Autumn Pumpkin Rolls

Well, today I am bringing another Pumpkin recipe for you to try, Autumn Pumpkin Rolls, a soft and fluffy yeast bread, just perfect for the Autumn season!  I think these would be perfect to serve with Thanksgiving dinner, or even just as an afternoon snack.  I divided the dough into one loaf for slicing, and then formed the remaining half of dough into 8 "pumpkin" rolls.  This bread reminds me quite a bit of potato bread, the pumpkin acting like mashed potato, adding moisture and softness.  The pumpkin flavor is quite mild, but the pumpkin gave a deep and beautiful golden hue to the bread, reminiscent of fallen leaves.
Autumn Pumpkin Bread:
Ingredients:
1 cup warm milk
1 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 egg, scrambled
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup melted butter
1 cup pumpkin, mashed
4 1/2 cups flour, plus more as needed, for kneading

To prepare:
1. In a large bowl, combine the warm milk, sugar and yeast, stirring well to combine.  Allow to rest in a warm place about 15 minutes, until the yeast is frothy and foaming.
2. Add the scrambled egg, salt, melted butter and mashed pumpkin to the milk/yeast mixture, and stir well.
3. Add in the flour, (you can use an electric mixture if you like, but I like to do it by hand) combining well until the dough forms a soft and somewhat sticky dough.
*Tip*- the magic of bread making really happens at this point.  Add more or less flour until the dough "feels" right.  Bread is very much affected by your environment, if it is hot and moist you may need more flour, if it is cool and dry, you may need less.  Just listen to the dough and you will have perfect bread every time!!
4. Turn the ball of dough onto a well floured surface, and knead until soft and slightly elastic to the touch (dough will return back when indented with your fingertip), about 5-6 minutes, adding more flour as necessary.
5. Place the dough into a slightly oiled bowl, cover loosely, and set in a warm place until doubled in size, about1 hour.
6. Form the bread: cut the dough in half, gently rolling one half into a loaf, and place into a lightly oiled (you can use cooking spray) loaf pan.  Cover and set aside for about 20-30 minutes to rise for the second time. Cut the remaining dough in to 8 pieces of dough.  Form each in to a ball, and then gently score around the sides to give the rolls a "pumpkin" appearance (make vertical cuts from where the stem would be, down the sides to create grooves, all around the "pumpkins").  Place the rolls about 2 inches apart on a foil lined baking sheet, cover, and allow to rise for an additional 30 minutes.
7. Place the bread into a preheated 350 degree oven, baking the loaf for about 30 minutes (until golden and sounds hollow when "thumped" on the bottom of the loaf), and the rolls for about 20-25 minutes.
8. Allow the loaf to cool about 15 minutes before removing from the loaf pan.
9. Serve and enjoy!!! :)