Pumpkin dinner rolls Mixed up in the Bread Machine!

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     I've been watching The Great British Bake Off again on Netflix.  You know what that means, I saw something that I wanted to try to bake myself.  During bread week, for her show-stopper, one of the contestants made adorable pumpkin shaped rolls to go inside her cornucopia.  I don't know what flavor hers were, but I thought to myself, wouldn't it be fun to use a yeasted pumpkin dough to make these.  I found a few recipes and techniques online.  Then I thought to myself, how about mixing the dough in the bread machine and save myself some time?  Well, let me tell you, at this point I've made 3 batches of these rolls and everyone loves them! 

     Luckily, I have a lot of pumpkin puree on hand and this recipe only calls for 1/2 of a cup.  
     I worked out the best method for using the bread machine.  It usually works best to put in the liquid ingredients and then the dry and top it with the yeast mixture.  Then, the machine does the mixing and goes through the first rise while you merrily work on something else...or watch TV...or read.  That is the beauty of the bread machine, it truly allows you a little extra time to multi-task.  
     Once the first rise is done, (the machine will tell you), You dump out the dough and form the rolls.  Now, this is when things get a bit trickier because there are a few different methods to use to get them to look like pumpkins! 

Option #1:  Form the dough into balls. ( I used my kitchen scale to measure out 2 oz balls of dough.  Here is a good price on a scale similar to mine. )
Then, use a knife or kitchen shears and cut 6-8 slits all around the ball of dough to make the lines of the pumpkin.  Next, punch a hole in the top of the middle of the pumpkin to make a place for the stem.  (I used the rounded end of a fondue fork, lol.)  Set them on the baking sheet and cover them to rise.

This method worked okay, but I felt like they were almost more like flowers than pumpkins, so I decide to try a different method. But, they tasted great!

Option #2:  Once again, form the dough into balls and then use baker's twine to wrap around the balls, creating the lines of the pumpkins.  This method is more time consuming, both before and after baking, because after they bake, you have to remove the twine.  (Side note:  I don't think I've ever used baker's twine for actual baking before!)  Removing the twine was difficult because it wanted to tear apart the pumpkins.  They kind of became pull aparts! 

The dough tied up. Maybe i should have started with it looser.

After baking.

You can see that they resemble pumpkins better than the first option, but they are also a little messy because of taking out the twine.

      There was a batch of rolls between these first two options where I thought that I should cut smaller slits so that they wouldn't look as much like flowers, but after rising and baking, the slits pretty much disappeared.  They just looked like round rolls, which is fine, but I really wanted the cuteness to go along with the deliciousness!  So, here is one last option that I haven't tried yet:
 ​Option #3:   Buy   a pumpkin shaped tin! There are quite a few of them on Amazon.  I've chosen this one to try out.  

I kind of love the idea of the different shapes as well as pumpkins! They could spill out of a cornucopia basket and look so beautiful!

   The one constant between all of the rolls was the great taste!   I think the pumpkin in the batter helped to give these a moist, fluffy texture, much like making potato bread or potato rolls.  The pumpkin taste is very faint, or not even noticeable to some people.  I have just been eating them plain, without even any butter on them because they are that good! But, wouldn't they be great with pumpkin butter smeared on them?  And, what a great addition to a Thanksgiving table!  This recipe makes 17-18 rolls, so if you have a large family, you may want to make two batches.

     If you have a better option for getting that Pumpkin shape, please let me know in the comments!
     Click on the recipe to get the printable version!  Enjoy! 
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Other Great Bread Recipes:

• Artisan Bread Baked in a Crock Pot
• Portuguese Easter Bread
• White Bread in the Bread Machine
• Braided Bread
• Fresh Herb Focaccia Bread
• Large Batch Sprouted Wheat Bread
• Free Form Bread
• Food Processor Batter Bread (GF option)