Savory Pumpkin Brioche

Remove the skin of the butternut with a knife (be carefull...) and cut it in cubes.

Stir fry at medium heat the butternut cubes with 2 tablespoons of olive oil, a pinch of salt, the grated garlic and stalks of thyme for 5 minutes.

Cover and cook some more for 30 minutes at low heat (mix from time to time).

When it's cooked, pour in a large bowl, remove the thyme stalks and mix with your handmixer. You should get a smooth texture. Let cool down at room temperature for 10 minutes.

Pour 180 g of your mashed butternut in your food processor bowl. Add the yeast and mix.

Add the flour and 8 g of salt. Knead at low speed (2 on a scale from 1 to 6).

Your dough will seem dry and quite compact at first. It should get better after 6 to 8 minutes. If your dough is still dry, add a little bit of water. (I didn't have to).

When the dough comes easily off the bowl, cover with a humid linen and let rise for 2 hours in a warm room.

After 2 hours, soak the food threads into olive oil.

Cut the bacon in thin pieces.

Place the dough on your working plan with a little bit of flour. Take 1/3 of the dough and make a 15 cm diameter round shape.

Place your bacon pieces on this dough and make a little ball.

Make a 20 cm diameter round shape with the rest of the dough and wrap the little ball in it. This way, you won't see the bacon pieces after rise.

Place two food threads as a "+". Place the other two as a "x".

Place your dough right in the center and knot the threads on top. Keep them quite loose.

Let rise for one hour.

Preheat your oven at 180 degrees.

Brush your pumpkin dough with olive oil or egg yolk and milk.

Cook for 35 minutes.

Check with a knife at the end of cooking, add 5 minutes of cooking if necessary.

Remove gently the threads, add a wooden stick in the middle and let cool down on a grid.