Makes 2 one-pound breads

Hands on: 20 minutes

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Total time: 6 hours (plus 1 1/2-2 1/2 hours if making puree)

Skill level: beginner

A Sephardic specialty adapted from Gilda Angel's out-of-print book "Sephardic Holiday Cooking," this gently spiced, ultra moist bread has a velvety pale orange crumb and stays soft for days, thanks to the pumpkin puree (which otherwise brings little flavor to the bread). If desired, pureed baked sweet potato could be used instead. Use Libby's brand pumpkin puree if you would prefer using canned. Note that if your cardamom is freshly ground and powerfully fragrant, use the smaller amount, otherwise it tends to overwhelm the other flavors.

1/2 cup pumpkin or sweet potato puree, canned or fresh

1 envelope or 2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast (a.k.a. "Bread Machine" "Perfect Rise," "QuickRise," or "RapidRise" yeast)

1/4-1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

About 3 3/4 cups bread flour

2/3 cup warm water

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons table salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 large egg, plus one more for glazing

Sesame seeds for sprinkling, optional

Prepare the puree (do this the night before or early in the day): If using a pie pumpkin, cut it in half, scoop out the seeds (which can be cleaned of the fiber and separately roasted in oil for a snack) and place the 2 pumpkin halves cut side down on a foil-lined baking sheet. For the sweet potato, just place it on a foil-lined sheet and pierce it several times with a knife. Bake the pumpkin or sweet potato at 375 degrees for about one hour for the pumpkin or at least 2 hours for the sweet potato.

The pumpkin is ready when it feels soft and most of the liquid it expressed has evaporated. The sweet potato is ready when all the juices have run out and hardened into a dark brown foam. Let pumpkin or sweet potato cool, then scoop out the flesh and mash or sieve it or put it through a ricer, then measure out 1/2 cup puree.

Refrigerate the puree if not using it immediately.

Mix the dough: In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast, the cardamom, the ginger and 3/4 cup flour, then whisk in the warm water until the yeast slurry is smooth. Let the yeast slurry ferment for 10-20 minutes, or until it begins to ferment and puff up slightly.

Whisk into the puffed yeast slurry the sugar, salt, oil, egg, and the pumpkin puree.

When the mixture is well combined, stir in the remaining 3 cups flour with your hands or a wooden spoon. When the mixture is a shaggy ball, scrape it out onto your work surface and knead it until it is well mixed, fairly smooth, and firm. (Soak your mixing bowl in hot water now, to clean it and warm it if you would like to use it for fermenting the dough.) If the dough is too firm, add a tablespoon or two of water to the dough, or, if the dough seems to wet, add a few tablespoons of flour to it.

This dough should be light orange, firm, easy to knead, and not at all sticky. Continue making the bread as described in My Challah (refer to shaping tips when shaping the dough), sprinkling it with sesame seeds if desired before baking it at 350 degrees instead of 325 degrees.

From Maggie Glezer's new book on Jewish breads called "A Blessing of Bread" (Artisan, $35), due out Nov. 1.