Ok, now that I got that off my chest, I get to share with you the most recent product of my obsession. I found a recipe on King Arthur Flour's website for Cinnamon-Swirl Pumpkin Rolls last year and it was so good last year that I just had to make it again! I'm the only one in the house who likes pumpkin and ginger, but I had family coming in this weekend which gave me the opportunity to enjoy cinnamon bun deliciousness with others! What is better than waking up to the smell of baked goods?!? Really, there isn't much you come up with, is there?
Besides, this frozen pumpkin has been staring at me every time I open the freezer. As you can see, I dated and measured before putting it in a freezer bag and flattening it out. It makes it easier to use later, but watch out because the permanent marker can run when wet.
I am big fan of sales, and Hydro Harvest Farms had pie pumpkins around Halloween for CHEAP! They never got made into baked goods like I had intended. By the time Thanksgiving weekend rolled around and I still was staring at three pie pumpkins, I finally decided I needed to just roast and freeze the suckers for when inspiration struck. It doesn't look like much in roasted puree form, but it's magic gold to me!
Use a stand mixer with a paddle and a dough hook for this to save yourself the trouble if you can. Start the stand mixer with the paddle attachment for this step. Add the pumpkin puree (do not use pumpkin pie filling, it is not the same) to a mixing bowl with two eggs and a 1/4 cup of softened butter. Run mixer on low until the butter has combined with the eggs and pumpkin until the butter has disintegrated into tiny little butter pebbles. Cracking eggs into a small bowl before adding helps to ensure that no shell gets added to the bowl.
Combine your flours, dry milk powder, yeast and seasonings in another bowl. After switching from the paddle shown above to a dough hook, add the dry ingredients to the mixing bowl a small bit at a time while mixing. Allowing the dry ingredients time to incorporate into the wet before adding more helps to ensure that the dough incorporates fully. After all the dry ingredients, begin adding the water a tablespoon at a time. Allow about 30 seconds in between each tablespoon to allow the water to be incorporated into the dough. Here's what the dough hook looks like:
While waiting for the dough to rise, I got together the cinnamon bun filling. I combined cinnamon, sugar and minced crystallized ginger. If you've never worked with crystallized ginger, it's a fancy-pants name for candied ginger and it's ginger cooked in a sugar water solution and then baked. I picked up a bit from the bulk bin at my local Whole Foods and finally used the last bit today. Oil your knife before mincing with a very small amount of a neutral flavored oil, or expect to have the ginger to stick to the knife. Here's what it looks like for the un-initiated.
Once the dough has risen fully, it's time to be rolled out into a rectangle. The recipe said it should be rolled out to "about 14" x 22" rectangle." I just rolled it until it looked two feet long and the size of two hands across. It was good enough for me. Once rolled out, spread the filling mixture evenly across the whole dough leaving about one long edge free about a 1/2 inch from the edge. This edge is the edge you will roll towards to be the outermost portion of the buns. The recipe said I could use some dried cranberry pieces, but I didn't have any this time. It works that way too, if you like and have cranberries on hand.
After rolling these up, try to cut the dough cylinder into nine even segments. I just eyeballed it. This is where the overnight comes in to play. You can grease your dish and put the buns in the pan to rise for the second time in the fridge overnight. This is great for a potluck breakfast, but you may not be able to leave without giving up the recipe. If you choose to make them the same day, the buns should rise for at least an hour undisturbed in a warm location. The fridge's cold temperatures slows the yeast fermentation.
After putting the buns in the oven (preheated to 375 degrees), and giggling at the obvious jokes based on that phrase, walk away and leave them alone. Do not take the buns out of the oven until they have become nice and tanned. They are already a bit tan due to the pumpkin and spices, so we are looking for a middle of the summer Miami Beach tan not a mid-winter leftover tan. This should take about 30 minutes.
Take this time to make the glaze by melting the butter, milk (or almond milk in this case), and confectioner's sugar until it combines and turns glossy. If you want to keep the glaze white and opaque, let the buns cool before pouring the sugary deliciousness on top. If you just can't wait that long, like me, then pour it on about ten minutes after the buns are taken out of the oven.
When done and cooled, if you don't wait to glaze them, the buns should look something like this:
Dough:
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs
1/4 cup softened butter
2 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour - I use organic, unbleached flour, but any AP flour will work
1 3/4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup lukewarm water
Filling:
1/2 cup minced crystallized ginger
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
Glaze:
1 cup confectioner sugar
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 tablespoons milk - I used almond milk
Verdict: These buns are decadent and not an every day breakfast, but if you need a warming and rich breakfast to impress yourself or others, this is a sure bet. Just make sure you like ginger!
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