Pumpkin Brioche Bread with Chocolate Swirl

Pumpkin brioche bread filled with ooey gooey chocolate is the sweet treat you didn’t know you needed. The texture is so light, but it tastes so decadent.

Pumpkin brioche bread: that medley of words is enough to make mouths water. The beautiful baked good is one part chocolate cinnamon roll, one part pumpkin bread, and 100% DIVINE. I mean, who could resist a slice (or three)?! Whether you serve it at breakfast time, for dessert, or as a sweet snack, the bread never fails to satisfy.

I have wanted to try my hand at brioche bread for quite some time, so I decided this was a perfect time! Like all recipes, this pumpkin brioche bread took a while to perfect, but in the end, it turned out to be surprisingly simple. Unlike other brioche bread recipes, it doesn’t require 30-35 minutes of kneading. The hardest part is letting the dough rise for 2 hours!

Why You’ll Love Pumpkin Brioche Bread

If those three words aren’t enough to inspire you to give this pumpkin brioche bread recipe a try, you don’t know what you have to look forward to. You’ll love this bread because:

It’s an easy, approachable brioche – You don’t need any special equipment, you don’t have to put in a lot of elbow grease, and the ingredients list is super simple. Despite that, the recipe yields a bakery-quality result. I call that WINNING!
Pumpkin adds a significant amount of nutrients – I’m not going to pretend that this brioche is healthy, but pumpkin is nutrient dense. It is a good source of fiber, rich in vitamins A, B1, and C, as well as folate and manganese.
Chocolate swirl – The chocolate is present yet not overdone, making it the perfect compliment. Pumpkin, warm spices, and chocolate are a dynamic trio.
Rich yet light – This is a rich bread, no doubt, but pumpkin chocolate brioche bread has a light, airy texture meaning you can eat more of it! Don’t you love a carb that doesn’t weigh you down?
No Knead Bread – This bread requires no kneading and let’s face it nobody loves taking the time to knead bread.

Pumpkin Brioche Bread Ingredient Notes

Bread Flour: The flour has a higher protein content (12-14%), making it ideal for bread like pumpkin brioche bread.
Eggs: Eggs enrich the dough resulting in one that is moist, soft, and rich.
Yeast: The yeast in the dough ferments the sugars in the flour, producing carbon dioxide gas which causes the dough to rise.
Butter: Unsalted butter also enriches the dough and is the reason for the bread’s buttery flavor. Brioche wouldn’t be the same without it!
Pumpkin: Although I used canned to save time, roasting your own and making a puree from scratch is an option.
Chocolate: For the best result, use quality dark chocolate. Milk chocolate would be far too sweet.
Warm Spices: Cinnamon and nutmeg take the pumpkin to the next level. Without a bit of spice, it tastes like something is missing.

The complete ingredients list with amounts is in the recipe card below!

How to Make Pumpkin Brioche Bread

To make pumpkin brioche bread:

Combine the dry ingredients: Mix most of the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in a bowl. Spices are indeed dry ingredients, but they will go in later when the pumpkin joins the party.
Prepare the wet: Heat the water and butter in a small saucepan until the butter melts. The mixture must not come to a boil. The reason for this is yeast. If the liquid is too hot, it will kill the yeast.
Add the wet to the dry: Pour the butter mixture into the flour and mix with your hands until just combined. Then, the eggs, pumpkin, and spices go in with the rest of the flour.
Rise: Shape the dough into a ball and leave it to rise in a warm, dry place for 2 ½ hours. Ideally, place it close to a heat source. For most, this would be near the oven.
Roll: Roll the dough into a rectangle, add chocolate, sprinkle the chocolate with cinnamon, then roll into a log shape.
Rise: Pop the roll into a buttered pan to rise for 30 minutes. This final rise is called proofing. Proofing happens after shaping and just before baking.
Brush and bake: Brush with a beaten egg yolk to promote even browning, place into a preheated oven, and bake until a deep, golden brown.

Pumpkin Brioche Bread with Chocolate Swirl

Variations, Substitutions & Cooking Tips

Test your yeast before use – Add some yeast to a bowl with warm water that is about 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Let it sit for 5 minutes, then take a look. If the mixture foams, the yeast is alive, active, and ready to make pumpkin brioche bread! If not, purchase new yeast before proceeding with the recipe.
Substitute pumpkin for sweet potato – Make your own puree or use canned.
Experiment with different spices – Try ginger, allspice, cloves, or cardamom. Star anise is also an option if you wish to add a sweet licorice-like taste.

Ingredients

3 1/2 cups bread flour
.25 oz active yeast (1 packet)
1/3 cup sugar
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup unsalted butter
4 eggs
1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 1/2 tsp cinnamon, divided
4 oz dark chocolate, good quality, roughly chopped
1 egg yolk

Instructions

In a bowl, mix two cups of the flour, yeast, sugar and salt together.
Gently heat water and butter together in a small saucepan. Make sure it doesn’t come to a simmer/boil. Just heat over a low temperature until melted.
Add the water/butter mixture to the flour mixture.
Mix together using hands until just combined.
Add in the four eggs, canned pumpkin, nutmeg, 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon and combine. Add the rest of the flour and mix until it forms a ball shape.
In a lightly oiled bowl, place the brioche dough and cover with saran wrap. Leave to rise for about 2.5 hours in a warm/dry place.
After it has doubled in size, roll the dough out into a rectangle on a clean surface sprinkled with flour (to prevent sticking). Sprinkle the chocolate pieces and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Roll the dough towards you then place in a lightly buttered bread pan.
Allow to rise for an additional 30 min.
Preheat the oven to 350°F.
Once the dough has risen for the second time, brush with the egg yolk.
Bake for about 25 minutes (or until a deep golden crust forms). Serve warm!