The first day of Autumn is perfect for this rustic no-knead pumpkin pecan bread. The cool Fall temperatures just get me in the mood for baking.
This version of no-knead pumpkin pecan bread is filled with toasted pecans and a pumpkin pie spice blend that will fill your home with the scent of Autumn.
A good heavy pot with a lid is needed to bake this no-knead pumpkin pecan bread. The pot is placed in a hot oven to preheat. Once the dough is placed into the hot pot, it is covered with the lid that has been heated. The lid traps the moisture and creates a mini steam oven in your oven. This makes the outer crust nice and crisp with a soft tender inside. Perfect for dipping into a hot soup or hot chocolate.
Find out more about no-knead bread on my Crusty Bread post or Crusty Bread the Movie video. You will be amazed at the many creations you can make with this simple recipe.
Chop toasted pecans. Set aside.
In a 2-quart mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, yeast, and spice mixture.
Stir in chopped pecans.
In a small mixing bowl, add water, pumpkin puree, and honey.
Mix until completely smooth. Pour over the flour mixture and stir only until all of the flour is combined. Remember “NO KNEADING” is required.
Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise for 8-10 hours.
Pour dough out onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Place on a sheet of parchment paper and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour. Meanwhile, heat oven to 450 degrees F. Place a heavy pot with a lid into the hot oven and preheat for 30 minutes. Remove the hot pot from the oven lift the parchment paper with the dough and carefully place it into the hot pot. Cover with the lid and continue baking for 30 minutes. Remove the lid and bake for an additional 10-12 minutes or until golden.
Remove from the oven carefully lift the parchment paper from the pan and place it on a cooling rack. Slide the bread off the parchment paper. Allow to cool before slicing for best results…I’ve never had the willpower to wait. Hot bread is so dang good. Dig in! Just don’t burn yourself.
Amazing bread with very little effort. I think I spent a total of 10 minutes prepping the dough and that included toasting the pecans.
I love this bread dripping with honey. Enjoy!
No-Knead Pumpkin Pecan Bread
Rustin no-knead bread with the Autumn flavors of pumpkin and toasted pecans
Ingredients
- 3 cups + 2 tablespoons bread flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
- 1/2 teaspoon yeast instant yeast or active dry yeast
- 2/3 cup pecans toasted
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
- 1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 1 cup water
- 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
- 1/4 cup honey
Instructions
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In a 2 quart mixing bowl, combine flour, salt, yeast, spices, and pecans
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In a small mixing bowl add water, pumpkin puree, and honey. Stir until smooth.
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Pour pumpkin mixture over flour mixture and stir just until all of the flour is absorbed. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 8-10 hours at room temperature.
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Meanwhile, pour dough onto a heavily floured surface and shape into a ball. Place dough on a sheet of parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hours.
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When the oven has reached 450 degrees, place a cast iron pot with a lid in the oven and heat the pot for 30 minutes. Remove hot pot from the oven and lift the parchment paper along with the dough and gently place into the hot pan. Cover and return to oven for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes remove the lid and bake an additional 15 minutes. Remove bread from oven and place on a cooling rack to cool.
Recipe Notes
- 1 teaspoon of Pumpkin Pie spice may be used in place of cinnamon, cloves, allspice, and nutmeg
- To toast pecans: Place pecans on a baking sheet and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 6-8 minutes. Cool.
You DIDN’T specify which yeast to use, so I used active dRy yeast. i jusT read the comments after it was all madE and read that someone else commented about that and you said to put it In water fIrst. Have i wasted all Those ingredients or will it still rise overnight since thereโs Water in the Recipe? Too bad it Wasnโt updated with the comment in 2018, i Had both on hand but only my second time making bread in a pot sO i didnโt know any differEnt.
Hi, can I make this in a cast iron pan without a lid? Please explain how or if I definitely need a lid. Thanks!
Hi Mita, the reason for a lid is to create steam inside the pot while baking. The steam is what makes the outer crust nice and crisp. You can use any pot that has a lid or you can cover with foil and crimp around the edges of the pan so the steam doesn’t escape. It doesn’t have to be cast iron. If you use a pot that isn’t as heavy as cast iron, place it on a baking sheet so the bottom of the crust doesn’t burn or go hard. I hope this helps. Please it me know if you you any other questions.
