How cute are these pumpkin rolls? I absolutely love them! These brioche rolls are shaped into pumpkins using kitchen string, making them a fun and rather adorable addition to the table. They’re perfect for Halloween inspired baking, or simply when you feel like making something a little different.
Made with soft, buttery brioche dough, these rolls are deliciously fluffy and especially good served warm from the oven. I added finely grated Parmesan (you could also use cheddar), chopped rosemary and garlic paste to the dough, which gives them a wonderful savoury flavour and makes them even more irresistible.
The secret to their beautiful golden finish is a brush of egg wash before baking, which also helps to bring out their gorgeous pumpkin shape. They’re scrumptious served alongside a bowl of soup, as part of a weekend lunch, or simply torn apart and enjoyed warm from the oven. I think they’re almost too cute to eat… almost!
Cook’s tip – don’t tie the string tightly around the dough, or it’ll be harder to remove later. It just needs to rest on the dough to get that pumpkin shape.
PUMPKIN ROLLS
Bread dough
- 470 g white bread flour
- 5 ml (1 tsp) fine salt
- 10 ml (2 tsp) white sugar
- 10 ml (2 tsp) finely chopped fresh rosemary
- 50 g finely grated Parmesan or mature cheddar cheese
- 7 g instant yeast
- 40 g butter, melted
- 125 ml (½ cup) freshly boiled water
- 150 ml full cream milk
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 10 ml (2 tsp) garlic paste
- olive oil, for greasing
- extra flour, for dusting
- 24 x 35 cm pieces of string
- 12 whole cloves
For the glaze:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 5 ml (1 tsp) milk
1.) Place the flour in the bowl of a stand mixer. Mix in the salt, sugar, rosemary and cheese. Add the yeast and mix in.
2.) Place the melted butter in a jug. Add the water and milk and stir together. Add the egg and garlic, and whisk together with a fork to combine. Add to the flour mix and use the dough hook attachment to mix everything together and knead the dough until soft and elastic. Alternatively, mix everything together and knead by hand.
3.) Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave in a warm place for 2 hours to rise and double in size.
4.) Line a large baking tray with baking paper and set aside.
5.) Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Tip the dough onto the surface and divide into 12 pieces, then roll these into balls. Lay two pieces of string across each other in a cross shape on the tray, and place a dough ball in the centre. Repeat with the remaining string and dough balls. Make the glaze by whisking the egg yolk and milk together, then brush over the dough balls.
6.) Take two opposite pieces of string and tie them together loosely on top of the bun, ensuring that the string sits on the dough without digging into it. Repeat with the other two pieces of string. Lay the loose sections of string on the dough, between the segments, as shown in the photo reference. Repeat with the remaining dough balls. Stick a clove into the top of each roll. Leave the tray in a warm place for 45 minutes.
7.) While the buns are rising preheat the oven to 180ºC.
8.) Bake the buns for 15 minutes, or until baked through. When they are done they should sound hollow when tapped. Leave to cool for a few minutes before carefully cutting and removing the string and serving. Tip – it’s easier to cut the string from the bottom of the roll.
These are so cute!
LikeLike