These Pumpkin Flavored Rolls are the perfect festive dinner roll during the Autumn months! I took a traditional sweet dinner roll recipe and incorporated pumpkin puree to make this family favorite recipe during the Fall months!
Warm the 1 cup Whole Milk in a saucepan or in the microwave, until heated through (about 105 degrees). Remove from heat and allow to cool until lukewarm if needed! Then add the 1 tablespoon yeast and allow it to activate for a few minutes until it's foamy.
While you're waiting for the yeast, combine the pumpkin puree, softened butter, sugar, salt, and 3 cups of bread flour and mix it together in a large bowl. Add the milk and yeast combination and combine. Then slowly add the rest of the bread flour ½ cup at a time.
Once combined, lightly flour a surface and knead your dough for 5-7 minutes until fully combined and the dough has an elastic feel. If you're using a Bosch or Kitchen Aid allow it to knead for 5 minutes on a low kneading setting. The dough will be sticky.
Place the dough in a bowl that has been oiled (you can use cooking spray). Turn it over, so the dough is all lightly coated in oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for approx 1 hour or until it has doubled in size.
Remove the dough from the bowl and cut it into quarters using a pastry cutter. Take each quarter and cut into 4 pieces, making 16. Take each of the 16 pieces and cut them in half, making 32 dough balls in total. I like to use this kitchen scale to measure the sections as I divide them, so I keep them all comparable size.
Softly knead and roll each piece of dough into a ball and then place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment. Cover them and allow them to rise again for 45 mins to an hour until they've doubled in size.
While the rolls are rising, preheat your oven to 375 degrees. Bake your rolls for 10-12 minutes or until lightly browned.
YES, absolutely! My favorite way to freeze Pumpkin Dinner Rolls is after they have been baked. But, you can also freeze the dough.To freeze the dough: follow the recipe all the way to where you're raising the individual rolls. But, instead of allowing them to raise the whole 45 mins to an hour, only let them rise about 30 minutes. Where they've increased in size, but they aren't puffing yet. Transfer the sheet pan directly into the freezer for a few hours while the rolls/dough balls become firm. Once they've frozen enough to be firm, you can transfer the rolls into a freezer-safe Gallon Ziploc bag. The frozen dough rolls can be frozen for up to 5 weeks. After that, the yeast can lose its ability to fully raise the rolls.To freeze the cooked rolls: Follow the recipe all the way through cooking the rolls. Once cooled, wrap the rolls firmly tin foil and then place in a freezer-safe Ziploc bag. The frozen cooked rolls can be frozen for 4-5 weeks. Keep an eye on them at that point to ensure they aren't getting freezer burned.