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Sourdough pumpkin dinner rolls
5 from 1 vote

Sourdough pumpkin dinner rolls

These sourdough pumpkin dinner rolls are unbelievably soft and airy, full of flavor, and so vibrant, elevating your meal color palette to the next level.
Prep Time1 hour 7 minutes
Cook Time25 minutes
Fermentation17 hours 30 minutes
Total Time19 hours 2 minutes
Servings 20 rolls
Calories:

Equipment & Tools

  • Baking pan 25cm x 30cm x 6cm (9.8in x 11.8in x 2.4in)
  • Stand mixer with the hook attachment
  • Kitchen scale
  • Dough whisk (optional)

INGREDIENTS
 

Sourdough starter

  • 30 g mature sourdough starter
  • 110 g water (non-chlorinated)
  • 110 g T00 flour (organic)

The dough

  • 85 g whole milk (cold from the fridge)
  • 270 g pumpkin puree (Butternut)
  • 1 egg (~ 55g)
  • 35 g maple syrup (organic)
  • 250 g sourdough starter (mature)
  • 500 g T00 flour (organic)
  • 12 g kosher salt
  • 85 g unsalted butter (room temperature)
  • 1 small egg (for the egg wash)

INSTRUCTIONS

Prepare the sourdough starter

  • Place the clean glass jar on the kitchen scale and measure the mature sourdough starter. Press tare and measure water directly into the jar (Note 1).
    Mix until there are no visible lumps of the sourdough starter.
  • Press tare on the kitchen scale and measure the needed amount of flour directly into the jar.
    Mix until there are no dry patches of flour visible and the dough is uniform in structure.
    Clean the sides of the jar, level the dough, cover, and place in a warm area (25°C; 77°F)
  • Gather all the ingredients needed for the dough.

Initial dough mix (2:00 PM)

  • Add whole milk, pumpkin puree, an egg, maple syrup, and sourdough starter to the bowl of a stand mixer.
    Using the dough whisk mix the ingredients until well incorporated.
  • Sift in the flour and add the salt.
    Using a spatula combine the flour and the wet ingredients until there are no more flour bits visible.
    Cover and let it rest for one hour.

Forming the gluten (3:00-3:30 PM)

  • Attach the bowl to the mixer and mix the dough on speed 4 (KitchenAid) until the sides of the bowl and the bottom come out clean (Note 2).
    This should take approximately 12-15 minutes.
  • Start adding the butter incrementally, approximately 1 tbs at a time. As you add the butter the dough will noticeably soften.
    Continue mixing until again the sides and the bottom of the bowl are clean (Note 3)
    This should take approximately 6 minutes.
  • Transfer the dough to a clean lightly buttered bowl. Fold the dough several times using the coil method to form a ball. The desired dough temperature should be around 25°C (77°F).
    Cover the dough and set aside.

Bulk fermentation (3:30 PM - 7:30 PM)

  • Rest for 1 hour.
    Fold the dough twice using the coil method. Cover and set aside. The desired dough temperature should be around 25°C (77°F).
  • Rest for 1 hour.
    Fold the dough twice using the coil method. Cover and set aside. The desired dough temperature should be around 25°C (77°F).
  • Let the dough rest for another 2 hours.

Shaping the rolls (7:30 PM-7:45 PM)

  • Lightly butter the baking pan.
  • Divide the dough into 20 pieces each weighing 64g. From each dough piece form a ball using the dough scraper (Note 4)
  • Place the shaped bowls in the baking pan so that they are barely touching. Cover and place in the fridge overnight.

Final proof (next day 7:00 AM)

  • Take the rolls out from the fridge and let them prove on the kitchen counter for at least 2 hours. The ambient temperature should be around 24°C (75°F) (Note 5)
  • Around 30 minutes before the baking time start preheating the oven to 240°C (464°F).

Baking (9:00 AM)

  • Once the rolls are ready to bake, brush them with the egg wash (whisk one egg) and place them in the oven to bake.
    Immediately, turn down the oven temperature to 200°C (392°F) and bake for 20 to 25 minutes.
    The tops should start to get golden brown (Note 6)

Serving and storing

  • Serve the dinner rolls after they have cooled down a bit.
  • You can store the rolls in the bread container as you would with bread. They are excellent 2 days after the bake and don't require toasting or preheating.

NOTES

  1. You can measure the wet ingredients separately as it can be a bit of a challenge to take out the extras from the bowl.
  2. It is essential to form the gluten bonds before adding the butter as this will ensure we don’t end up with a cake-like dough structure when baked, but instead with an airy and light crumb. Note that if the butter is added before the gluten is formed, it blocks the proper formation of the gluten. The butter kind of coats the gluten forming proteins (gliadin and glutenin) and prevents them from forming a nice bond.
  3. The dough will soften as the butter is added. By the time the mixing process is finished the dough should be soft, silky, shiny, and very extensible, but not breaking.
  4. Use some olive oil to brush the dough scraper and for your fingers if the dough is a bit sticky. Just make sure to not oil the dough as it will prevent it from forming the nice round shape. You can also brush the top of the kitchen scale with some butter to prevent the dough from sticking.
  5. These 2 hours are with an ambient temperature of around 23°C (74°F). If it is warmer in your kitchen it will take less time or longer if it is colder.
  6. Take care not to overbake the buns as they will become dry. It takes about 5 minutes longer to overbake them and they loose that bit of moisture. That extra moisture makes them extra delicious but they are in no way moist per se.

* Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.