These whimsical buns are infused with flavours of garlic, onion, and cinnamon, capturing the essence of the season. They not only embrace the fall spirit but also offer a delightful change from the ordinary, bringing joy, happiness and conversation to the dining table. Crafting these buns during this time of year has become a cherished tradition. When sliced open and paired with your preferred filling alongside a steaming bowl of soup, they transform into a comforting, heartwarming, and beautiful meal on a crisp autumn evening. These buns can also easily be made vegan with a simple exchange of two ingredients.
Prep time: 1h 30m
Bake time: 20m
Total time: 1h 50m
As the leaves change colours and the air turns crisp, there's nothing quite like the warm aroma of freshly baked goods to welcome the autumn season. And what better way to celebrate fall than with adorable and delicious pumpkin-shaped buns? These delightful treats not only look like tiny pumpkins but also bring a burst of flavor to your taste buds. In this blog, I'll show you how to create these charming buns that are perfect for Halloween parties or a comforting dinner.
Can these buns be made vegan?
The buns can easily be made vegan and will taste equally delicious with little to no change to the texture.
All you have to do is replace two ingredients, using the same quantity as the recipe calls for. These ingredients are:
Substitute milk for unsweetened soy milk
Substitute butter for dairy-free
Tips and tricks
Preparing the strings To prepare the strings, you need to coat them in olive oil. this will prevent them from sticking to the buns when you have to remove them after baking.
Shaping the buns While it might seem quite complicated, these buns are fairly easy to shape. You just place the bun in the middle of the string, bring the strings to the top and cross them over, turn the bun around and cross the strings over again until you have done so 4 times to create a pumpkin shape. You don't have to pull the strings and make it tight, the shape will form as the buns rise. Once you have a pumpkin shape, tie a knot and cut off the access string.
Removing the strings To remove the strings, wait until the buns are cool enough to handle, then cut off the string from the top and slide them off
Seasoned Fall buns Recipe
Prep time: | 1 hour 30 minutes |
Cook time | 20 minutes |
Total time: | 1 hour 50 minutes |
Yields | 8 buns |
Ingredients
1¾ cups + 2 tbsp or 400 grams of breadflour (plain flour will work as a substitute)
3 tablespoons of sugar
1 cup of warm milk
1 packet or 8 grams of instant dry yeast
3 teaspoons of salt
1 teaspoon of onion powder
1 teaspoon of garlic powder
1/3 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons of butter
8 small cinnamon sticks
Mix all the ingredients together besides the butters until they come together in a stand mixer with the dough hook or by hand. The appearance will be shaggy and that is okay.
Cover and allow to sit in a warm place for 20 minutes.
Place the bowl back on the stand mixer and mix for 12 minutes. The dough should be nice and soft.
Place the dough in an oiled bowl and allow to rise for 60-90 minutes or until doubled in size.
Meanwhile, cut eight pieces of string that are 1 meter long, and coat them in olive oil.
Punch the dough down to remove the air bubbles and cut the dough into 8 equal parts. Now shape them into balls.
Place 1 bun in the middle of the string, bring the strings to the top and cross them over, turn the bun around and cross the strings over again until you have done so 4 times to create a pumpkin shape. You don't have to pull the strings and make it tight, the shape will form as the buns rise. Once you have a pumpkin shape, tie a knot and cut off the access string and place the bun on a baking sheet. Repeat this step for all the rest of the buns. Do not place the buns too close to each other, they will raise in the oven and may stick together.
Cover the buns gently and completely with a tea towel and allow to sit for 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 350%
Brush some milk or egg-wash over the top of the buns and bake for 17-20 minutes or until the buns are slightly golden over the top.
Remove from the tray and allow them to cool until you can touch them without burning your fingers. To remove the strings, cut off the string from the top and slide them off.
Place a cinnamon stick at the centre of each bun.
Brush with melted butter to add a shine and enjoy with soup or fill with your favourite sandwich stuffings!.