Pumpkin Dinner Rolls (17 cents/each)

These are the best homemade pumpkin dinner rolls to slather in butter and serve up this fall. This recipe, made with onion and poppy seeds for extra flavor, will make a delicious addition to your bread basket.

They are special enough to serve at Holiday Meals but easy enough to accompany Chihuahua Beer Chili or Guinness Beef Stew. They freeze beautifully so you can make them part of your Make-Ahead and Freeze Thanksgiving Side Dishes.

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Move over jack o’lanterns and Pumpkin Pie, this squash can do even more great things. Orange and squatty, the pumpkin is a member of the gourd family and can be prepared any way that you use winter squash—that is to say, it can be sweet and it can be savory.

Proof right here: Pumpkin Dinner Rolls.

Dotted with onion and poppy seeds, these yeast dinner rolls fall on the savory side, but with plenty of pumpkin flavor to keep things interesting.

Why Make This

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls go with anything! They are delicious served with butter alongside chili, soup, or on a holiday plate with all the trimmings. My kids have even made sandwiches with the leftovers.

They are freezer-friendly. There’s something so luxurious about going to the freezer for freshly baked bread. Make extra Pumpkin Dinner Rolls and stash them in the freezer for later.

Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make homemade Pumpkin Dinner Rolls:

buttermilk – Buttermilk gives these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls a light, fluffy interior. Remember you can culture buttermilk yourself or freeze extra buttermilk in the carton to save money.

oil – Use a neutral oil, such as sunflower or avocado. You can also use melted butter if you like for extra richness.

egg – One egg adds another layer of richness to these Pumpkin Dinner Rolls.

pumpkin puree – There is a difference between canned pumpkin and pumpkin pie filling. You want just the pumpkin, with no added sweeteners or flavors.

dry onion flakes – Dry onion flakes add just the right amount of onion flavor to the rolls. You can also use finely chopped sautéed onion if fresh is what you have. And if you don’t care for onion, it’s fine to omit it as well.

sugar – Just a bit of sugar is added to help the yeast, but it doesn’t make the rolls sweet. For a fun fall twist, consider adding a bit of Pumpkin Pie Spice.

flour – This recipe for Pumpkin Dinner Rolls calls for both unbleached all-purpose flour and whole wheat flour. It’s important to have some white flour with the whole wheat to keep the texture light. If you don’t have whole wheat, it’s fine to use all white.

salt – Salt really does make a difference in baked goods. Don’t omit it.

yeast – active or instant will work just fine in this recipe. Active may just take a little while longer to rise than instant.

optional topping – Sprinkling Everything Seasoning over the top of the rolls is a nice option.

Step-by-Step Instructions

There are three different ways to prep the dough for Pumpkin Dinner Rolls. Choose the one that works best for what tools you have in your kitchen.

To make the dough in a stand mixer:

1. Combine the buttermilk and sugar in a medium-size saucepan and warm slightly over medium heat. Transfer the mixture to the mixer bowl and add the yeast. Stir and allow the yeast to proof for 5 minutes.

2. Add the oil, egg, and pumpkin puree to the milk mixture and stir to combine.

3. Add the flour, onion flakes, salt, and poppy seeds. Attach the dough hook and run the machine on low until the dough ball forms around the hook and cleans the side of the bowl.

4. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl and turn the dough ball to coat. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.

To form the rolls:

• Line a baking sheet with parchment or a silpat mat.
• When the dough is ready, turn it out onto a floured surface and divide into 16 portions.
• Form each portion into a tight round and place them evenly spaced on the prepared baking sheet. Allow the rolls to rise for 30 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 ° Bake the rolls for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.
• Cool the rolls briefly on a rack. Serve warm.

Tips for Success

• Make sure your milk mixture isn’t too hot. If it’s too hot then it will kill the yeast! And dead yeast = rolls that won’t rise. 
• Rising time may vary. If you have a cold kitchen then it may take longer for your rolls to rise. 
• Check those dates on the yeast packages you are using. Yeast can expire, and that means rolls that won’t rise. So check the date. If you’re unsure, then double check that your yeast is bubbly and active before you proceed with the rest of the steps.
• Don’t add too much flour. If you’re kneading by hand, and the dough is sticky then dust lightly the surface and your hands. But be careful to not add too much as this can end up being a tough, dense roll in the end.

FAQs

Recipe Costs

Knowing how much it costs you to prepare a recipe can help you decide if it’s the type of recipe to make regularly or one you might want to save for special occasions. Let’s crunch some numbers and see how this recipe pencils out.

• buttermilk – $1.04
• oil – $0.06
• egg – $0.15
• pumpkin puree – $0.25
• dry onion flakes – $0.24
• sugar – $0.04
• flours – $0.65
• salt – $0.02
• yeast – $0.33

While your costs may vary depending on where and how you shop, you can expect to pay about $2.78 for a big batch of Pumpkin Dinner Rolls, about $0.17 each!

How to Save Even More

You know I don’t typically want to make something if I can’t make it good as well as cheap. Here are some of the strategies you can use to make this recipe more economical:

• Stock up on ingredients when they are on sale. When I find regular kitchen staples on sale, I buy a lot. I’m currently using a price book to track prices and that’s saving me money. For this recipe, keeping an eye on the price of pumpkin and buttermilk can help keep the price down. 
• Buying in bulk—It’s rare that I would buy small bags of flour. I also have gotten into the habit of buying cases of flour from Bob’s Red Mill or VitaCost so that I always have baking supplies on hand. The same goes for yeast. Get a large pack and store it in a jar in the freezer rather than buying those small packets.

More Great Bread Recipes

This post was originally published on November 23, 2011. It has been updated for content and clarity.