Pumpkin Yeast Rolls

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Day 20 of 31 days of pumpkin and I’m heading into new territory again. I’m really not a bread baker, but I wanted to do a recipe with yeast before the month was over so I hunted around and cherry picked different parts from several existing recipes to make my perfect Pumpkin Yeast Rolls. The result is a slightly sweet, light and airy roll with definite pumpkin flavor. I feel like a whole new world has opened up to me now that I can confidently add bread baking to my repertoire. I know I’m late to the bread making party, but better late than never.

The hero of this story has to be my KitchenAid Stand Mixer. A wedding gift ten years ago, it’s the not-so-little kitchen appliance that could and today with the dough hook in full swing, it kneaded the dough for me for eight minutes straight. I just watched as the dough took on the perfect smooth, springy consistency.

Cooking Light has a version of this recipe, but I didn’t want to hold back on fat and sugar. I’ve been thinking lately that I should start a new blog that takes light and healthy recipes and remakes them into full fat, full flavor versions. The blog’s tagline will be,Your Favorite Diet Recipes with all the Fat and Twice the Sugar.

Ingredients

1 package of active dry yeast
2 Tbsp brown sugar
3/4 cup warm milk
6-7 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup unsalted cold butter, cut into small pieces
1 large egg
1 (15 oz) can of pumpkin pie mix (not pure pumpkin, but the actual pumpkin pie mix)
Another Tbsp of melted butter
For egg wash: 1 egg yolk + 1 Tbsp water

1. In a coffee cup, mix the brown sugar, yeast and warm milk. Cover it and let is sit for 5 minutes while it becomes foamy and you prepare the flour.

2. In the large mixing bowl of your stand mixer with the wire whip attached (or go unplugged and use a pastry cutter), add 5 cups of the flour and the salt. Set the mixer on level 2 and add the pieces of butter one and time, one right after the other. Mix until flour mixture becomes course. Add the egg and continue mixing until well blended. Change the attachment to the flat beater and add in the pumpkin, mixing gently until incorporated.

3. Change the attachment again, now to the dough hook. Dump in the cup full of yeast, milk and brown sugar. Kneading on speed level two for about eight minutes, watch as a ball of dough forms. Have a cup of flour at the ready to add 1-2 Tbsp at a time until dough takes on a smooth, springy form that’s not sticky. After you’ve added enough of the flour, let the dough hook continue kneading until the eight minutes are done.

4. Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray. Form the dough into a big ball and place in the bowl. Brush melted butter all over the ball of dough. Cover with a dish towel and let rise for about an hour. The dough should double in size.

5. Preheat the oven to 350˚F. On a floured surface, punch down the dough and divide it in to 12 equal pieces. Form each piece into a ball. Spray a 12-muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray. Add a ball to each muffin well. Score the top of each ball three times with a knife. Cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.

6. Mix the egg yolk together with the water and brush the egg mixture on top of each dough ball. Bake in the oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes in the pan. Remove from pan and enjoy immediately or enjoy later.

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