Pumpkin Fruit & Nut Bread Rolls | Late Autumn | Pumpkin Season

A friend told me she loves pumpkin nut bread packed with so many nuts and dried fruits that you can pick them out in every bite, so I baked a batch for her 😊.

The formula is straightforward and the mix-ins are very flexible. Just keep two key points in mind:

🌼The moisture content of steamed pumpkin varies widely, which will change how much milk you need. I used Japanese kabocha squash, which is on the drier, starchier side.

🌼Loading up heavily on nuts and dried fruit makes the roll surfaces bumpy rather than smooth, so they look a bit rustic and quirky ☺️, but the texture is super rich and delicious if you love nuts and fruit ☺️.

🍞Ingredients: Makes 16 dinner rolls

Steamed pumpkin flesh 250g, bread flour 500g, milk 195g, sugar 45g, salt 5g, milk powder 25g, 1 large egg, instant dry yeast 5g, softened room-temperature butter 45g, pumpkin pie spice 5g (optional), plus flexible amounts of raisins, dried cranberries, diced dried apricots, and walnuts (I used one small bowl of each for reference).

🍞Method:

1️⃣Place all ingredients except the butter, nuts, and dried fruits into the mixer bowl. Hold back part of the milk and add it gradually as needed. Knead until the dough reaches the thick membrane stage (medium gluten development), then add the butter and continue kneading to the full windowpane stage (thin, translucent membrane).

2️⃣Add all the nuts and dried fruits to the dough and mix on low speed just until evenly distributed.

3️⃣Shape the dough into a tight ball, cover, and let it complete the first proof (bulk fermentation).

4️⃣Once doubled in size, turn the dough out, degas, divide into 16 equal pieces, shape each into a tight ball, and arrange in a baking pan for the second proof.

5️⃣Proof until roughly doubled in size, then bake at 180°C for about 25 minutes, tenting with aluminum foil halfway through.

6️⃣Brushing melted butter over the hot rolls right out of the oven makes them even softer, more fragrant, and glossier. I skipped the butter brush this time ☺️.

#Bread

#Pumpkin

#BreadLover