Recipes
Pumpkin shaped bread rolls
The days are getting shorter, the leaves are changing color, and there is a fresh scent in the air; autumn is on its way! And what could be cozier than diving into the kitchen to bake something delicious? Today, I’m sharing my latest creation: adorable pumpkin-shaped bread rolls, perfect for a cozy autumn day. These delightful rolls are not only soft and flavorful but also look like little pumpkins, made with the help of kitchen twine. They are ideal to serve with a fall soup or as a tasty addition to a hearty autumn breakfast. Read on to find out how to make these charming rolls yourself!
Ingredients for 6 small pumpkin-shaped bread rolls:
- 540 g / 4 1/3 cups flour
- 5 g 1 1/2 teaspoons dried yeast
- 355 g / 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
- 10 g / 1 3/4 teaspoon salt
- Kitchen twine
- A little oil
- Optional: an egg
Here’s how to make them:
- Place the water in a bowl and add the flour, yeast, and salt. Mix briefly with a spatula and let it sit for 20 minutes.
- Next, knead the dough for 10 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. When stretched, it should resemble a bubblegum texture.
- Put a little oil in a bowl and place your dough in it. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let it rise for 45 minutes.
- Cut 6 pieces of kitchen twine, each 1 meter (3 feet) long, and place them in a small bowl with oil. This will prevent the twine from sticking to the rolls after baking.
- Take the dough out of the bowl and form it into a rectangular sheet. Fold one-third from the short side toward the middle and do the same with the other short side. Rotate the dough a quarter turn and repeat the same steps. Put the dough back in the bowl and let it rise for another 45 minutes.
- Divide your dough into 6 equal portions, using a kitchen scale if necessary.
- Form each of the 6 pieces of dough into a round ball by loosely rolling it under your hand. This technique is called “rounding.” You can also look up a video on how to do this—it’s what I did.
- Now take a piece of twine and place a dough ball exactly in the middle of it. Take the two ends of the twine, twist them around each other, and rotate them a quarter turn. Flip the dough over, ensuring the twine stays in the same position. Twist the two ends of the twine around each other again and rotate an eighth turn. Repeat this a total of four times to create a pumpkin shape.
- Place the rolls on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and let them rise for another 10 minutes.
- You can brush the rolls with a beaten egg for a golden-brown and shiny finish, but this step is optional.
- Bake the pumpkin-shaped rolls in a preheated oven for about 15 minutes until golden brown. Let them cool slightly when they come out of the oven. Enjoy!