Christmas Tree Buns

When I saw this beautiful Christmas-tree shaped pumpkin rolls made by Jeannie of The Baking Diary, I was drawn to it. Firstly because I love pumpkin rolls and secondly, I thought it was a fabulous idea to serve rolls this way for a Christmas dinner. 

It doesn't take a lot of extra effort to arrange the buns into shape of a Christmas tree and it can be beautifully decorated for your Christmas lunch or dinner. You can use any bread roll recipe but I particularly liked this pumpkin one because pumpkin imparts a sweetness to the bread without the need for additional sugar. 

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and have a great time with your loved ones!

Pumpkin Rolls
Recipe from The Baking Diary

Ingredients:

Water Roux
15 g bread flour
75 g water

Main Dough
150 g pumpkin puree
2½ cup bread flour
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoon dry milk
½ teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon dry yeast
¼ cup water
1½ tablespoon butter (softened or use 1.5 tbsp of oil)

Method:

Water Roux

In a small pan, mix all the ingredients of water roux, place in a low heat and stir constantly until the temperature reach 65C (150F), or if you do not have a thermometer, cook until ripples form. Set aside to cool by covering with a plastic film.

Dough

• In the bread machine bucket, add the water roux, and all the other ingredients, except for the butter.
• Turn the machine to knead mode until it forms soft dough, slightly sticky. Add more water of flour as needed since the content of water will vary between different pumpkin puree. Add the butter and let it knead until the butter incorporates to the dough.
• Remove the dough and place in a bowl by covering with a plastic film.
• Let both dough proof until the dough double to its original size.
• Knock back the dough and weigh 35 g each and roll into a smooth roll and shape your tree on the baking sheet. You will need a total of 19 balls.  
• Let it proof for another 30-45 mins. Brush some melted butter on top of the buns, sprinkle/scatter the chopped rosemary and then add some sea salt on top. 
• Cover the pan and bake in a preheated oven of 350 F (175 C) for approximately 25 minutes. Cool on a rack.

I am submitting this to the "Baby Sumo's Christmas Recipes Collection 2013" event here.