Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Oh Monday, you are here again huh?  Way too soon as usual.  We had a fantastic weekend hanging out at my parents house playing with babies, cutting wood and having a weenie roast.  We headed north on Saturday afternoon which was our plan all along.  I thought it would be great for me to bring some freshly made bread and I have had these on my mind for quite some time.  However, I didn't have time to run to the grocery store to pick up any sweet potatoes.  I thought, pumpkin would probably work--and it did.  

Buuut, I started making these at about 9:00 am on Saturday morning...if you read the recipe these need to  raise (for the first time) for two hours.  Mr. Schwartz had a bee in his bonnet to get up and start helping my dad cut wood sooner than later.  So, we let them rise for about an hour while I got ready and packed.  Then we crossed our fingers and packed them into the back seat of the car and made our trek to my parents house.  Turns out, they were just fine.  Well actually they were pretty great!  And a sneaky way to get some nutrients in bread.  My twin 15 month old nieces loved them and I think you will too.  

Musical Selection: We Will Rock You by: Queen.  This is crazy motivating....especially on  Monday.  

Start by mixing yeast and water....

With a little honey.

And olive oil.

Give it a good mix and let it bloom for about 15 minutes.

There it is...all bloomed up.

Okay, so I used pumpkin instead of sweet potatoes.  I think overall it was pretty good but was lacking a little sweetness I think the sweet potatoes would have given it...duh. sweet.potatoes.  Anyway, I used almost a whole can of pumpkin puree.

Plop the pumpkin into the bowl...

Add more honey...

A few tablespoons of melted butter...

Buttermilk...

Salt....

And gradually add the flour...I did it a cup at a time until it was completed added.  Then scrape the bowl and let kneed for about 3 minutes.

Mess.

While the dough is kneading, butter a large bowl to put it in to rise.  I did this by just dipping a paper towel in the melted butter bowl.

All kneaded up.

Add the bread to the bowl. I didn't worry about it being in a nice ball shape...maybe I should have?

Cover with adorable towel and let rise for two hours...or an hour and then into the car.

This is what it looked like after an hour....

Into the car it went....

An hour and 36 minutes (or so) later we arrived at my parents house.  Plopped the dough onto my mom's counter with a little flour so it wouldn't stick.

Kneaded until it was "silky" like the recipe said.  Honestly, I wasn't sure what Jessica (from How Sweet)  was talking about with "silky"but, you will be able to tell. For real. Cut in half then roll it into a rope....

Cut into 15 portions.  I'm horrible at estimating so my jack-of-all-trades husband helped me out.  Look at that cute, man freckled hand.

Roll into balls and put them into a greased 9x13 pan.  The recipe said to put them into a bowl and roll them--I didn't get it.  Then Mr. Schwartz explained how he watched his grandma did it in a bowl....then I decided that it sounded like a lot of work and I didn't care if they were completely uniform....and they turned out like this.  Oh well they had personality.  We did this to the other half as well...this recipe makes 30 rolls.  We let these raise for an additional 35 minutes, covered in a warm place (on my mom's stove).  I forgot to take a picture but we brushed them with an egg before baking them as well...

After the rolls had a chance they were popped into the oven and 23 minutes later they came out like this.  

Slathered with butter and honey these things are unreal right out of the oven.  Y.u.m.  These scream "serve me for Thanksgiving!"

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls.  

12 oz canned pumpkin 

2 packages of active dry yeast (or 4 1/2 tablespoons) 

4 tablespoons honey

1 teaspoon olive oil

1/2 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)

1 cup buttermilk

6 tablespoons butter, melted and cooled

4 teaspoons sea salt

6 cups of all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading 

1 egg, beaten

In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine water, yeast, 2 tablespoons honey and olive oil. Mix with a spoon and let sit until foamy, around 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes and once it is foamy, add the pumpkin, remaining honey, 4 tablespoons melted butter, buttermilk and salt. Gradually add flour, one cup at a time with the mixer on low until a sticky dough forms, then knead with the dough hook for about 3 minutes. Use a paper towel to grease the inside of a large bowl with melted butter, then place the dough in the bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours.

Sprinkle a little bit of flour on a flat space, knead dough until silky, divide in half. Roll into a rope, then cut 15 pieces of dough, roll into balls. Place them into a greased 9×13 baking dish – 15 should be in each pan.  Cover the baking dish and let sit in a warm place to rise for about 30-45 more minutes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush rolls with beaten egg, then bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the tops are slightly golden brown. (If you want to bake both pans at once, set one on the lower rack and one on the upper rack in the oven, then switch half way through baking.) Let cool for a few minutes, then serve warm with butter and honey.

Enjoy!!! 

Recipe adapted from: here