Posted in Recipes on 01.10.2023
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
prep: 15 mins / cook: 30 mins / inactive: 2 hours 0 mins / total: 2 hours 45 mins / quantity: 12 rolls Print recipe?
Light, fluffy, buttery homemade pumpkin dinner rolls with a sea salt and rosemary butter glaze. Perfect for pairing with autumn soups or a Thanksgiving feast!
Oh my. I’ve lost count now how many times I’ve made these pumpkin dinner rolls. Too many considering it’s just me eating them. Bread making is perhaps my favourite thing to do in the kitchen, a bit of activity then a bit of pottering while the yeast does its thing with the rest of the ingredients. And then there’s the smell while they bake. Honestly making my stomach rumble just writing this.
Homemade bread is perhaps one of the most rewarding and almost primal things you can do in a kitchen. And the payoff – warm, fresh bread you can slather in butter – is so worth the little bit of vigorous activity involved in its production.
Pumpkin bread ingredients:
Strong white bread flour – because we’re making yeast rolls we need flour that has a higher gluten content than plain flour. All wheat flour contains gluten and it’s the stretching of these gluten strands that you do while kneading the dough that ‘develops’ the gluten. This makes it become elastic, allowing the moisture to expand the dough and form air pockets that gives the bread that open texture rather than the solid texture of pastry. Strong flour has a higher gluten content than plain flour.
Yeast – I’ve used active dried yeast just for ease and availability compared to fresh yeast.
Pumpkin puree – if you can’t get hold of pumpkin puree in a can, it’s SO easy to make your own. Grab a pumpkin, slice in half and remove the seeds. Place the pumpkins cut side down on a tray and pop in the oven preheated to 180 Fan / 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6. Roast for 45-60 minutes. They’re done once the skin easily pulls away from the flesh. Leave them until they’re cool enough to handle, peel away and discard the skin then blitz the flesh in a food processor until smooth.
Don’t worry about having a tonne of pumpkin puree – this stuff freezes wonderfully! Or check out these other pumpkin recipes. Oh and the dogs love it too!
How to make pumpkin dinner rolls:
If you’re making your own puree start with that. See method above.
For the dough, rub the butter into the flour until virtually no lumps of butter remain. Mix in the salt and sugar.
Warm the pumpkin puree until only just warm then whisk in the yeast. Mix this into the flour until it starts to form a dough. Tip out onto a clean surface and continue to knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until you have a soft, elastic, stretchy dough.
Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove until doubled in size. This can take anywhere from 30 – 90 minutes dependent on ambient temperature. I use a sunny windowsill when possible.
Tip the dough out of the bowl and divide into 12 equal sized pieces. Use the cup of your palm to shape the dough into round bread rolls. Place the rolls in a lined tin or baking dish, spacing a little apart so they have room to grow as the prove for a second time.
Once again cover and leave somewhere warm to prove until just about doubled in size.
Baking your bread rolls:
Once the rolls are almost risen enough, preheat your oven to 180 Fan / 200 C / 400 F. When they’re ready, bake the rolls for 20 minutes, carefully turn the tray round then bake for a further 10 minutes.
While they’re baking melt the butter and mix in the sea salt and rosemary.
Once the rolls come out of the oven gently and generously brush the butter over the top of them. Leave the rolls to cool in the dish slightly before splitting, buttering and DEVOURING!!
Whilst there is very little quite as good as warm fresh bread, these pumpkin dinner rolls actually keep quite well for a couple of days. Once completely cool, store in an airtight container at room temperature.
You can also freeze any extras – defrost and warm in the oven for lovely, fresh bread again!
Looking for even more vegan pumpkin puree recipes? Try these:
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Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
prep: 15 mins / cook: 30 mins / inactive: 2 hours 0 mins / total: 2 hours 45 mins / quantity: 12 rolls
Ingredients
Pumpkin rolls:
- 3 + 1/2 cups (560g) strong white bread flour
- 4 tablespoons (55g) vegan butter
- 2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 cup (50g) light brown sugar
- 1 + 1/2 cups (390g) pumpkin puree (see note)
- 1 x 7g sachet active dried yeast
Butter glaze (optional):
- 1 tablespoon butter
- small pinch sea salt
- 1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary
Instructions
- If you're making the pumpkin puree start with that as it'll need to cool enough to be used in the dough - method in blog post
- Rub the butter into the flour until virtually no lumps of butter remain then stir in the salt and sugar
- The pumpkin puree needs to be only just warm so heat it gently if you've got canned puree or made it a ways in advance. You want it to be just tepid so that when you put your finger in it you can't tell if it's warm or cold!
- Whisk the yeast into the pumpkin then stir that into the flour, mixing until it starts to form a dough
- Tip out onto a clean surface and continue to knead for 5-10 minutes until the dough is smooth and elastic
- Pop the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and leave somewhere warm to prove until doubled in size - this can take anywhere from 30-90 minutes dependent on ambient temperature
- Tip the risen dough out and divide into 12 equal size pieces. Use your cupped hand to roll the dough into balls then place in a lined tin or baking dish, spacing a little apart so they have room to expand as they prove
- Again, cover and leave to prove until well risen
- Just before the rolls are ready, preheat your oven to 180 Fan / 200 C / 400 F / Gas 6
- Bake the rolls for 20 minutes, carefully turn the tray and bake for another 10 minutes
- While they're baking, melt the butter and mix in the salt and rosemary
- Once the rolls come out of the oven leave for just a couple of minutes to cool slightly then brush all over with the melted butter
Notes
- Super easy method for making your own pumpkin puree in blog post
- Store any extra well cooled rolls in an airtight container at room temperature or freeze any leftovers
2 Comments
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Hello there! I’m Sam, former Michelin star pastry chef and now your go-to vegan foodie on a mission to make plant-based eating a deliciously easy adventure! From cozy comfort foods to vibrant salads and decadent desserts, there’s something for everyone in my kitchen.
Whether you’re cooking for one or for a houseful I believe food doesn’t have to be complicated to be full of FLAVOUR and I want to show you how. I’ve been a rigorous meal planner for over a decade whilst embracing seasonal ingredients (because that’s where the real flavour is!)
I’m also a dedicated dog mum to Nooch and Baxter and enjoy cooking them homemade treats (many of which are posted here) when I’m not screaming at the tennis or devouring fantasy fiction.
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These look delicious, could I make them gluten free? And how would that change the recipe?
Hi Karin and thank you for getting in touch. Unfortunately I don’t know how these could be made gluten free. GF flour obviously lacks the gluten that gives normal flour bread it’s structure. I’ve only tried making GF bread once and it was a very different process to this and no yeast – and the result was a different texture. Sorry I can’t offer more help!
Sam x