Cinnamon Pumpkin Crescent Rolls - HBinFive

Today in the bread-baking blog, we're featuring Cinnamon Pumpkin Crescent Rolls made with Healthy Bread in Five Minutes Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough! These rolls are excellent!  They are a healthier alternative to canned cinnamon rolls because they're made with 40% whole wheat flour.  These cinnamon crescent rolls would make a great dessert for your Holiday meal (or any meal for that matter).

 

One of the things I like about the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes' method is that you can prepare the dough ahead of time and it will last for several days in the refrigerator.  So, all you have to do when you want to bake bread, is take the dough out of the refrigerator, cut off the amount you need, shape it into the type of bread you want to make, let is rise, then bake it. How easy is that?

 

I also think the Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough would work well for savory pumpkin crescent rolls. Just follow the instructions for the cinnamon version but leave off the cinnamon sugar mixture and the icing.  I made a similar version last year.  Here is the recipe and instructions for making savory Pumpkin Crescent Rolls.

Cinnamon Pumpkin Crescent Rolls

Made with Healthy Bread in Five Minutes Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough

 

Ingredients:

• Pumpkin Pie Brioche Dough (I used about 1 1/2 pounds of dough)
• Cinnamon sugar
• Egg (for egg wash if desired)
• Raw sugar (for sprinkling on top if desired)
• Powdered Sugar Glaze (optional)

 

Directions:

 

To make these crescent rolls, just cut off the amount of dough you need from the dough you have stored in the refrigerator. I had saved 1 1/2 pounds for the rolls so I just used the rest of the dough.

 

Dust the dough with flour and shape it into a ball.

 

 

The book states to roll out the dough until it is a 1/8-inch thick rectangle and use enough flour to prevent the dough from sticking to th work surface.  However, 1/8-inch thick is a little bit too thin.  I ended up rolling out the dough (and shaping it back into a ball) a few times because each time I rolled it out, it stuck to the counter.

 

 

Spread the cinnamon-sugar mixture evenly over the dough.

 

 

Cut the dough into 8 smaller rectangles by making 3 evenly spaced cuts along the length of the dough.

 

Then cut the dough in half along the short end.

 

 

Cut the 8 rectangles into 2 triangles each.

 

 

Roll the dough starting at the thicker end, until the point is tucked under the bottom.  Curve the ends to create the crescent shape and place on a greased baking pan.  This part was a little bit tricky.  The dough was still sticking to the counter so I was focusing on shaping and didn't get photos of this process.

 

 

Cover the rolls loosely with plastic wrap and let them rest about 40 minutes.

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and place the rack in the center of the oven.

At this point, you can brush the tops of the rolls with an egg wash and sprinkle with raw sugar but I decided to leave them plain until after they were baked. Bake the rolls about 20 to 25 minutes, until golden brown and well set in center.

 

Remove the crescents from the oven and let them cool on a wire rack.

 

I didn't have any cream cheese to make the icing listed in the book so I made a powdered sugar glaze flavored with lemon extract.

Powdered Sugar Glaze:

• 4 cups Powdered Sugar
• 1 teaspoon lemon or orange extract
• 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk.

Sift 4 cups of powdered sugar into a bowl.  Add 1 teaspoon of lemon or orange extract and 6 tablespoons to 1/2 cup of warm milk, briskly whisking until all of the sugar is dissolved.  Add the milk slowly and only as much as is needed to make a thick, smooth paste.

Drizzle the powdered-sugar glaze over the tops of the crescent rolls by dipping the tines of a fork or whisk into the glaze and waving the fork over the tops.

 

Enjoy!!!!

 

 

Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog.

Happy Baking!
Cathy

 

Here are some other Pumpkin Bread Recipes and Roll Recipes for your holiday bread-baking enjoyment.

Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath

This week in the bread-baking blog, we're featuring two Holiday Pumpkin Breads made with the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough. The first bread is a Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath and the second is Cinnamon Pumpkin Crescent Rolls.  This post focuses on the braided wreath.

You might also enjoy the Holiday Pumpkin Bread we featured in the bread-baking blog last November. It's a little bit different than the bread we're featuring today in that it utilizes a kneaded rather than a no knead dough.

Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath

The recipe for the dough can be found here.

My first batch of no knead pumpkin pie brioche dough was so soft, I couldn't shape it into anything except regular loaves.  I decided to give it another try.  The second time around, the consistency of the dough turned out much better (click here for details) so, I thought it would be fun to try a different shape. I've already made and posted about a braided pumpkin bread this season, so I wanted to take it a step further and shape the braid into a wreath.


Let's get started ...


For the Braided Holiday Pumpkin Wreath, we'll roll the dough out into 3 logs, braid the logs, shape the braid into a wreath and place it in the pan to rise. Then it's into the oven to bake.


Shaping the Loaf

Take the dough out of the refrigerator, dust with flour and cut off a one-pound piece.  Divide the dough into three equal pieces.

Roll each piece into a log about 18 inches long.  Make a braid with the three logs and pinch the ends together.

