I find shaping bread so much fun. Fresh baked bread is always a crowd pleaser, but with just a teeny bit more time & effort, it becomes an absolute showstopper. This Fall, I dreamed up a harvest themed board with pumpkin and leaf shaped breads. Happily, it materialized! (Unlike some other designs I’ve dreamed up…) I couldn’t be more pleased with both the look and taste. It makes for a perfect festive spread for any autumn gathering!

For the recipe, I used Nonna’s Bread. But, your favorite recipe will do. Just don’t go for a high hydration recipe — you need a dough easy to handle and manipulate. Personally, I’d love to try it out with yeasted pumpkin bread next. It’d be too perfect! As far as yield, where a recipe makes one loaf, you can make either one large pumpkin with four leaves or two smaller pumpkins with four leaves. (Since Nonna’s bread usually makes 3 sandwich loaves, I ended up with 2 large pumpkins, two smaller pumpkins, and 12 leaves.)

Pumpkin & Leaves Bread Shaping Tutorial

• Make the bread recipe of your choosing. Follow steps as usual, but after the first (bulk) rise, follow these:

  • For the larger pumpkins:

    • Divide dough meant for one sandwich loaf into eight pieces. Set two pieces aside. Shape the remaining six pieces into balls. On a parchment lined baking sheet, form balls into a ring.

    • Return to the two pieces you set aside. Set one aside (to use for the leaves later). Take the other one and divide in half. Roll each half into a rough 6-12in strand. Then take both strands and twist together to form the stem.

    • Take stem and coil into center of ring. Nestle it in snuggly, then curl and place it as you please on and over the top. Cover and let rise a second time (proof) according to recipe.

  • For the smaller pumpkins:

    • Divide dough meant for one sandwich loaf into eight pieces. Set two pieces aside. Cut each of the remaining six pieces in half. Shape each half into a total of twelve balls. On a parchment lined baking sheet, form balls into two rings, using six balls per ring.

    • Return to the two pieces you set aside. Set one aside (to use for the leaves later). Take the remaining piece and divide into four pieces. Roll each into a rough 6in strand. Then take two strands and twist together to form one stem. Repeat with other two strands.

    • Take stems and coil into center of rings. Nestle them in snuggly, then curl and place it as you please on and over the top. Cover and let rise a second time (proof) according to recipe.

  • For the leaves:

    • Take the remaining piece(s). Divide into four pieces, then shape each into a mini torpedo roll. Once shaped, gently press down with your fingers to flatten.

    • Take a knife and cut two slits on each side of the leaf. Separate the slits to form the notches of a leaf. Transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet, touch up as you wish, then cover and let rise a second time according to recipe.

• Once pumpkins and leaves are about 30 minutes away from completing their second rise, preheat oven. (Most recipes for rolls vary from 350-400. Either will work. 350 will take closer to 20-30 minutes where 400 will take 15-25 minutes.)

• Then, make your egg washes. Take an egg, and beat until frothy. Brushing this alone on your bread will give it a slightly golden, shiny crust once baked. Play around with the washes. Have fun!

  • To get a deeper brown, mix a bit of the egg with a pinch of cinnamon. (I also used a pinch of sugar. On the leaves especially, which got crispier due to being smaller, they ended up tasting almost like cookies. Yum!)

  • To get orange, mix a bit of the egg with a pinch turmeric.

  • To get red, mix a bit of the egg with a pinch of smoked or regular paprika.

• Once mixed, gently brush the washes onto the leaves and pumpkins. (I used all the washes listed above on the leaves to get an assortment of colors. I used different variations on the pumpkins, but my favorite were the smaller pumpkins where I used turmeric and smoked paprika egg wash on the ring and left the stem unwashed.)

• Bake pumpkins and leaves until golden, sound hollow when thumped on the bottom, or thermometer reads between 185 and 195. (Again, about 20-30 minutes at 350 or 15-25 minutes at 400.) The leaves will get crispier, but this makes them delicious. Almost like crackers!

• Ideally, let cool, then enjoy as is or assemble on a large cutting board with an assortment of fresh or dried fruit, jams, dips or spreads, cheeses, olives, meats, drizzles of infused oil or honey, etc…. Make it a work of art!