Pumpkin Shaped Dinner Rolls for Thanksgiving

Pumpkin Shaped Dinner Rolls

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups of warm milk (100°F-105°F)
• 1 packet of active dry yeast
• 3 teaspoons of sugar
• 4 1/4 cups of bread flour
• 2 teaspoons of salt
• 3 tablespoons of butter, melted
• 1 egg (and another one for egg-wash)
• 1/2 cup of grated pecorino cheese
• 2 tablespoons of everything bagel seasoning

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the yeast, sugar, and milk. Let stand for 5 minutes until foamy
2. Add the flour, and turn the mixer on low speed with a dough hook attachment. Add rest of the ingredients in the order that they appear.
3. Let the mixer continue to knead for about 3 minutes until an elastic dough forms (I had to stop every minute or so to force the dough back in the bowl).
4. Cover bowl with a damp towel and place in a warm, draft free place for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, until the dough has doubled.
5. Lightly Flour a wooden board or piece of parchment. Divide the dough evenly into 8 portions. As you work with each portion, leave the others covered under a damp tea towel. Dust your hands lightly with bench flour but don’t use too much on your work surface as you’ll need a bit of surface tension.
6. Roll each portion of dough into a ball gently using the method used for shaping a boule: Flip the ball over and pull all of the edges into the middle to form a little pouch. Then flip it over again. Cup your palm and fingers gently around the ball to form a cage and roll the dough in a circular motion, using the tension with the work surface to seal the seams on the bottom and create an even ball shape. This will result in a nice domed surface on top while gently handling the dough to keep it light and airy. Repeat with all 8 pieces of dough.
7. For each portion of dough, lay out 4 pieces of twine to form an asterisk.
8. After laying out the twine on your work surface, place a ball of dough face-down in the middle and tie both ends of each individual length of twine into a double knot. Take care to have them just gently curving around the ball of dough; do not make a tight loop around the dough. The dough will expand significantly by the time it is done baking, so you don’t want the twine to be cutting in too deeply into the final shape.
9. When all 4 knots are tied, trim off the excess twine and flip the ball over. Make any adjustments needed.
10. Place the buns on a parchement-lined sheet pan. Cover with a towel and place in a warm and draft free area. et yours proof until they are starting to puff beyond the loops of twine, like you see below; it should just take a few minutes unless it’s super cold!
11. At this point I brushed a beaten egg yolk over the surfaces of the buns. Using just the egg yolk for the eggwash is what gave them their rich brown color and glossy finish so I definitely recommend it! The everything seasoning is optional, but tasty!
12. Preheat oven to 350 F.
13. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.