather than all-purpose which resulted in a lovely smooth stretchy dough and gave the cooked bread a nicer, chewier texture; I replaced the nutmeg with mild chilli powder as my husband hates nutmeg and it was still delicious; I prepared the loaves (including rolling, filling and shaping) the day before, kept them covered in the fridge, bringing them to room temp an hour before baking. It was a huge hit and I'll be making it again for Thanksgiving. (I had no problem with the dough raising to double in size in 1 1/2 hours at 30 deg C, 86 deg F.)
sdemaree
Californian living in London
10/22/2018
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