Pumpkin dinner rolls made from Asian milk bread is tender and fluffy. If you love buttery, soft parker house rolls you’ll love these pumpkin dinner rolls!
Prep time: 2 hours 30 mins
Cook time: 18 mins
Total time: 2 hours 48 mins
Serves: 16
Recipe type: Bread & Pizza
Cuisine: Asian American
Ingredients
• ½ cup (about 120 grams) pumpkin puree
• ⅔ cup (158 ml) heavy cream, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup (75 ml) milk, at room temperature
• 1 large egg, at room temperature
• ⅓ cup (115 grams) sugar
• ½ cup (about 70 grams) cake flour
• 3½ cups (about 500 grams) bread flour
• 1 tablespoon (11 grams) active dry yeast
• 1½ teaspoons (7 grams) salt
• Egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 teaspoon water
• A large handful of raw pumpkin seeds
• Simple syrup (optional): 2 teaspoons of sugar dissolved in 2 teaspoons hot water
Instructions
- If you are making homemade pumpkin puree, simply steam about ½ pound of any baking pumpkin for 15 minutes, pour out the liquid from the steamer, and scoop the pumpkin flesh out. Mash the pumpkin with a fork until smooth.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, add ingredients in the following order: pumpkin puree, heavy cream, milk, egg, sugar, cake flour, bread flour, yeast, and salt. When measuring the flour, tap the measuring cup against a hard surface to ensure there are no air pockets.
- Turn the mixer on to the lowest setting, and let it go for 15 minutes--stopping occasionally to push the dough down off the hook. If you're in a humid climate and the dough is too sticky, feel free to add a little more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If you don't have a mixer and would like to knead the dough by hand, extend the kneading time by 10 minutes.
- After 15 minutes of mixing, the dough is ready for proofing. Cover the bowl with a damp towel, and place in a warm spot for 1 hour. I proofed the dough in my oven (I had the oven on rapid proof for 5 minutes, turned the oven off, and then closed the oven door). The dough will grow to 1.5x its original size.
- In the meantime, grease a square 11x11” pan or 9x13” pan on all sides with a stick of cold butter.
- After an hour of proofing, put the dough back in the mixer and stir for another 5 minutes to get rid of any air bubbles.
- Next, divide the dough into 16 equal pieces on a lightly floured surface, with the help of your kitchen scale. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball and arrange them on the pan with about half an inch of space between them on all sides. Once shaped, cover and proof for another hour until the buns grow to 1.5X their original size.
- Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Brush the risen dough with egg wash, and sprinkle with the raw pumpkin seeds.
- Place in the middle of the oven and bake for 16-18 minutes until the tops are golden brown. Take the buns out of the oven and immediately brush them with the sugar water to give them a really great shine, sweetness, and rich color. Serve warm! (Note, these warm up really well in the microwave!)
Source: The Woks of Life