Pumpkin Dinner Rolls are soft & fluffy and have a hint of sweetness in them. You can use any of your favorite dinner rolls recipe and shape the rolls like a pumpkin. This is made by adding pumpkin puree & pumpkin spice-mix in the dinner roll recipe. Serve these gorgeous cuties in your Thanksgiving dinner.
As Fall is already here so I thought to experiment with a few of my recipes. And I decided to make pumpkin dinner rolls but with a twist. You can make them plain or you can also add stuffing of cream cheese, flavored butter, etc in the dough.
These rolls are a little sweet in flavor and go great with savory recipes like Pav Bhaji, Lentil Soup, etc. or you can also serve them with some butter and you won't be disappointed. Also do try these easy & delicious breakfast Eggless Pumpkin Muffins. You can also serve them along with soup of your choice along with these amazing & delicious Maple Balsamic Roasted Brussel Sprouts.
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I'm not a big fan of pumpkin or butternut squash or even zucchini. I never had the courage to try them. But when I finally decided to try Pumpkin Dinner Rolls, I was surprised. These rolls taste amazing.
PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS INGREDIENTS
- FLOUR: You can add any flour for making dinner rolls. If you want them healthy then you can use Whole Wheat Flour. Or you can also add half-wheat flour and half of the all-purpose flour. Or make with only bread flour or all-purpose flour.
- YEAST: Adding 2 tsp of Yeast gives a strong flavor to the dinner rolls. If you don't like that taste then you can add 1 teaspoon or 1 envelope of Yeast. Adding 1 teaspoon of Yeast will also result in soft dinner rolls.
- MILK: Adding milk will help in getting fluffy & softer dinner rolls. You can also add half milk & half cream to the dough, this will give softer rolls. Or you can also add water to the dough, this will affect the texture of the dough but still works. You can add plant-based milk too for a vegan option.
- PUMPKIN PUREE: You can use store-bought pumpkin puree in the recipe or if you like, you can also make it at home in your Instant Pot. Click the link to check the recipe for making Pumpkin Puree in the Instant Pot.
- PUMPKIN SPICE-MIX: Pumpkin spice-mix adds the flavor to the rolls.
- BUTTER: You can add Vegan butter if you want to make vegan pumpkin dinner rolls.
- SWEETNESS: Maple Syrup/Honey/Sugar can be added for a little sweetness in the roll. Also, when sugar is added, yeast works faster.
- BAKING SODA & BAKING POWDER: As these rolls are eggless so I have added Baking Soda & Baking Powder. But if you're using eggs then you can skip this step.
TIPS TO REMEMBER
- Make sure to activate the yeast in the warm milk. If the milk or water is hot, the yeast will sink & will not be activated. That will result in really dense rolls.
- Make the dinne rolls with milk. Adding milk to the flour will result really in soft & fluffy rolls.
- WHen proofing for the second time, cover the pumpkin shaped balls with kitchen towel or parchment paper. Otherwise the dough will get dry.
- Before baking you can bruch soem egg wash. That will make the texture of rolls shiny.
- Once the rolls cooled down, brush some butter 7 serve.
STEP-BY-STEP INSTRUCTIONS
STEP 1- WARM MILK: Add Milk and Butter to the inner pot of the Instant Pot. When the butter starts to melt, cancel saute. Let it sit there for a few minutes until the milk is warm but not hot. Yeast won't work if the milk temperature is hot, it will only work when Milk is warm.
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STEP 2 - ADD YEAST: Add yeast and let it sit for a few 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the yeast and milk mixture will be foamy & bubbly. Then add the rest of the ingredients (Flour, Salt, Sugar, and Salt).
STEP 3 - MIX INGREDIENTS: Mix all the ingredients together, until it starts to form like a dough. You can use a food processor or you can knead it with your hands.
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STEP 4: Close the lid and press the Yogurt button and set the timer for 1 hour until the dough rises and doubles in size.
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STEP 4 - MAKE THE BALLS: After 1-hour, the dough will be at least double in size. Then cut the dough into 12 equal parts. Take one part and form it into a ball. Using a thread, form the dough into a pumpkin. You can also use a knife to shape the dough into a pumpkin shape.
