Pumpkin Softies

Fluffy dinner rolls with Hokkaido squash, spiced with cinnamon, cardamom and nutmeg. Perfect allrounder to bring to any occasion.

Filed under Snack, Bread, Vegan.

Pumpkin Softies

The recipe

Makes 15 rolls. 40 minutes of work, ready in about 3½ hours. You'll need a baking sheet, a 34 × 24 cm baking dish and parchment paper.

Read left to right: each step combines the rows it spans. Hands on Hands off Meanwhile: during the step below
1 Get ready Meanwhile Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F)
350 g Hokkaido squash cut into small cubes, the skin can stay on 2 Roast 25 min, 160 °C 3 Blend, then cool 5 min 4 Knead 10 min 5 Rise, covered 1 h 6 Shape into balls 15 min 7 Rise again 1 h 8 Bake 23 min, 220 → 200 °C 9 Cool in the form
120 ml water up to 180 ml makes fluffier rolls that are harder to shape
400 g flour
75 g brown sugar 50 g is a snack, 100 g is dessert
60 g butter softened; or a plant-based alternative to make them vegan
7 g instant yeast 1 bag
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cardamom
a pinch of nutmeg
a pinch of salt
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  1. Get ready

    Set out a baking sheet, a 34 × 24 cm baking dish and parchment paper.

    • Hokkaido squash: cut into small cubes, the skin can stay on
    • butter: softened

  2. Roast

    • 350 g Hokkaido squash

    Spread the cubes on a baking sheet and roast at 160 °C (320 °F) for about 25 minutes, until soft enough to mash easily.

    25 min, 160 °C, hands off

  3. Blend, then cool

    • roasted squash
    • 120 ml water

    Let the squash cool a little, then blend it with the water until smooth. Set it aside to reach about room temperature while you get everything else ready.

    5 min

  4. Knead

    • squash purée
    • 400 g flour
    • 75 g brown sugar
    • 60 g butter
    • 7 g instant yeast
    • 1 tsp cinnamon
    • 1 tsp cardamom
    • a pinch of nutmeg
    • a pinch of salt

    Combine the squash purée with the flour, sugar, soft butter, yeast and spices. Don't forget the salt! Knead well until the dough is smooth.

    10 min

  5. Rise, covered

    • dough

    Cover the dough and let it rise for an hour.

    1 h, hands off

  6. Shape into balls

    • risen dough

    Line the baking dish with parchment. Divide the dough into equal pieces (15 fit a 34 × 24 cm dish in a 3 × 5 pattern), shape them into balls and set them in the dish with a little space between.

    15 min

  7. Rise again

    • shaped rolls

    Cover and let rise for another hour, until the balls have puffed up and touch.

    1 h, hands off

    Meanwhile: Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F)

  8. Bake

    • risen rolls

    Bake for 8 minutes at 220 °C (425 °F), then turn the oven down to 200 °C (400 °F) and bake until golden brown on top, about 23 minutes in total. With convection, use 200 °C, then 180 °C.

    23 min, 220 → 200 °C, hands off

  9. Cool in the form

    • softies

    Let them cool in the form and enjoy with friends. Cottage cheese and jam work well, or just butter.

hese dinner rolls have become a staple of the baking-grandma in our Brindlewood Bay group and are perfect for any occasion where you want some easy-to-portion bread on the side. The squash gives them a lovely color and keeps them soft. The Spices add a touch of autumn to them on top.

margin: You can swap the butter for a plant-based alternative to make these vegan.

The Squash

margin: You can’t really over-roast the squash here, as you can just blend it with more water later. Just make sure it’s soft enough to mash easily. I want to eventually try roasting it at a higher temperature for a shorter time to get some caramelization on top.

Cut the squash into small cubes, the skin can stay on. Spread on a baking sheet and roast at 160 °C (320 °F) for about 25 minutes or until soft.

Let it cool a little and then blend it with the water until smooth. Put aside and let it cool further while you prepare the rest. You want the squash to be around room temperature before mixing it into the dough.

Depending on how comfy you are with sticky doughs, you can play with the water a little. I tend to use around 180ml as more water tends to make fluffier rolls. But shaping becomes harder. I’d suggest around 120ml as a starting point and then add more if you feel like it. I’ve also experimented with weighing the squash after roasting and adding water until I reach around 420g total of squash + water, which also seems to work well.

The Dough

margin: Freshly grated lime, lemon or orange zest works wonderfully as well, especially combined with the cardamom.

Combine the squash purée with flour, sugar, soft butter, yeast, and spices. Don’t forget the salt! Knead the dough well until smooth, then cover and let rise for one hour.

For our group of murder mystery grandmas, below 50g sugar didn’t give us the sweet-ish snack taste and above 100g started to enter full desert territory. 75g hit the balance of slightly sweet but still rolls rather than cake. The molasses notes from raw cane sugar pair nicely with the squash.

Shaping and Baking

Fifteen dough balls in a baking dish, before the second rise

margin: With higher hydration the dough gets clingy. Instead of fighting it with your hands you can use a bench scraper.

After the 1h rise, divide the dough into any number of equal pieces for the baking dish of your choice. I use a 34cm x 24cm ikea form that neatly fits 15 rolls in a 3x5 pattern. Line the dish with parchment paper and shape the pieces into balls. Place the balls in the dish with a little space between them, cover and let rise for another hour. I use the larger 40cm x 32cm ikea form for that as it perfectly fits and has enough headroom.

The dough balls after the second rise – puffed up and touching

margin: The initial high heat helps the oven spring and prevents the rolls from turning out mushy.

Preheat the oven to 220 °C (425 °F) conventional (200 °C / 400 °F convection). Put the softies in the oven, and after 8 minutes reduce the temperature to 200 °C (400 °F) conventional (180 °C / 350 °F convection). Bake for around 23 minutes total or until golden brown on top.

The golden, cottony crumb of the finished softies

Let them cool in the form and enjoy with friends. Works well with cottage cheese and jam or just butter, as many things tend to. I find that the rolls store well in the (cooled) oven over night and make for a great weekend breakfast treat.