Easy Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Add a seasonal touch using pumpkin puree to your next batch of dinner rolls with these pumpkin dinner rolls. A simple and easy recipe that creates soft, light, and fluffy bread you can eat on its own or serve with your meal.

Table of Content

• Why make these pumpkin rolls?
• Ingredients and substitutes
• Step by step instructions
• More pumpkin treats
• Frequently asked questions
• Troubleshooting
• You may also like
• Printable Recipe
• Join the conversation

If you make homemade bread often, then a great way to add a little bit more would be to add some pumpkin or sweet potato puree.

Adding veggies to bread is a wonderful way to add more flavor, and of course, nutrition to your bread. We rarely have these go stale. But, if I do have stale bread, then I cut them into cubes and toast them like croutons with a sprinkle of milk, butter, and parmesan. Absolutely delicious.

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Why make these pumpkin rolls?

• They are the easiest, softest, most delicious rolls you will ever make. Made using my dinner rolls recipes as a base with the addition of pumpkin puree. Sometimes, I even add some sweet potato puree because I love how pretty the color is.
• Most of the ingredients are easy to find or pantry staples.
• You can customize these rolls by adding things like herbs and cheese. For example, try these with roasted garlic and parmesan and olives and sun-dried tomatoes. Or, try adding a tanghonge to make a pumpkin Japanese milk bread. You can even substitute half all-purpose flour for whole wheat.
• Timeline and process is similar to most bread recipes
  • Knead dough - 10 mins
  • Rise - 45 to 60 mins
  • Shape rolls - 10 mins
  • Proof - 30 to 45 mins
  • Bake the rolls - 20 to 22 mins

Ingredients and substitutes

• Pumpkin puree - You can use canned or homemade pumpkin puree. I did not add any pumpkin spice mix, but you can also add ½ teaspoon if you want.
• Flour - Bread flour is highly recommended for making homemade bread soft and fluffy. But, I have always used all-purpose flour very successfully for these.
• Instant dry yeast - I like to use instant dry because I've always had great success with it. But you can also use
  • 2 ¼ teaspoon active dry yeast or
  • 21 grams of fresh bakers yeast
• Sugar - The sugar here is not really to add sweetness. So no, the one tablespoon won't make your homemade dinner rolls sweet. If you prefer you can substitute sugar with 2 tablespoon of honey as well.
• Butter - I like adding butter not just to feed the yeast but also to add flavor. You can substitute the butter for 2 tablespoon of oil in this recipe.

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Step by step instructions

Dough

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the hook attachment, combine warm milk (110 F), yeast, sugar, pumpkin puree, and butter.
  Pro tip - if you don't have an electric mixer you can knead the dough by hand in a mixing bowl.
• Add the flour and salt. Combine well on medium-high speed. Once all the flour is well incorporated, knead on medium for 3 minutes.
  Pro tip - avoid the temptation to add more flour. We want soft, light, and fluffy rolls, and this is only possible when the dough is soft, elastic, yet slightly sticky.

• When the dough is soft, shiny, but still slightly sticky shape into a ball. Place the dough in an oiled bowl seam side down. Coat the surface with oil to prevent drying. Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap.
• Leave in a warm place. Let rise for 60 to 90 minutes until double in volume.
  Pro tip - in winter you may need 90 minutes or more but in summer the dough may double in 45 minutes. If you can't attend to it at that moment, de-gas, reshape, and let double in volume again.

Divide

• When the dough is double in volume, transfer to a well-dusted floured surface but avoid adding too much flour. De-gas, reshape into a ball. Then roll into a small log.
  Pro tip - if you cannot attend to the dough now, you can place it back in the bowl and let it proof for another 30 to 45 minutes
• Using a dough scraper divide this log into three portions and then each of those portions into 3 again. This should give you 9 dinner rolls.
  Pro tip - the odd number 9 is because we are using a square baking pan. you can also divide into 8 medium or 12 small rolls, use an 8-inch round or quarter sheet pan.

Shape & Proof

• Hold each piece of dough in your hand and gather all the seams together. Pinch the seams at the bottom, then place the ball on a non-flour surface while still holding it in your hand.
• Loosen the grip on the dough and roll back and forth into a tight circle against the work surface. You will feel the dough become tight and smooth.
  Pro tip - the goal is to create a tight, smooth ball. If you overdo the rolling you will rip the top surface so be careful.
• Grease or spray a 9 x 9 square baking pan. Place the rolls in the pan.
• Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place for about 45 minutes until almost double in size.
  Pro tip - in summer the dough my proof quicker than 45 minutes so look for the size rather than the time.

Bake

• When the rolls are almost double in volume, after about 30 minutes, preheat the oven to 375°F 190°C/ Gas Mark 5
• Brush the rolls with egg wash.
  Pro tip- Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. Do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust.
• Bake for about 20 to 22 minutes until lightly golden on top. When baked, brush with melted butter.
  Pro tip - Butter is optional but adds a nice flavor and keeps the top crust soft.
• Take them out of the pan and cover them with a clean kitchen cloth for at least 5 minutes to keep them soft.
  Pro tip - do not leave them in the pan for more than 10 minutes otherwise the steam on the bottom will cool making them soggy.
• These will keep at room temperature for 3 to 4 days.

Frequently asked questions

Troubleshooting

• My dough did not rise? Most often the simplest explanation for this is that the liquid (milk) used was not warm. You need the liquid to be no more than 110 F/ 41 C. Hotter than that will not activate the yeast. In some cases, it could also be that the yeast was old and not good.
• My bread is not soft but dense? If you add too much flour to the dough the bread will be dense, not soft. You want the dough to be soft, elastic, and still slightly sticky. Follow the recipe and look at the video to see my consistency of dough.
• My rolls deflated when baking. Prove the rolls for only 45 minutes or until just almost double in volume. They will continue to rise some more in the oven when baking. If you overproof, they tend to rise and deflate when baking.

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