PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS
The cinnamon rolls are super soft leavened sweets, with a butter and cinnamon filling and pumpkin in the dough that makes them even softer.
Winter has finally arrived, and with the cold, I love comforting myself with sweets that smell like home, a lit fireplace, and a pulled-up blanket: these are precisely that, with a butter and cinnamon filling that melts in your mouth. Additionally, the pumpkin in the dough makes it even softer.
Not sure which mixer to choose? Here you can find a useful guide—>
STAND MIXER, WHICH ONE TO CHOOSE?“
If you use the BIO NATURAL YEAST from Decorì in the dough, I assure you it becomes even better: it’s a natural yeast fermented for 60 days and made with wheat germ and durum wheat semolina; additionally, you’ll find a tiny percentage of brewer’s yeast (3%).
You may wonder why, and I’m here to explain right away: natural yeast helps the dough remain soft for a long time because its microorganisms are “used to” eating slowly, while brewer’s yeast works quickly to get the dough leavened in a few hours. This is commonly called MIXED LEAVENING and is quite normal, especially in pastry, I often make my CROISSANTS with mixed leavening 😉
Having made this necessary preamble, let’s see how I made the recipe 🙂
Want to make natural yeast at home? Here’s how to do it —> HOMEMADE NATURAL YEAST
EMIMETTOAIFORELLI recommends
- Difficulty: Medium
- Cost: Affordable
- Rest time: 3 Hours
- Preparation time: 1 Hour
- Portions: 12/16
- Cooking methods: Oven
- Cuisine: Italian
- Seasonality: Autumn, Winter
Ingredients
For the dough
- 4 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/2 cup + 2 tbsps milk
- 3 1/2 oz pumpkin (already cleaned)
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1/3 cup butter
- 1 egg
- 1 1/4 oz dried natural yeast (bio natural yeast)
- 1 1/2 oz butter
- 3 tsps cinnamon powder (Decorì)
- 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar
- 1 tsp orange juice
Tools
For the best outcome of the recipe, I recommend these tools (ADV)
- Stand Mixer
- Rolling Pin
- Baking Pan Chefmade
- Immersion Blenders
Steps
First, peel and clean the pumpkin. If you bought it already cleaned, you can go directly to the next step 🙂
Before starting, weigh all the butter and leave it at room temperature, you’ll be able to incorporate it into the dough more easily 🙂
Leave the portion that will be used as filling out for the duration of the recipe, so it will be ready when you need to fill the rolls.
In a saucepan, place the pumpkin cut into cubes and fill with water until covered. Place on the stove and cook for 15 minutes. The pumpkin is cooked when a fork can be easily inserted (similar to potatoes).
Drain the water and blend well with an immersion blender. If you don’t have a blender, mash well with a fork until it becomes a puree.
In the bowl of a stand mixer (or a regular bowl if using electric beaters or working by hand), add the flour, pumpkin puree, and milk, along with the egg, and start mixing.
Then add the sugar and bio natural yeast and continue to mix.
Finally, add the soft butter gradually: only add more butter once it has been well absorbed into the dough.
If you’re doing it by hand, you’ll notice the mixture becomes a bit lumpy at first. Don’t worry, keep kneading and it will become perfect again 😉
Once the dough is ready, transfer it to a lightly buttered work surface and let it rest for 30 minutes.
Fold the dough and then let it rise until it doubles in size.
Thanks to the mixed leavening of BIO NATURAL YEAST, your dough will double in three hours, or at most four if your house is very cold 🙂
Deflate the dough and place it on a lightly floured work surface. Roll it out with a rolling pin into a rectangle.
Take the butter you’ve previously left out, as mentioned at the beginning of the recipe, and spread it on top with a spatula or blunt knife.
Sprinkle the cinnamon on top (I included a dose of 3 teaspoons, but you can add more or less based on your taste)
N.B. if you use cinnamon from Decorì, grind it first and get ready for a wave of fragrance that will linger in your kitchen 😉
Once filled, roll your dough from the long side of the rectangle to form a log: cut into 1 1/4 inch rounds and place on a baking sheet in rows of three.
Let rise for another couple of hours.
Preheat the oven to 392°F with a pan of water. Once at temperature, lower to 356°F and bake for the first 20 minutes like this. Then remove the steam and continue to bake, I lowered it to 320°F for another 20 minutes.
Of course, each of you knows your own oven, adjust as you’re used to; if they color too much, a good sheet of parchment paper on top will help.
In a bowl, pour the powdered sugar, then add a scant teaspoon of orange juice (if you don’t have an orange in the fridge, water is fine too)
Stir until you get a nice thick cream.
Once baked, remove from the oven and let cool well before glazing: if you have one, do it with a piping bag, otherwise use a knife or fork.
Now, prepare a nice cup of hot tea and enjoy the PUMPKIN CINNAMON ROLLS
and if you eat them together, they will be even more delicious 🙂
Storage
Store in a cake container or a paper bag, they will remain soft for a long time.
You can also portion and freeze them to have on hand when needed.
