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Japanese Kabocha Bread カボチャパン
5 from 34 votes

Japanese Kabocha Bread カボチャパン

Japanese Kabocha Bread features a soft yeast dough infused with mashed kabocha pumpkin and sweet potato paste, sweetened and shaped into individual rolls tied with cotton string for a unique presentation. The filling combines mashed kabocha pumpkin and purple sweet potato sweetened with sugar, cooked into a smooth paste. The bread is slightly sweet with a tender crumb, accented by pumpkin seeds used as stems for a decorative finish.

Prep Time
30 mins
Cook Time
1 hr 30 mins
Total Time
2 hrs
Servings: 8
Calories: 186 kcal
Course: Bread
Cuisine: Japanese

Ingredients

  • 250 g baker's flour
  • 30 g kabocha pumpkin mashed
  • 15 g sugar
  • 1 tsp yeast
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 150 ml milk
  • 20 g butter
  • 2 g salt
  • 8 kitchen twine cotton string 80 cm length
  • 8 pumpkin seeds used for the stems
For Kabocha anko paste
  • 50 g pumpkin mashed
  • 50 g purple sweet potato mashed
  • 30 g sugar

Instructions

Pumpkin & Sweet Potato Paste
    Cup of Yum
  1. Peel the kabocha and sweet potato. Cook the peeled kabocha and sweet potato and mash them.
  2. Put mashed kabocha pumpkin and sweet potato in a small saucepan, add sugar and stir constantly on low heat for about 5 minutes. When the water evaporates a little and the paste thickens, turn the heat off and cool it down completely.
  3. Make it into small balls (about 2 tbsp each) and set aside.
Pumpkin Bread
  1. Place bakers flour, salt in a large bowl and make a well in the middle.
  2. Combine 1 egg yolk, 150ml milk (to make 160ml all together, so you may need a bit more than 150ml milk), 30g mashed Kabocha pumpkin, sugar, and melted butter and dry yeast.
  3. Pour the liquid ingredients into the well in the flour bowl and mix.
  4. Knead the bread dough for about 20 minutes.
  5. Spray the surface of the bowl and place the kneaded dough and wrap with cling wrap. Leave it for 40 minutes to rise.
  6. Soak the twine (strings) in 1 tbsp of oil (any type of oil is fine, I used olive oil)
  7. When it becomes twice in size, take the dough out of the bowl and divide it into 8 round balls.
  8. Flatten the dough ball out and place pumpkin anko paste on the centre and wrap it.
  9. Take the excess oil off the string and place it on the kitchen bench. Place one dough on the centre. Take two ends of the string and cross it in the centre, and flip the dough around and cross the string, and flip the dough with the string again and repeat. Try not to tie the twine too tight. Make the knot and place the knot side down on the baking paper.
  10. Repeat the step for each.
  11. Place a moist tea towel over the bread and leave it in a warm place for about 30 minutes.
  12. Preheat the oven to 180 degrees celsius and bake them for 12-15 minutes.
  13. Cool the bread down and cut the twine at a few places then remove the twine carefully.

Notes

  • If kabocha pumpkin is unavailable, substitute with purple sweet potato for the an paste.
  • For the bread dough, kabocha pumpkin can be replaced with butternut pumpkin.

Nutrition Information

Calories 186kcal (9%) Carbohydrates 32g (11%) Protein 5g (10%) Fat 3g (5%) Saturated Fat 1g (5%) Cholesterol 31mg (10%) Sodium 140mg (6%) Potassium 106mg (2%) Fiber 1g (4%) Sugar 7g (14%) Vitamin A 2430IU (49%) Vitamin C 1.6mg (2%) Calcium 33mg (3%) Iron 0.5mg (3%)

Nutrition Facts

Serving: 8 Serving

Amount Per Serving

Calories 186

% Daily Value*

Calories 186kcal 9%
Carbohydrates 32g 11%
Protein 5g 10%
Fat 3g 5%
Saturated Fat 1g 5%
Cholesterol 31mg 10%
Sodium 140mg 6%
Potassium 106mg 2%
Fiber 1g 4%
Sugar 7g 14%
Vitamin A 2430IU 49%
Vitamin C 1.6mg 2%
Calcium 33mg 3%
Iron 0.5mg 3%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.