Coil the braid into a lightly greased 8" or 9" cake pan, shaping it into a wreath-like circle and pressing the ends together where they meet. Cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the wreath rise for about 90 minutes.

Bake the bread in a preheated 350°F oven for 30 minutes, until lightly browned. I brushed the wreath with an egg wash part way through the baking cycle so the bread would brown nicely. 

Remove the wreaths from the oven, and allow them to cool on a rack. 

 

Enjoy your beautiful wreath plain with butter or drizzle a powder sugar glaze over it and sprinkle with nuts.  I decided to keep my wreath plain so I could serve it as a savory bread.  You could also make French toast or bread pudding with this bread.

Happy Baking!
Cathy 

Pumpkin Pie Brioche: HBinFive

 

An enthusiastic group of bakers has joined with Michelle of BigBlackDogs to bake all of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book.

Well, of course The Bread Experience is joining in the fun! The challenge doesn't officially begin until January due to everyone's hectic schedule during the holidays; however, the authors have provided us with some bonus breads to bake in the meantime.

The featured bread for November is Pumpkin Pie Brioche.

 

Pumpkin Pie Brioche

This is a new book so they requested that no recipes from the book be posted on the Internet; however, the authors shared this recipe for the bread bake.

Ingredients:

To view the recipe and list of ingredients, click here.

Makes:  Enough dough for at least two 2-pound loaves. The recipe is easily doubled or halved.

 

Directions:

1st Attempt: Tuesday, Nov 10th

This was my first attempt at making any of the breads in the Healthy Bread in Five Minutes book.  I made the brioche with home-milled white wheat flour and commercial all-purpose flour. The first time I made the dough, I used vegetable oil and roasted pumpkin puree that I prepared and froze last December. The dough was really wet but the loaf turned out a little bit dry.  You can see in the picture below.  It tasted great; however, I thought it should be a little bit softer.

Although my first attempt with the bread seemed dry at first, it actually softened up a bit the next day.  I tried it as French Toast, as regular toast with homemade peach butter and as a PB&J sandwich (with yummy pear butter).  It tasted great each time!  My test for loaf breads is whether or not the bread tastes good as a PB&J and this one definitely does... even though it fell apart with every bite. ;)

I decided to make this bread again with some substitutions to see the difference.  I've documented my second attempt below:

2nd Attempt: Saturday, Nov. 14th

For my second attempt at this brioche, I used a combination of home-milled flour and commercial flour again but this time I weighed it to make sure I had the right amount.  I had this same issue with other no knead breads I've made recently so I've found that the key to working with these types of bread is to the weigh the flour and not rely on the measuring cup.  I can usually get away with just using a measuring cup for kneaded breads because it's pretty easy to adjust the water/flour ratio when you're kneading the dough.

I also used less water this time. Instead of 1 1/4 cups of water, I used 3/4 cup and freshly roasted pureed pumpkin instead of thawed puree.  These changes made a big difference. The dough was much easier to work with.

Mixing and storing the dough:

Whisk together the flours, yeast, salt and vital wheat gluten in a 5-quart bowl, or a lidded (not airtight) food container. Add the remaining ingredients and mix without kneading. I started out using a wooden spoon, then switched to my Danish dough whisk. 

 

The dough will be loose, but it will firm up when chilled (don’t try to use it without chilling).  Cover, and allow to rest at room temperature until dough rises and collapses, approximately 2 hours.

 

Refrigerate in a non-airtight lidded container and use over the next 5 days.  I left the dough in the bowl, covered with plastic wrap and placed it in the refrigerator since I was planning on making it the next day anyway.

 

On baking day, grease a brioche or 8½x4½-inch non-stick loaf pan. Cut off a 2-pound piece of dough. 

 

Dust with flour and quickly shape it into a ball.  

Place the ball (or spread the dough) in the prepared pan and allow to rest for 90 minutes.

 

 

Preheat the oven to 350°F.  Using a pastry brush to paint the loaf’s top with egg wash and sprinkle with sugar.  I did the egg wash but I didn't have any raw sugar so I just sprinkled it with granulated sugar.  It made it brown a little more. 

 

Bake near the center of the oven for approximately 45 minutes.  Brioche will not form a hard crackling crust. Loaf is done when medium brown and firm. Smaller or larger loaves will require adjustments in resting and baking time. Remove from the pan and allow to cool before slicing or eating.

 

The second batch was much softer.  I just had a slice! The texture was much softer and the spices came through much more prominent in this batch. Yummy!

I'll probably use this loaf for bread pudding.  In fact, I already cut up the bread pieces and put them in the freezer. Here is a recipe for bread pudding if you would like to try your hand at making bread pudding.  I've never made it before so I'll let you know how it goes...

 

You might enjoy some of the other breads I’ve made using the Pumpkin Pie Brioche dough.  This is one of my favorite HBn5 doughs.

Honey Caramel Sticky Nut Buns

 

Pear Tarte Tatin

 

Thanks for visiting The Bread Experience Bread-Baking Blog. We hope you enjoyed your visit and will join us again next time.

Happy Baking!
Cathy