Pumpkins... Pumpkins.........and more pumpkins all around!!
Apple picking, pumpkin pies, baking, crunching through piles of leaves, sipping warm drinks by the fire — these are just a few of the many simple pleasures autumn has to offer. Traditions like these become rich with meaning when returned to year after year, and sharing them with family and friends only makes them sweeter.
Here I have for you, these super cute, naturally sweetened pumpkin buns, this recipe makes 8 pull-apart buns. These beauties are a perfect show stopper. Definitely give them a try this festival season!
Ingredients
Makes 8
2 tsp Active Dry Yeast
160 ml Water + 1Tbsp (if needed)
1 tbsp Maple Syrup/ sugar
1 tsp Salt
3 1/2 cups /450 g Bread Flour + ( some for dusting if the dough is too wet)
(You can use 2 1/2 cups Bread flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour)
1 cup/220 g Pumpkin puree
few pumpkin seeds (optional)
Method
To a large bowl add the water, yeast, maple syrup, and mix well. Leave it to rest for about 5 minutes to activate and become frothy.
Now to the yeast mixture add the pumpkin puree and stir well to form a homogenous liquid.
To the wet ingredients add the flour, salt, and stir until the mixture comes together to form a dough. Transfer the dough onto a floured surface and knead for 10- 15 minutes until smooth.
Alternatively, you can also knead the dough in a stand mixer for about 5-7 minutes. The softness of the bun depends on how well the dough is needed.
The windowpane test is the easiest way to tell if the dough is sufficiently needed.
Take a small piece of the dough, while holding it between your thumb and first two fingers, gently try to pull apart while stretching the dough, If you can stretch the dough without it breaking, that means the gluten is well-developed and the dough is ready to be kept covered in a warm place to rise
Place the dough into a greased bowl, cover the bowl and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
Once the dough has doubled, punch it down to remove the excess air, now divide the dough into 8 equal parts. Roll each part to form a smooth ball. Take a long piece of string, finding the halfway point, place the point on top of the ball and flip the ball of dough over. Pull the two pieces of string together and cross them over to create a cross on the bottom of the ball. Flip it over again and do the same thing until the ball is divided into 8 equal pieces. Tie the string at the top and cut off any excess. See the picture below.
Cover the 8 rolls with cling film and let them rise again for about 30 minutes. The dough will puff out around the string and make cute pumpkin shapes.
Preheat the oven to 340°F and bake the rolls for 15-20 minutes. Apply some butter immediately after removing them from the oven. Let them cool on a cooling rack before removing the string. After cooled, gently cut off and remove the string.
Decorate the top of the buns with some pumpkin seeds.
Say a little prayer and serve with some warm soup.
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