pumpkin pie brioche rolls
Think of this recipe as the result of the fact that a) I love carbs and b) because of my carb love, I couldn’t decide between pumpkin pie and dinner rolls. So I combined them.
Genius/crazy/this is my brain on Thanksgiving? It’s probably all of the above.
Thanksgiving has looked a little different for us every year for the last five or so years. While growing up it was always at my parents’ house, since Elliott and I got hitched it’s also been in our tiny apartment in Iowa, at his parents’ place and this year, we are hosting again. Except on Saturday, instead of Thursday (because the husband has to work on the holiday, boo).
Another new tradition that’s popped up somewhat unplanned-ly is the fact that I always end up making the dinner rolls and at least one of the desserts. It’s not like we even decided, “Hey Steph, these are the things you make.” It just happened that way — which means those are just the things I tend to make for funsies. Someone else can be in the charge of the turkey; I’m very good at eating that, though.
This year, these pumpkin pie brioche rolls will obviously be gracing the Thanksgiving dinner table as the dinner roll portion of the evening’s eating festivities. If they can make it that long. I’ve already polished off three of them for testing purposes, ahem.
Brioche continues to be one of my favorite types of breads to bake because the dough is so soft and the results are SO FLUFFY. And there are not many better things than a warm, fluffy roll with melty butter on top. In this case, I highly suggest maple butter. Trust.
These rolls seemed to be extra fluffy and soft, though, and I think that’s because of the pumpkin (and because I baked them with love, dawwwwww). Combine that with pumpkin pie-ish spices like cinnamon and nutmeg and an ever-so-slightly-crusty crust on account of the egg wash, and my friends, you’ll be doing a dinner roll dance in your kitchen as I did. I mean, no I didn’t. I mean…
Nope. I did. And I’m doing it again right now.
If there is any reason to break with Thanksgiving tradition, it’s these rolls. You will not regret it. And yes, this does mean you can still have pumpkin pie for dessert, OBVI.
P.S. For more baking tips and recipes, head over to Red Star Yeast or visit their Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest pages.
PrintPumpkin Pie Brioche Rolls
- Prep Time: 1 hour 45 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 2 hours 5 mins
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: French
Ingredients
- 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/4 teaspoon ginger
- 1/8 teaspoon cloves
- 1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
- 2 1/4 teaspoons (1 packet) Red Star PLATINUM yeast
- 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
- 1/4 cup warm water (about 120 to 130 degrees F)
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened and cut into cubes
- 2 eggs
- 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water (for egg wash)
Instructions
- In a large bowl or bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 3/4 cups flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, nutmeg and yeast. Add pumpkin, warm water, butter and eggs. Stir, adding just enough of remaining 1 1/2 cups flour until a dough forms that pulls away from sides of bowl.
- On a lightly floured surface, knead dough by hand 10 minutes until smooth, soft, elastic and only slightly sticky; OR, knead dough with dough hook attachment in stand mixer on medium speed 5 minutes until smooth, soft, elastic and only slightly sticky. Shape dough into a ball, then place in a large lightly greased bowl; turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place 1 hour until doubled.
- Heat oven to 375 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Punch down risen dough, then divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, then place on prepared baking sheet spaced at least 2 inches apart. Cover with a tea towel or lightly greased plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes until doubled.
- Just before baking, use scissors or a sharp serrated knife to score tops of rolls about 1/4-inch deep. Brush tops and sides of rolls with egg wash. Bake 20 to 25 minutes until golden brown.
P.P.S. And in case you need more Thanksgiving carb/dinner roll ideas, here are a few more!
Brown Butter Sweet Potato Buttermilk Rolls
Brown Butter Apple Cheddar Pie Crescent Rolls
Croissants, Step by Step
Garlic Cheddar Brioche Buns
Oatmeal Pan Rolls
Pumpkin Cranberry Twists
Parker House Rolls
Disclosure: I received compensation from Red Star Yeast for recipe development purposes. All opinions are my own.
These look so good! I’m so used to having pumpkin in sweet stuff though – would you say these are more on the savory side?
Carolyn — I wouldn’t say they are savory, but the sweetness is very mild!
Yessss! Carb lovers unite! I adore pumpkin scones but I’ve never tried it in roll form before. What buttery, fluffy, delicious goodness. WANT! xx
I love to cook. And that is what I usually do.
Other than a classic quick bread, I have never made any sort of dough. These were fantastic! The key was to give them their time to rise and shine. I paired these with a quick coq au vin from half baked harvest and later this week they are going to be paired with my thai butternut squash bisque. SO yummy! Thanks for making it so easy!
Pingback: weekend recap - Binks & the Bad Housewife
Abigail — I’m so glad you made them and liked them! Can I come over for that Thai butternut squash bisque? 😉
Hi Stephanie,
These look awesome. I’m planning to make these for Thanksgiving at my mom’s house. We probably won’t sit down to dinner for a couple hours after we arrive. Any suggestions as to what can be “made ahead” and what I should do at Mom’s to ensure these rolls stay fresh and soft? I’m not too familiar with breads and whether the dough is ok to “sit” for longer than prescribed in the recipe.
Thanks so much!
Meghan
Meghan — You can make these the day before and leave them out at room temperature overnight (covered, in a plastic zip-top bag, ideally). The next day, you can heat them up on a baking sheet in the oven at 300 degrees until warmed through. Hope that helps!
Thanks Stephanie! If I were to prep them the day of, would I do the same thing–bake them completely, bring them in a ziploc and then just warm them up when ready to eat?
Thanks and sorry for all the questions!
Meghan — Yep, that’s exactly what you’d do!
Pingback: Pumpkin Pie Brioche Rolls | Red Star Yeast
I’ve been wanting to try my hand at baking breads, and I figured with Thanksgiving coming up, these sounded perfect! THEY ARE PERFECT!! :]
Seriously, made them yesterday for the big day, and none of them made it to today; everyone loved them, and your recipe was very easy to follow! They were light and fluffy and filled with amazing pumpkin flavor.
Thank you so much!
O — Yay! I’m so glad you made them and that everyone enjoyed them. 🙂 Thanks for sharing!
Can I use fast rising yeast
Lindy — Yes, but it might rise more quickly so keep an eye on when the dough doubles in size!