Pumpkin Crescent Rolls

For the next few weeks in the Bread Baking Blog, we'll be making festive breads for Holiday gatherings. Today, we're making Pumpkin Crescent Rolls. The canned pumpkin adds a wonderful, deep color to the rolls and pumpkin pie spice provides just a hint of flavor.

You'll like these rolls even if you're not a fan of pumpkin bread. My sons would never have known there was pumpkin in the rolls if I hadn't told them. They thought the rolls had cinnamon in them.

Pumpkin Crescent Rolls

Preparation Time: 25 minutes
Start to Finish: 2 hours, 40 minutes

Tip: To help with Holiday preparations, you can prepare these rolls up to 12 hours ahead, then cover and refrigerate. About 1 1/2 hours before serving, remove rolls to a warm place to rise until double in size. Bake at 400 for 9 to 11 minutes or until golden brown.

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 to 4 cups All-purpose flour
• 1 package regular active dry yeast
• 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 to 3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
• 3/4 cup water
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie mix)
• 4 tablespoons butter or margarine, softened
• 1 egg

Directions:

Yield: 16 rolls.

In a large bowl, mix 1 cup of the flour, the yeast, brown sugar, salt and pumpkin pie spice; set aside.  In 1-quart saucepan, heat water, pumpkin and 3 tablespoons of the butter over medium heat to 120°F to 130°F, stirring occasionally.





Add pumpkin mixture and egg to flour mixture. Beat with electric mixer on medium speed 3 minutes, scraping bowl occasionally.  By hand, stir in just enough of the remaining 2 1/2 to 3 cups flour to make a soft dough that leaves sides of bowl.





Place dough on floured surface. Knead 3 to 5 minutes or until dough is smooth and springy.

I covered the dough with a bowl and let it rest for awhile before kneading. This helps the gluten develop and makes it easier to knead.







Place dough in large bowl greased with oil, turning dough to grease all sides. Cover and let rise in warm place about 1 hour or until double in size.





Place dough on lightly floured surface. Knead a few times. Shape dough into a ball, then flatten.





Roll into 15-inch circle.




Spread with remaining 1 tablespoon butter. Cut into 16 wedges.




Roll up each wedge, starting at wide end.



On ungreased cookie sheet, place rolls with points underneath and curve slightly.




Cover and let rise in warm place 20 to 30 minutes or until double in size.




Heat oven to 400. Bake uncovered 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve these aromatic rolls warm.

Thank you for visiting the Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

Here are some additional festive bread recipes and resources:

• Festive Recipes
  
• Roll Recipes
  
• Pumpkin Bread Recipes