Pumpkin Pull-Apart Dinner Rolls
Homemade dinner rolls are delicious and allow you to control what is in the food you and your family eat and save on expensive store bought alternatives. More and more people are taking control over the food they eat and the ingredients in them. This easy to make recipe allows you to make delicious dinner rolls that you can eat now or freeze and eat later. With no fancy ingredients, you can make these from items you can purchase easily or use your own garden pumpkins to make this amazing addition to any meal. This recipe can be doubled easily if you're planning for a family get-together or if you just want to make extra to freeze for later. You can also make this into a loaf or a dessert bread with just a few additions (see notes area)
Equipment
- 1 set measuring cups and spoons
- 1 medium bowl
- 1 fork to mix batter
- 1 dough mat, cutting board or clean surface to knead dough
- 1 pastry brush
- 1 Rolling Pin
- 1 12 cup muffin tin
Ingredients
- 3 cups all purpose flour (not sifted)
- 2 ¼ tsp yeast
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp oil (I use vegetable oil)
- 1½ cups pureed pumpkin (homemade or store bought at room temperature)
- 2 - 4 tbsps warm milk if needed
- 1 stick melted butter
- 1 tsp oil for bowl when rising dough
Instructions
- Mix flour, yeast, sugar, salt, oil and room temperature pumpkin puree in a medium bowl, if the dough is too dry, add warm milk by 1 tablespoon at a time until dough forms a ball. If dough is to wet, add flour by one tablespoon at a time as needed to form a dough
- Turn dough out onto your mat. If dough is still sticky, add flour one teaspoon at a time by sprinkling it onto your dough until it no longer sticks to your hands. Knead the dough for about 5 minutes
- Clean bowl and add 1 tsp oil, rubbing the oil around the bowl for good coverage.
- Place your kneaded dough ball into the oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. You can cover the bowl with a shower cap or a tea towel.
- Once your dough ball has doubled in size, turn the ball out onto your dough mat and divide into 12 even sized balls. Covering the balls with a tea towel during this process will help prevent the dough from drying and getting a "skin" on the surface.
- Each ball should now be rolled out into a rectangle (about 5 or 6 inches long by about 4 inches wide) and brushed with melted butter. Roll the dough from the long side into a long tube and then tuck one end into the other to form a doughnut or bagel shape.
- Place finished dough pieces into a buttered muffin tin and cover to let rise in a warm place for an additional 20 minutes or until they rise above the top of the muffin pan, doubling in size.
- Preheat oven to 400℉ (204.4℃)
- Once risen, place rolls in preheated oven for 15 to 20 minutes. Check them at 15 minutes so they don't burn (rotate halfway through the time if your oven heats unevenly). Rolls should be golden brown on top when done.
- Take out of the oven and brush with melted butter while hot. Let sit for about 10 minutes and remove from the muffin tin onto a cooling rack to finish cooling.
- Eat fresh or place in freezer safe container or bag to use later.
Notes
This recipe can also be made as a loaf of bread. Instead of breaking the dough into 12 pieces, leave as a single ball and roll out to be as wide the length of your bread pan until about 1/4 inch thick. Brush with melted butter and roll into a loaf, tucking the ends under and pinching together if it is slightly too long for your bread pan. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 to 30 minutes to ensure it cooks all the way through.
To make this into a dessert bread, when dough is rolled out and brushed with butter, you can add brown sugar, cinnamon, diced nuts and dried fruit. We love using diced walnuts and cranberries but you can use what your family loves the most.
If you're a visual learner, check out the associated video that goes along with this recipe!