These pumpkin buns were a hit with my family this past Thanksgiving. Slightly sweet and super soft they are a great addition to any meal or on their own.

Supplies

Ingredients:

Rolls:

½ cup water, approximately 38 degrees C
¼ cup milk, approximately 38 degrees C
2 ½ tsp (or 1 packet) Instant dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 ½ tsp Salt
6 tbsp butter, melted and cooled
1 cup mashed pumpkin
4 ½ -5 cups all-purpose flour

Honey Butter glaze:

¼ cup Butter, room temperature
2 Tbsp Honey
Sea salt flakes to sprinkle
Thyme

Equipment:

Mixing bowls
Measuring cups
Measuring spoons
Fork
Off-Set spatula
Baking Pans/Cookie Sheets
Plastic Wrap
Dish Towels
Oven
Thermometer (optional)
Stand Mixer (optional)

Step 1: Make Your Dough

Heat the milk and water until the desired temperature is reached. If desired you can use a thermometer here.

Add 1 tsp sugar and yeast to the liquid, stir and set aside for about 5 minutes – until the yeast activates and is foamy.

I used a stand mixer for this part, but you can also create the dough by hand – it will just require a lot of arm strength! In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook attached add the remaining sugar, pumpkin, butter, eggs, and salt. Mix these ingredients together until incorporated. I added in one cup of the flour before moving onto the next step.

Slowly pour in the yeast mixture. Add the remaining flour one cup at a time until a soft dough forms. The dough should begin to pull away from the sides but will stick to the bottom of the mixing bowl a little. Your dough can be affected by a number of things, such as how moist your pumpkin is, the volume of your eggs and even the humidity in the air. Because of this you may need to use more or less flour. I ended up using around 4 ¾ cups of flour.

On a lightly floured surface, turn the dough out and briefly knead it until is comes together in a smooth ball. When needing you want to use the heel of your palm to press down and roll out the dough.

Step 2: Proofing and Forming Your Buns

In a clean mixing bowl pour a little oil into the bottom. Place your ball of dough into the bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap or a dish towel.

Allow to proof until doubled in size – approximately one hour.

When your dough has proofed, return it to a lightly floured surface and cut into 16 – 20 even pieces. You can use a scale to ensure that they are all equal or just eyeball it like I did.

Gently roll these portions into a ball and place on a parchment lined baking tray leaving enough space between the rolls for a second proof – about double in size.

Cover with a tea towel and allow to proof for another hour.

I left mine to proof in the fridge overnight as I intended to bake them in the morning. However, this led to my buns over-proofing. The correct this I re-formed my buns and allowed them to proof again.

Step 3: Bake and Glaze Your Buns

Preheat the oven to 350F and bake for 20 – 25 minutes until golden brown. Again, a number of factors can affect your bake time – larger buns will require a longer bake time I place a baking dish with bowling water onto the bottom rack of my oven. The steam it creates in the oven allows the crust to remain softer allowing for greater expansion of the dough. It also aids in the break down of sugars allowing the crust to caramelize giving a nice glossy finish.

While the buns are baking mix the butter, honey and thyme leaves together.

When you remove the buns from the over cover liberally with the butter honey mixture. I used a pallet knife for this, but a pastry brush may also work. Sprinkle the tops with coarse or flaked salt. I used coarse kosher salt here