Pumpkin Ale Mash Temp

I'm sure this question has been answered before, but my search attempts failed. When adding pumpkin to the mash (after baking and cooking), how different is my strike temperature going to need to be to account for the mass of the pumpkin? Right now, I'm considering mashing a little thicker than usual then, once the temperature has equalized, adding the remaining volume of strike water at the correct temperature. My main concern is the amount of time it's going to take to get the second volume of water to the correct temperature. I don't want to mash at too low of a temperature for too long.

 

When I do my pumpkin ale, I typically have my strike water about 4º higher than normal. As soon as I'm done emptying my kettle into my mash tun, I throw one gallon of water in the kettle and crank the burner up to get it boiling just in case I need it.

 

When I did my vanilla pumpkin lager I just added the weight of the pumpkin to the weight of the grain and my mash temp came out pretty much spot on.

 

I was about 6* lower than usual on my first pumpkin brew last weekend, so I added some boiling water until I got up to my mash temp. I used 4 pounds of pumpkin in mine.

 

I have always added pumpkin to the boil, not the mash. Usually 5-10 minutes before the end of the boil actually. Out of curiosity, why add them to the mash?

 

Is mashing this really needed though? I'm skeptical. I can see the mindset of mashing raw, slightly unripe pumpkin. But not peeled, roasted, caramelized, glazed pumpkin. And the canned versions are already cooked once anyway. I think you'll be fine with just adding it to the boil and the fermenter. It's not too high in starches / carbs to begin with compared to say a potato, or cereal grains.

 

I've said this on another thread, but you really should think about the flavor contribution of the pumpkin here. Pumpkin ales are all about spice. If you eat a piece of regular, cooked pumpkin, that's not really a flavor you're striving for. With that in mind, I minimize my actual pumpkin in the mash to 1 can of Libby's. I've done the baking, seasoning, glazing real pumpkin thing and it just isn't worth it. It also alleviates this balancing act in the mash and minimally affects the strike temp.