Autumn is my favourite season.
Especially all the colours as the leaves start to turn.
I love seeing the variety of pumpkins and squashes available now too.
So what better than to bake some into a delicious bread?
Read on to bake my sweet pumpkin spiced rolls.
PS Want to learn more about baking your own fresh bread at home?
New dates for my autumn and festive live online bread making classes are now available.
Learn step-by-step how to bake Chelsea Buns, chocolate babka, baguettes, panettone, stollen and more.
Canned pumpkin is widely found in the USA but harder to get hold of here in the UK.
Instead, you can use pumpkin or butternut squash flesh.
Drizzle it with olive oil and sprinkle on 1/4tsp ground nutmeg per 100g flesh. Then roast at 200C for 10 – 15 minutes.
Once cooled, mash or puree 100g of the roasted pumpkin/butternut squash.
Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour
7g dried active yeast
8g salt
30g caster sugar
1 teaspoon mixed spice
1.5 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
[Alternatively, replace all spices listed above with 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice]
120ml milk
160g water
100g pumpkin puree, or roasted pumpkin/butternut squash mash (see above)
Pecans, to decorate (optional)
Method
1. Weigh out the flour, yeast, salt, sugar and spices into a large bowl.
2. Stir all the dry ingredients together.
3. Add the milk, water and pumpkin puree or mashed roasted pumpkin/butternut squash.
4. Using a spoon or a dough scraper, bring the mixture together until no dry flour remains. It will be quite sticky!
5. Turn the ball of dough out onto the work surface and knead for 5 – 10 minutes. Don’t be tempted to flour the surface and dry the dough out. Use a little olive oil or water on your hands if the dough is very sticky.
6. Knead the dough until it is smooth and silky.
7. Shape the dough into a rough ball and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise for about an hour and a half to two hours, until it has doubled in size.
8. Once the dough has risen, turn it out of the bowl and gently deflate it.
9. You’re now ready to shape your dough! Divide your dough into 60g pieces.
10. Roll each piece into a tight ball and place them well spaced on two lined baking trays.
11. Flatten each ball of dough slightly with the heel of your hand. Using a sharp knife, cut the shape into eight segments.
12. Cover the rolls and leave them to prove for 45 minutes – 1 hour. Pre-heat the oven to 210C during this time.
13. Once risen, poke a deep hole into the centre of each roll.
14. Bake the rolls for 10 – 15 minutes. They will brown quickly because of their sugar content – if they get too brown but don’t feel fully baked, cover the trays with foil.
15. The rolls should be golden brown all over, well baked through and sound hollow when tapped on the bottom.
16. Cool the rolls. To create a ‘stalk’, place half a pecan into the hole on top of each roll.
17. For shine, you can glaze the rolls with a thin smear of golden syrup or honey.
Want to learn step-by-step how to bake your own fresh bread – from baguettes to Chelsea Buns, chocolate babka to festive panettone – at home? Find out more about my live online classes here.
If you’ve enjoyed this recipe, do let me know in the comments! Or why not check out more breadmaking recipes, hints and tips on my blog.
These are my new favorite rolls. I am a pumpkin and sweet potato fanatic so these just fit right in. Perfect every time and now even my friend asks for them but she doesn’t eat pumpkin or sweet potato and I just call them my Morning Rolls..We have been friends for many years and she hasn’t known what she has eaten or she probably wouldn’t be my friend. She is very matter of fact about her finicky eating habits so I have a don’t tell Susan policy. Thank you!!?
Bea
Thanks Beatrice, I’m glad you’re enjoying these rolls!