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STEP 5 - BAKE: Pre-heat the oven and let the dough rest for 15-20 more minutes. Then bake it until golden in color.
COMMONLY ASKED QUESTIONS
You can store completely cooled-down dinner rolls after wrapping them in foil or clique wrap in the refrigerator for 5-7 days. Or you can also store them in the freezer for 2- 3 months. When re-using, thaw them in the refrigerator overnight and reheat as needed.
Yes, you can add stuffing to the dinner rolls. Once the dough is prepared and is double in size. You can add filling to the dough. You can add any stuffing in the dough like cream cheese, or flavor butter, etc.
This is an eggless Pumpkin Dinner Roll recipe. I have added 1 ½ cups of warm milk along with baking soda and baking powder to make the rolls soft & fluffy. But if you want to make the recipe with eggs then add 2 eggs along with ½ cup of warm milk.
Any kitchen thread will work. But make sure the thread is thick. When baking a part of thread usually goes inside the dough. So make sure the thread is thick, that way it will be easier to remove the thread.
Yes, you can easily make these dinner rolls vegan or gluten-free. To make the rolls vegan, you can use vegan milk (like almond milk, oats milk, etc.) and vegan butter or olive oil, when making the dough.
When making the roll gluten-free, you can use almond flour, coconut flour, etc.
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PUMPKIN DINNER ROLLS
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1- 1 ½ cups Milk or as needed
- 2 tbsp Butter or Olive Oil
- 1 tbsp Instant Yeast or active dry yeast
- 2 tbsp Maple Syrup or Sugar or Honey
- ⅓ cup Brown Sugar
- 3 cups All-Purpose Flour Or Whole-Wheat Flour
- ½ cup Pumpkin Puree
- 1 tbsp Pumpkin Spice-Mix
- 1 tbsp Baking Soda
- 1 tsp Baking Powder
- 1 tsp Salt or as per taste
Instructions
- Press Saute in an Instant Pot and add Milk and Butter in the pot. When the butter starts to melt, switch off the Instant Pot in around 5 minutes.(Note: Take the inner pot out of the Instant Pot when the milk is warm in order to avoid the milk getting hot.)
- Wait for few minutes for the milk to cool down and is warm. Once the milk cools down and is warm, add Honey/ Maple Syrup and mix lightly. Then add the Yeast and let it sit for 5 minutes (or as per instructions). Wait for 5 minutes until the mixture gets foamy & bubbly.(Note: Butter and Milk mixture should not be too hot otherwise, Yeast will not work).
- After 5 minutes when the mixture gets foamy, add the rest of the ingredients (including flour, pumpkin puree, pumpkin spice-mix, baking soda, baking powder, brown sugar, and salt). Knead everything until a sticky dough is formed, you can also add more dough if needed.
- Close the lid and press the Yogurt button and set a timer for 1 hour. Once the timer beeps after 1 hour, the dough should have doubled in size.Or you can leave the dough for 2-3 hours at a warm place like in a microwave, or in the oven with lights on. Just make sure the oven should not be hot.
- Coat your hands with Oil/Butter so that dough will not stick in your hands.
- Now take a small amount of dough, around 1 inch in diameter, and flatten it in your hands. Now stretch all the sides and wrap them together at the center like you're wrapping a gift. Place the ball seam side down in the pan. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough.
- Now make the dough shape like a pumpkin. You can make 6 cuts on the sides or you can use thread to shape the dough. Take a thread and put the dough on top of it and tie a knot by bringing the thread on the top. Take another thread and tie a knot by bringing the threads from other sides. Keep tieing the threads until the dough looks like a pumpkin. Repeat the process for the rest of the dough.
- Poke the finger at the center of the dough to make a little indentation on the dough pumpkin's top. Repeat the process with all dough pumpkins.
- Pre-heat the oven at 350° for 10-15 minutes. Meanwhile, cover the pan with a kitchen towel and let it rest for 30 minutes
- Check the buns after 30 minutes. If they are risen and are doubled in size then brush milk over the roll and bake for 15-20 minutes until a little golden in color.
- Brush the rolls with melted butter to make them shine. Insert pecan pieces at the center on the top to mimic pumpkin stem.
Tying the string to make the shape of pumpkin is a very cool and extremely creative idea! I love your blog! 🙂
awww thank you so much