Aww, sad – the last edition of our gourmet Let Us Eat Bread challenge!  I wanted to save this one for last – I loved both it’s elegant shape and unusual combination of pumpkin and orange.

Like the buttermilk fantails, these look more complicated than they are – just three small balls of dough left to rise in a muffin tin gives them their perfect shape.

In another iteration, I might add in a little brown sugar and melted butter, roll the dough balls in them before baking to add a touch of sweetness.

Give them a try – I’m betting they’ll be even better for breakfast tomorrow!

Pumpkin Pinwheel Rolls
From Gourmet, February 2009
Makes 1 dozen rolls

active time: 40 min  total time: 4 3/4 hr (includes rising)

equipment: 12 cup muffin pan

ingredients:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
2 teaspoons active dry yeast (from a 1/4-ounce package)
1/4 cup warm milk (105–115°F)
1 tablespoon sugar2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour plus more for kneading and dusting
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/3 cup canned pure pumpkin
2 large eggs, (one whole, one separated)
1/2 teaspoon grated orange zest
2 tablespoons fresh orange juice
1 tablespoon water

how to:

1. Stir together yeast, warm milk, and sugar in a measuring cup and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. (If mixture doesn’t foam, start over with new yeast.)

2. Mix flour, salt, pumpkin, 1 whole egg, 1 egg yolk (save the white for later), orange zest and juice, and butter into yeast mixture with a wooden spoon until a soft dough forms. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead, dusting surface and your hands with just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is elastic and smooth, 6 to 8 minutes. Form dough into a ball.

3. Put dough in an oiled large bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and a kitchen towel and let dough rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until doubled, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

4. Punch down dough (do not knead), then halve. Roll half of dough on a lightly floured surface with lightly floured hands into a 12-inch-long log (keep remaining half covered with plastic wrap).

5. Cut log into 6 equal pieces, then cut each piece into thirds. Roll each piece into a 1-inch ball, and tuck sides under to smooth out the surface. Put 3 balls side by side in each of 6 muffin cups. Repeat with the other half of the dough. Cover rolls with a smooth kitchen towel and let rise in a draft-free place at warm room temperature until dough is about 1 inch above rim of muffin cups, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

6. Preheat oven to 375F with rack in middle. Whisk the remaining egg white with a little water and brush on the tops of rolls. Bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer rolls to a rack and cool at least 20 minutes.