I would love to make this bread but 2 questions –
what temp of water should i use? room temp? warm water? cool or cold water?
What type of yeast?
thank you!
I use cool to room temperature water. I don’t fuss too much with an exact temperature because of the long rise time. I use Instant yeast or active dry yeast. This is a pretty simple bread. Just mix and let the dough rise overnight. Please let me know if you try this recipe. It’s quite delicious and one of my favorites.
This bread was amazing. Our 4 year old daughter loves it!
Awesome! Thanks you so much for sharing this with me! Your little daughter has great taste!
Thank you for such an amazing RECIPE! The bread was SUCH a big hit with my family and FRIENDS. I love the smell as it is COOKING. Cant wait to try more recipes from your website!
I’m thrilled you love the bread. It does fill your home with the smells of Autumn. Thank you so much for giving the recipe a 5-star rating! I greatly appreciate it. I hope you try more of the no-knead recipes on my blog. They are all delicous.
This may be a silly question, but are you supposed to let this rise in the refrigerator or at room temp for the 12-18 hours? I just made the dough (and it smells amazing already) and realized that the recipe doesn’t say. excited to pop it in the oven tomorrow morning though!
Let the dough sit out on the counter at room temperature for the 12-18 hrs. Don’t refrigerate the dough. It will turn out just great!
Have you seen the trend of tying the bread dough with twine before baking so that it looks like a pumpkin? Iโd love to see if that works with this recipe.
I have not seen this trend. I’ll try it and let you know.
I love the addition of the Pecans!!
This came out wonderful! Need to add that this is Instant rapid rise Yeast in the ingredient list for those that don’t bake bread often.
I rushed the 30 min in the oven on heating the pan as the oven came up to temp due to a time constraint. Was probably more like 20 minutes so my bread could’ve used an extra 10 minutes before removing the lid. But fabulous flavor. I used a combo of maple syrup/molasses instead of honey and left out the nuts since I was taking it to a potluck. Thanks so much!
Hi Patty, Thanks for bringing that to my attention. I’ll make the correction. I love the combo of maple syrup/molasses. That’s brilliant. Thank you so much for sharing your designer loaf of pumpkin bread.
I baked the bread , it takes the enTire aMount of tine to bake it . My oven is convecter and its super hot i usually have to decrease the time when i bake but this on is the right time. I use 1 cup whole wheat flour I added 2/3 cup of mixed raisin and sour cherries . I heated my water a little bit because my pumpkin was cold so i added the rasinS and cherries int he warm water to help MOISTEN them . I aslo used only 1 tsp of salt but 1 1/2 would habe been better . I dont like to salty but it needs it . Anyway very easy and perfect bread .
I so happy your bread turned out! I love the addition of raisins and cherries and whole wheat flour. Bravo! When I use convection while baking a generally drop the temperature by 25F degrees. My fan tends to cook hotter. Thanks for sharing your bread recipe. I can’t wait to try it.
Sorry for all the misSpelling i should have red my text before sending it . It was an awsome bread very heavy The way i like it .
No worries on spelling. I’m so glad you like the bread.
My new fall favorite! Thank you so much for SHARING. :)I made a hOney and cinnamon butter sPread which paired really well with the bread. I will be making this for years to come!
Hi Janet, Thank you so much for this kind comment. You have just made my day. Your honey butter sounds amazing especially on pumpkin bread. Thanks for sharing your great idea.
What type of flour works Best, all purpose or multi grain?
All-purpose flour gives the best results. I have used 50/50 all-purpose and white wheat or spelt flour. The multigrain will be a bit more dense.
So all-purpose flour is ok? Recipe above SAYs bread FLOUR (sorry for all caps! It won t let me type normally for SOMe reason)
Yes, all-purpose flour is ok. For some reason it types in all caps, but shows up normal when message is sent.
OMG!! Just what I was looking for to make a Banana nut no-knead bread. I used fresh banana pureed instead of pumpkin and maple syrup instead of honey. only used cinnamon and nutmeg and added 1 tablespoon of poppy seed. fantastic!! thanks to you!
Wow! I never would have thought of that combination. You are brilliant!!! I’ll be trying that soon. Thanks for sharing.
