Mini Pumpkin Milk Rolls

Mini Pumpkin Milk Rolls

Perfect for accompanying a nice warming bowl of winter soup

Ingredients:

• 280ml warm whole milk
• 7g dried active yeast
• 1 tbsp runny honey
• 60g melted butter
• 1 tsp salt
• 360g plain flour

Method:

1. In a large bowl, mix the warm milk, yeast, honey, melted butter and salt and give it a thorough mix. 
2. Add the flour and combine into a dough.
3. Transfer to a clean worksurface and knead for at least 10 minutes, until the dough is silky and smooth. 
4. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover. Leave to rise for around an hour or until doubled in size. 
5. Once risen, punch down the dough and divide into 6 even sized rolls - about 95g each.
6. Roll each bit of dough into a tight ball. I do this by pinching the dough into the middle so it becomes taught, then placing the bottom onto a surface and rolling under a cupped hand for around 15 seconds. You should be left with a neat ball. 
7. Pre-heat the oven to 190 C (fan)
8. Let these rest for around 15 minutes and cut 18 strips of string, each about 30 cm long. 
9. Carefully place 3 strips of string, evenly spread under each dough ball to create the pumpkin ridge pattern. This can be really tricky to do, so I did one dough ball at a time - I carefully lifted each one up every time I tied string around it, eventually forming 6 'segments'. 
10. Don't tie too tightly, as you are then going to leave the buns to prove for another 30-35 minutes. As they expand, the strings will pinch the dough in, creating that pumpkin shape! 
11. Once you have done all 6, dust a little flour over the top of each roll.
12. Bake for around 25 minutes, until a lovely golden brown, then remove from the oven and leave to cool. 
13. Once cool enough to touch, carefully snip the string and remove it from the roll. 
14. Pop one cashew nut into the top of each roll - it is easier to use a skewer to create a small hole first. 
15. Serve on their own, or with some delicious soup! 
16. Enjoy!