Mini Pumpkin Spice Bread Rolls
Mini Pumpkin Spice Bread Rolls!
Prep time: 60 minutes
Cook time: 22 minutes
I made the CUTEST little ‘mini pumpkin spice bread rolls’ and HAD to share them with you :) These are perfect for the festive season, Halloween or Thanksgiving, or even ‘just because they’re so darn cute’!
☀️ INGREDIENTS:
✅ 200 grams Pumpkin Puree (or 1 cup) (I just roasted 1 pumpkin in the oven then mashed it)
✅ 440 grams Plain Flour (or 3.5 cups: which is approx. 15.5 ounces)
✅ 2 Tablespoons Sugar (White or ‘Caster Sugar’)
✅ 2.5 teaspoons Instant Dry Yeast
✅ Pinch of Salt
✅ 1.5 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice (I make my own with 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg, 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger, and a pinch of cloves)
✅ 120 grams Milk (0.5 cup) (use your favorite milk of choice: here I used Almond Milk because that’s all I had at the time)
✅ 115 grams Butter, Salted (0.5 cup)
☀️ SPEICAL THINGS YOU’LL NEED:
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☀️ METHOD:
1. Preheat oven to 170 C (338 F) and line a baking tray (with either a silicone baking mat or baking paper).
2. On a cutting board, chop your pumpkin in half (be careful!) and remove the seeds.
3. Slice your pumpkin into large clunks and place in the oven to roast for 25 minutes, turning once (keep in mind that all pumpkins are different sizes/moisture content so make sure to keep a close eye on your pumpkin).
4. Once the pumpkin flesh is completely cooked through and easily mash-able, remove from the oven, carefully remove the skin using forks (it should easily fall right off if cooked enough) and mash the pumpkin into a puree. Set aside to cool.
5. In a large mixing bowl, mix all the dry ingredients together (the flour, sugar, yeast, salt and Pumpkin Pie Spice (I use my own blend of 0.5 teaspoon cinnamon, 0.5 teaspoon nutmeg, 0.5 teaspoon ground ginger, and a pinch of cloves).
6. Melt the butter (either heat a small pot on the stovetop or use a microwave) and mix the wet ingredients (roasted pumpkin puree, milk and melted butter) with together the dry ingredients to combine.
7. Flour a flat surface, dust your hands with flour, and form the pumpkin dough into a ball.
8. Place the pumpkin dough into your large mixing bowl, cover, and set aside for 30 minutes.
9. Dust your surface with flour again, cut your dough into 8 equal sections, and roll each into a small round ball.
10. For each small ball of dough, cut 4 long pieces of bakers twine. Wrap and tie each piece of string around the ball dough, spacing them evenly around the ball (you’ll end up with 8 small little tringles). Repeat for each ball dough (this is the tedious part).
11. Place all dough balls (with their strings tied) onto your lined baking tray and bake in the oven at 170 C (338 F) for 22 minutes. All ovens are different and pumpkins vary in moisture content so be sure to watch your little bread rolls.
12. Remove your little pumpkin bread rolls from oven and carefully snip off their bakers twine.
Cute little pumpkins, right! Enjoy! (I also placed a small twig of woody rosemary in mind to make the ‘pumpkin stem’ look. Adorable!) I really hope you enjoy these cuties!
I sliced mine in half and served with butter, and a warm bowl of my delicious Pumpkin Ravioli Soup!
Helpful Notes:
Question: Can I make this Gluten Free?
Answer: You absolutely can try making this gluten free! Feel free to try your favorite gluten free flour and but know that it WILL be trickier… but with a few tweaks (depending on your gluten free flour of choice) you’ll most likely need to add more moisture (because gluten free flour is typically very absorbent). Best of luck and let me know how you go! I will be recreating this recipe for my Mum (who has celiac so can have literally 0 gluten) so I’ll let you know how it goes using my fave gluten free flour. I wish I could be more helpful here but all gluten free flours (oat, almond, etc) vary so considerably that once I’ve fully recreated with with a specific (and widely accessible) gluten free flour I’ll let you know. Until then, just experiment with your favorite and probably add a little more pumpkin for moisture! Best of luck!
Question: Why are my bread rolls hard (instead of soft and fluffy?)?
Answer: Weigh your flour using a digital kitchen scale and I PROMISE you’ll see a huge difference in your baking :) If you simply scoop out flour (for example) it can ‘pack down’ far too much in the cup and you might even accidentally use double the amount of flour required (which would be disastrous).
I use this great rechargeable kitchen scale literally every single time I bake (and it’s been an absolute gamechanger for my baking). So yes, definitely WEIGH your ingredients where possible!
Also, don’t overcook your bread rolls! They’re only little so they’ll cook faster than you’d expect. Remember that all ovens (and pumpkins!) are different so your rolls might need a little less (or more!) time depending on how crunchy (or not crunchy) you like your bread rolls.
You might need to adjust your cooking time to suit your preferences for mini bread roll-softness. I always recommend baking your bread for a little LESS than you think (then you can always pop them back in for a few minutes to account for your preference (and your oven’s cooking) :)
Question: Can I make this vegan?
Answer: I’m sure you could vegan-ify this recipe with a few creative tweaks! Feel free to use any ‘faux butter/milk/’ alternatives you like. Use your favorite dairy-free options like Almond Milk (for example). I actually love using Almond Milk in many of my recipes. Let me know how you go and perhaps I’ll try re-creating this vegan myself!
Question: How do I store the mini pumpkin bread spice rolls? How long do they last?
Answer: Store bread rolls in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Alternatively, you can freeze them in the freezer for up to 3 months.
Question: What is the difference between ‘all purpose flour’ and ‘self-raising flour’?
Answer: All-purpose flour is also known as ‘regular flour’ or ‘plain flour’. It’s the flour that is the most common to find and the one most likely already lurking in your kitchen cupboard. It is made from wheat and the basic ingredient for most cooking and baking recipes. Whereas ‘self-raising flour’ is actually flour with baking powder/soda included - which gives it a ‘rising effect’ when cooked (it expands).
This recipe uses ‘all-purpose flour’ and adds yeast to so the bread rolls rise.
Question: I don’t like one (or more) of the ingredients in this recipe - can I substitute ingredients out for something else?
Answer: Feel free to get creative and substitute out ingredients as needed here however it’s good to note that baking can be quite the science experiment and it might take a few attempts of you swapping in/out ingredients to achieve what you’re after creatively. I’ve perfected these little beauties to my personal bread roll soft/chewy texture preference but feel free to go ahead and experiment if that’s what your heart desires. Google is a wonderful resource if you get stuck and don’t know what a good alternative would be to swap something for.
Connect With Me!
If you enjoyed this recipe, have any questions or want to chat, feel free to connect with me on Instagram @connorcarbonara! I’d love to hear from you!
Nutritional Info:
Counting calories and tracking macros works well for some people but for many others it can lead to obsessive tracking behaviours/disordered eating patterns (and often does more harm than good) - so I’ve made the personal decision to not post them because I never want my recipes to play a role or influence someone into unnecessary tracking/unhealthy views about food and calorie counting. I believe food is one of the best things this world has to offer and hope my recipes inspire you to get creative, have fun, and enjoy life to the fullest (surrounded by incredible food)!