Sourdough Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Build the Levain
In a clean jar, mix the sourdough starter, bread flour, and water.
Cover and set in a warm location (between 75-80ºF) for about five hours until it is at least doubled and bubbly.
Alternatively, skip this step and mix 120g of active sourdough starter into your dough.
40 grams Sourdough Starter, 40 grams Bread Flour, 40 grams Water
Mix the Dough
Scald the milk in a small saucepan until just about boiling, remove from the heat, and let it cool to just warm or room temperature.
Add the bread flour and salt to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
Then, add the pumpkin puree, honey, cooled milk, egg, and all of levain to the bowl.
Mix on low speed for a few minutes until the flour is incorporated and the dough comes together.
120 grams Whole Milk, 183 grams Pumpkin Puree, 1 Egg, Levain, 500 grams Bread Flour, 50 grams Honey, 10 grams Kosher Salt
Add the Butter and Mix
Slice the room-temperature butter into pieces and while continuing to mix the dough on medium speed, add one piece of softened butter to the bowl at a time until each piece is fully incorporated into the dough.
Continue to mix the dough for 10-15 more minutes until the dough passes the windowpane test, is smooth, tacky, and easily slides off of the dough hook.
85 grams Unsalted Butter
Bulk Fermentation
Transfer the dough to a medium bowl, cover, and place it in a warm location for bulk fermentation. At 78ºF, bulk fermentation takes about 6 hours (longer if cooler).
Bulk fermentation is complete when the dough is doubled, domed in the bowl, and smooth.
Overnight Proof (optional)
Cover the bowl and place it into a refrigerator to proof overnight and up to 48 hours.
Shape
Butter or grease your 9" square baking pan and set aside.
Punch down the cold dough and weigh the total amount and divide that number by 16. This is how much each roll should weigh (mine are usually about 70g each).
Use a bench scraper to divide the dough into 16 pieces. Then, use the palm of your hand to shape them into round spheres.
Final Proof
Place the 16 dinner rolls in the greased pan and cover for the final proof.
At 78ºF, the final proof takes about 3.5-4 hours. The rolls are finished proofing when they're doubled in size and puffy. If you poke the rolls with a floured finger, it should leave a slight indentation and feel full of air.
Bake
Preheat the oven to 375ºF (191ºC).
Beat an egg with a splash of water in a small bowl and brush the tops with egg wash. Sprinkle optional pumpkin seeds on top.
Bake for 25-28 minutes or until the tops are deep golden brown and the internal dough temperature reads 200ºF (93ºC). Cover with foil if they're browning too quickly.
While they bake, mix the honey and melted butter together in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the rolls with the honey butter glaze when they come out of the oven while hot.
Cool on a wire rack for 15 minutes, then turn them out of the pan to finish cooling on a wire rack before serving.
1 Egg, 28 grams Unsalted Butter, 21 grams Honey, Pumpkin Seeds

Sourdough Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Equipment

Ingredients

Levain

Sourdough Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Honey Butter Glaze

Instructions

Notes