Easy, yummy, and provides a wonderful aroma! Thanks, My second loaf is rEsting And rising with Craisins as I type…
Isn’t the aroma the best. I love the idea of adding craisins!
Don’t know if is just me but I’m not seeing the ‘pin it’ button. I loved all the creative combinations from readers in the original post. Are they available anywhere? Thanks.
I’m sorry to say that I have not compiled all of the flavor combinations from the Crusty Bread. I have received over 4,000 comments on that post and I just could keep up. I do have a pin button. It appears on the left hand corner of the picture. Let me know if you are having problems finding it.
Thank you for this recipe!
I Just made it and followed your directions step by step and it turned out amazing and delicious! i love your pictures allowed me to compare. i used the parchment paper for the last hour baking also using a creuset dutch oven and it didn’t stick . was just perfect! five stars
Hi Claire,
Thank you so much for sending this comment. I keep asking myself if I should continue to do the “step-by-step”, but I think it’s so helpful. We can all use a little visual help at times. Kudos to your baking skills.
Happy baking.
Greetings! I just wanted to express my thanks for this fabulous recipe! My new autumn favorite. In addition to the listed ingredients, I added dried cranberries for a layered blend of texture and flavor. Also, my “can’t live without” kitchen aid is parchment paper. There will be no sticking! Thanks again!!
Hi Julia, Thanks for your kind comment. I love the addition of dried cranberries. I will throw a handful in next time I make the bread. Wahoo for parchment…right?
Quick question…the 12 – 18 hour Rest time
Is it in the fridge or on the counter? Cant wait to try this!
Counter! Room temperature! Trust me on this. The small amount of yeast requires a long rise time it also enhances the flavor of the bread.
I bought a bRatform but the bread has stuck in it 3 times!!! What is wrong?
Hi Cathi, My bratform suggested to lightly spray with a fine mist of water then heavily flour. This worked quite well the first few times that I used it. I have to admit that the bread in my photo stuck a bit. I guess I didn’t flour it enough. I hope this helps.
This looks amazing! I really want to make this, but i do not have a pot with a lid that can go in the oven. Is having a lid a requirement? The closest i have is a cast iron skillet. Also, how sweet is the bread itself? Just curious!
Thanks!
Hi Julia, A cast iron skillet will work and you DO need to cover it. The lid creates a steam oven in the pot, which makes the crisp crust. You can just cover your skillet with a piece of heavy duty aluminum foil and crimp the edges to seal it nice and tight. The pot does not have to be cast iron. Any pan that will take the high heat of 450 degrees will work. A cast iron skillet should work well if it has high enough sides. The bread is not super sweet at all. That’s why I love it spread with honey. Please let me know if you have any further questions. Best of luck to you.
Hi! Can I use whole-wheat flour? Thank you
Yes, you can. Use 1/4 cup less flour, 1/2 cup more water and you may want to cook 5 minutes less depending on how dark the bread is.
https://i2.wp.com/www.bessiebakes.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Sourdough-Starter-13-2.jpg?w=600
Could I use 1/4 cup of my sourdough starter in place of the yeast?
Hi Christine, yes you can use 1/4 cup sourdough starter. I have had comments that some have used as much as 1/2 cup starter. Please let me know how it turns out. I’d love to get your feedback!
So i notice you have parchment in the pan under a loaf you proofed in a bratform. Did you turn the dough onto the bratform aFter risiNg and use the patchment as a sling to transfer the dough into yhe pot?
Yes. That’s exactly what I did. I will clarify that on my post. Thank you.
cOULD THIS BREAD ACCOMMODATE THE ADDITION OF GOLDEN RAISINS? wISH THIS RECIPE COULD BE PINNED.
Of course you can add golden raisins. That would be such a great addition. You can add 1/2 cup or as much as 1 cup if you want it heavily studded with raisins. I’m so glad you mentioned “pinning” I can’t believe I forgot to add the PIN IT button. It’s on now, so pin away.
How large should the cast iron pot Be?
The pot should be at least 4 1/2 quarts or larger.
At what point did you put the dough in the Bratform?
Just for the last one hour rise?
Yes. I put the dough in Bratform the last hour of rise. I will specify that in the recipe. Thanks for bringing this to my attention.