Description
Soft and fluffy Butternut Squash Milk Bread Rolls made with steamed mashed butternut squash, a blend of bread and cake flour, milk, butter, and honey for a subtly sweet and moist dinner roll perfect for any meal.
Ingredients
Scale
Dough
- 200 g butternut squash (about ¾ cup after steamed and mashed)
- 185 g cold milk (¾ cup)
- 1½ teaspoon instant yeast (preferably SAF instant yeast)
- 450 g bread flour (3½ cups)
- 50 g cake flour (⅓ cup) (optional, see notes)
- 45 g fine sugar (3 tbsp)
- 20 g honey or sweetened condensed milk (1 tbsp)
- ¾ teaspoon sea salt
- 45 g unsalted butter (3 tbsp, cold and cut into 6 pieces)
Brushing
- ½ tablespoon melted butter
- ½ tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
Instructions
- Prepare Butternut Squash: Cut the butternut squash into cubes and steam for 20 minutes until completely softened. Use the part near the seeds for sweeter flavor, then mash with a fork and let cool completely. Should yield about ¾ cup mashed squash. Chill in fridge for a few hours if time permits.
- Mix Dough Ingredients: In a stand mixer, combine the mashed squash and cold milk, mixing gently with a spatula to roughly combine. Add yeast, bread flour, cake flour, sugar, and honey or sweetened condensed milk. Mix on medium-low speed until a rough dough forms. Cover and let rest for 20-30 minutes.
- Add Salt and Knead: Remove butter from fridge and cut into pieces. Add salt to the dough and knead for 1 minute. Add butter cubes one at a time and continue kneading until dough is smooth, silky, and passes the windowpane test. This takes about 8 minutes with a mixer; scrape the bowl sides as needed. If dough is too sticky to handle, add a little bread flour and knead 1-2 more minutes.
- First Proof: Form dough into a ball and place in a lightly greased bowl. Cover and let rise in a warm place (80°F to 90°F) for about 1 hour until doubled in size.
- Divide and Rest: Transfer dough to work surface, cut into 20 even pieces (or fewer for larger rolls). Cover and let rest for 5 minutes.
- Shape Rolls and Second Proof: Shape each piece into a ball and place on a lined baking pan spaced ¼-½ inch apart. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place (80°F to 90°F) for about 1 hour until doubled.
- Preheat Oven and Bake: Preheat oven to 350°F during the last 20 minutes of proofing. Bake the rolls for 16 minutes.
- Brush and Final Bake: Mix melted butter with maple syrup (if using). Remove rolls from oven and quickly brush with this mixture. Return to oven and bake for an additional 2-3 minutes.
- Cool and Serve: Transfer rolls to a cooling rack and cool for 10 minutes before serving. The flavor improves as they cool completely.
Notes
- Adding cake flour results in softer, more delicate rolls. If unavailable, replace cake flour with bread flour.
- Use the sweeter part of butternut squash near the seeds for better flavor.
- Chilling the mashed squash before mixing helps dough consistency.
- If dough is too sticky to handle, add small amounts of bread flour gradually.
- Proofing in a warm place between 80°F to 90°F is ideal for yeast activity.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 roll (approximately 50g)
- Calories: 140 kcal
- Sugar: 3.5 g
- Sodium: 110 mg
- Fat: 4.5 g
- Saturated Fat: 2.8 g
- Unsaturated Fat: 1.2 g
- Trans Fat: 0 g
- Carbohydrates: 22 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 3 g
- Cholesterol: 15 mg
