Pumpkins Buns

I made these sunshine buns again recently in a baking session with baking enthusiasts. I have sessions like this monthly and it is really very satisfying seeing the faces of my new found friends light up when they see the end-results of their labor of love. 

In this round, most of them have not made their own bread before and I must say they did very well at learning how to shape buns. They look very rounded and nicely tucked in that you won't believe that this was their first attempt at bread making. Well done everyone! And unlike the last time I made the ones with red bean filling, this time I did not forget to add in the brown sugar and I also added some extra "Nutritious" boost to it too. But, if you do want to use any filling, you can refer to the post here.

So, I am sharing some of pictures from this Life Enthusiast© session for my own pleasure and for my great "students" when this blog is officially "launched" in the future... Hehe! 

My work station 

The students' work station

Again, the dough is so easy to manage and the golden-yellow hue that comes from the pumpkin used, depends on how intense is the natural yellow of the pumpkin flesh. The local pumpkin that I bought this time was of a lovely orange hue after steaming and the dough turned out not as "yellow" as the usual pumpkin buns that I made, which is sometimes like the color of "tumeric".

See how nicely shaped they are? 

Another great thing about these buns is that you can shape immediately after kneading and then only allow the dough to rise for another 30 minutes. 

Egg washed and ready for some sunflower seeds topping

For the egg wash, I would usually use a whole egg (lightly beaten) and add a tablespoon of water for a light shine after baking. Just remember that, the more yolk you use, the darker the glaze will be as it will brown faster. Also, try to use a wide brush to apply the egg wash over the dough and do it in a one (OK, this is not always easy, but try to minimize the number of strokes) direction when you stroke over the dough. Most people (me included in the beginning) egg wash their dough like a water color brush and when you brush the egg wash left and right too many times, you risk the browning to be uneven. 

So lovely and golden! 

In the session, I also showed them how to make cupcakes but silly me... I completely forgot (yes... again) to add in the baking soda and baking powder into the batter until the batter was all ready to be scooped into the cupcakes cups. So, the cupcakes ended up looking speckled with tiny brown dots caused by the uneven mixing of the last 2 ingredients. Sigh... So my cuppies didn't turn out pretty. But Oh-My-God they were so, so, so soft and cottony in texture! I actually substituted 2 ingredients with something that I've not used before and the cupcakes were heavenly! Really yummy! So, that made up for the less than flawless ''complexion". I will be making these again soon and I will share the recipe then, OK? :)

For now, here is the slightly updated recipe:

Ingredients:

500g ~ Bread flour

100g ~ Brown sugar 

1 teaspoon ~ Salt

2 tablespoons ~ Protein powder (16 g of protein added! Booster yo!)

2 teaspoons ~ Yeast

2 ~ Eggs

40g ~Fresh Milk

100g ~ Whipping cream

120g ~ Pumpkin puree

60g ~ Butter

Pumpkin seeds (optional)

Chia seeds(optional)

Directions:

1. Mix all the ingredients except butter and knead till well mixed for 10 minutes. I used my beloved  
    bread maker.

2. Add in butter and knead till the dough turns elastic and does not stick to the hands.

3. Divide the dough into 16 equal parts. 

4. Shape the dough into round shapes and place into a greased 9"x11" baking pan.

5. Let it rest for 30 mins or until it doubles in size.

6. Egg wash the dough and sprinkle some pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds on top for garnishing.

7. Bake at a preheated oven at 180 deg C for 15 mins.