Wow! It is fall now and you see all the fall favorites around you. Pumpkin is one of the most popular flavors and I enjoy making a variety of recipes.
Pumpkin dinner rolls are easy to make at home with pumpkin puree. They turn out soft, light, and fluffy with delicious pumpkin flavor. They are great to serve with your meals including soups and pasta dishes. It is also a crowd-pleaser and a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving dinner table and holiday menu.
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Ingredients
Light, fluffy, and pillow-soft vegan pumpkin dinner rolls can be easily made at home with basic pantry ingredients.
I have made this recipe by adapting my favorite dinner rolls recipe and adding pumpkin puree along with pumpkin pie spice.
You want to ensure you are using pumpkin puree and not pumpkin pie mix. Also, pumpkin pie spice adds a nice aroma and flavor to the dinner rolls.
It is best to use bread flour, but I get excellent results making bread at home using the King Arthur all-purpose flour too if I am out of bread flour.
To make these pumpkin rolls dough in the bread machine or in the stand mixer, you can use instant yeast or bread machine yeast.
Finally, once the rolls are baked, you can apply some butter and optionally sprinkle some sea salt for a savory flavor.
Instructions
Homemade pumpkin rolls are soft, fluffy, and absolutely delicious. They are very easy to make.
Just like other leavened bread, these homemade rolls require three steps - first to make the dough, then shape the dough and allow it to rise, and finally bake.
The dough for pumpkin bread rolls can be easily made in a bread machine or in a stand mixer using the dough hook. To make the dough in the bread machine, place all the wet and dry ingredients in the bread machine pan as per the manufacturer's instructions and start the "dough" cycle.
For consistent results, it is best to weigh the flour instead of using a measuring cup so that you don't end up adding too much flour by scooping directly from a flour bag.
Once the dough cycle is complete, the dough would have risen and gone through the first rise. Remove the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it for a few seconds.
Divide the rolls into equal size pieces, about 60 grams each, and make smooth balls. To make a smooth ball, tuck all the edges on one side to get the top side smooth.
Place the balls in a tray, about an inch apart, and allow them to rise for about 60-90 minutes.
Once they have doubled in volume, preheat the oven to 350 °F and bake them for 20 minutes. They will become golden in color.
With the help of a basting brush, apply some butter or vegan butter and optionally sprinkle a little sea salt on the bread rolls.
As you do not want the rolls to brown too much you can keep the rack a level or two below the middle one. If it is too close to the heating element then the rolls will brown too fast.
Substitutions
Flour - you can use bread flour or all-purpose flour to make the rolls.
Butter - apply vegan butter to make the rolls vegan.
You may also enjoy this sweet pumpkin bread recipe.
Serving suggestions
Fresh and hot pumpkin dinner rolls taste absolutely delicious with a dash of butter and sea salt. It is a great way to add more nutrition to the bread.
Pumpkin bread rolls can easily replace dinner rolls in your meals and they are a perfect addition to the Thanksgiving feast. These rolls go well with soups like pasta soup, tomato soup, lentil soup, and more.
It can also be served as a side with casseroles and pasta dishes.
Equipment
To make the pumpkin rolls dough, a stand mixer or bread machine can be used. They are baked in a convection oven on a baking sheet optionally lined with parchment paper. Once they are baked, a basting brush is used to apply butter while they are hot.
Storage
Homemade bread is best when served fresh. Just like most homemade bread, pumpkin bread rolls can be stored at room temperature in an air-tight container or a bread box for up to 4 days.
If you plan to keep them longer then it is best to freeze them after they have cooled down completely. When you are ready to serve, you can simply put it in the oven at 325 °F for about 10-12 minutes.
Top tip
In cold weather, you can warm the oven for about 5 minutes and allow the bread rolls to go through the final rise in a warm oven.
If you enjoyed this recipe, you may also like
- Pumpkin ice cream
- Vegan dinner rolls
- Burger buns
- Tomato soup
- Mixed bean soup
- Pumpkin mousse
- Pumpkin cookies
- Bread machine pumpkin bread
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📖 Recipe
Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- Convection Oven
Ingredients
Wet ingredients
- ½ cup Water (room temperature)
- 4 tablespoon Oil
- 1 cup Pumpkin puree (228 grams)
Dry ingredients
- 450 grams Bread flour (3 ½ cup + 2 tbsp, or All-purpose flour, more for dusting)
- 4 tablespoon Organic cane sugar
- 1 ⅛ teaspoon Salt
- 2 ¼ teaspoon Instant yeast (7 grams)
- 1 teaspoon Pumpkin pie spice (optional)
After baking
- 1 tablespoon Butter (vegan butter can be used)
- ⅛ teaspoon Sea Salt (optional)
Instructions
Making dough in bread machine
- Add the wet and dry ingredients in the bread machine container in the order recommended by your bread machine manufacturer.
- Close the lid and select the "Dough" cycle.
- Once the dough cycle completes, remove the dough
Shaping the dough
- On a lightly floured surface and knead for a few seconds.
- Divide the dough into 15 equal pieces of about 60 grams each
- Roll each of the pieces into a smooth ball and place them on a baking tray, an inch apart.
Second or final rise
- For the second rise, cover the tray with another tray and place in a warm place or in an oven. Optionally, start the oven on "Warm" mode for 5 minutes and then turn it off.
- After about 60 minutes the balls will rise and double in volume.
Baking in oven
- Preheat oven to 350 °F with the rack one level lower than middle.
- Bake the pumpkin rolls for about 20 minutes or until they turn golden brown.
- Remove the tray from the oven.
- For a shiny glaze, apply some butter on the dinner rolls while they are hot. Optionally, sprinkle some sea salt.
Notes
- It is best to weigh the flour using a food scale for best and consistent results.
- Dough can also be kneaded in a stand mixer and then proved in the instant pot or oven for about 1 hour before shaping into rolls.
- Check out this post for detailed instructions on how to knead dough in stand mixer and proof it in the instant pot.
- Follow the remaining steps starting from "shaping the dough"
- Keep the rack at lower than mid level, else the rolls can become too brown.
Trina says
I haven't tried this recipe but I cannot wait to bake it as I am adventurous when it comes to trying recipes that contain ingredients flavors I enjoy.
I just wanted to give you encouragement as it serving for many purposes.
Breakfast bread with coffee,etc.My question is could one use half whole grain ,half reg flour or Almond flour, maybe gluten -free for a few of my guest or relatives who cannot digest gluten.
The possibilities of these beautiful rolls are endless My wheels are turning,Thank you!!!+++
Alpa Jain says
Hi Trina,
I am glad that you liked this recipe. I think 50% whole wheat flour and 50% all-purpose/bread flour should work fine. I have not tried this recipe with gluten-free flour though, so I am not able to provide any inputs if that will work or not.
Regards
Alpa