Pumpkin Shaped Bread (with Cream Cheese Filling)
What is Pumpkin Shaped Bread?
Pumpkin shaped bread is a soft, enriched, lightly sweet roll that’s tied with heat-safe kitchen twine before baking so it emerges with ridges like a real pumpkin. This version is scented with pumpkin pie spices and real pumpkin purée for color, aroma, and moisture. After baking, each bun is brushed with butter and rolled in cinnamon sugar for a doughnut-shop finish, then crowned with a small piece of cinnamon stick to mimic a stem. You can keep the buns plain or add a subtle, tangy layer of flavor with a whipped cream-cheese filling tucked inside before shaping.
The dough is designed to be supple and slightly sticky, which bakes up into tender crumb. A short bench rest relaxes the gluten so the pieces round easily; a long proof builds flavor and gives you those dramatic oven springs that hold the pumpkin grooves after the twine is removed. Because we use instant yeast, the mix is straightforward—no separate proofing step required—as long as your liquids are room temperature.
Why These Ratios Work
Enriched breads balance liquid, fat, and flour to stay soft without turning dense. Here, pumpkin purée and milk team up as the primary hydration: the milk brings lactose for browning and a tender crumb, while pumpkin adds pectin and natural sugars for softness and color. Butter is added directly with the first half of the flour; incorporating fat early helps shorten gluten strands for a plush interior. A blend of baking spices—cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and a whisper of clove (or anise)—keeps the flavor distinctively autumnal without overpowering the dough’s yeasty sweetness.
The bake is hot and short (200°C / about 395°F for 10–15 minutes) to set the exterior before the interior dries out. That’s especially important here because the buns are small and the strings create insulated “ridges” that brown fast.
Step-by-Step Instructions
1) Make the Dough
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle (or dough hook), stir together room-temperature milk and instant yeast until dissolved. Add the sugar, egg, pumpkin purée, all spices (or pumpkin pie spice), half of the flour, and the room-temperature butter in pieces. Mix until a shaggy, sticky dough forms, scraping the bowl as needed. Switch to the dough hook if you started with the paddle.
Add the salt and the remaining flour gradually. Knead on medium-low until the dough is smooth, stretchy, and still slightly tacky—about 10–15 minutes by mixer or 20–25 minutes by hand. A tacky dough is correct: it yields softer buns. Cover and rest 20 minutes to relax the gluten.
2) Make the Cream-Cheese Filling (optional but excellent)
Beat the cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, and spice until smooth and spreadable. Chill 10–15 minutes; a cool filling is easier to enclose and won’t leak.
3) Portion, Fill, and Round
Divide the dough into 17 equal pieces. Keep them covered with a towel to prevent drying. Working one at a time, flatten a piece into a 3–4-inch round. If using the filling, add a rounded teaspoon to the center, then pinch edges firmly to seal and roll into a tight ball with the seam underneath. If not using filling, simply round each piece into a smooth ball.
4) Tie for the Pumpkin Shape
Cut 4 pieces of heat-safe kitchen twine (~6–8 inches / 15–20 cm) for each bun. Arrange the strings in a crisscross (like a snowflake), lightly flour the surface, and place a dough ball seam-side down in the center. Bring the ends up and tie each pair loosely at the top—snug enough to create gentle indentations but loose enough to allow expansion (if tied tight, the strings will bake into the dough). Trim excess.
5) Proof
Transfer tied buns to parchment-lined baking sheets, about six per sheet for airflow. Cover lightly and proof at room temperature until noticeably puffy, 2–3 hours depending on ambient warmth. The dough should spring back slowly when touched.
6) Bake
Heat the oven to 200°C (about 395°F; use 400°F if your oven does not have 395°F). Bake one sheet at a time on the center rack for 10–15 minutes, until the tops are a deep golden brown and the bottoms sound hollow when tapped. Smaller buns will finish closer to 10 minutes; larger buns can take the full 15.
7) Cool, Untie, and Finish
Cool on a rack until warm but handleable. Snip and gently remove all strings, pulling away from the ridges to avoid tearing. For the finishing coat, melt the butter. In a separate shallow bowl, combine sugar and cinnamon. Brush each warm bun generously with butter, making sure to get into the creases, then hold over the sugar bowl and spoon the cinnamon sugar to coat every surface. Set on a rack to set.
For the “stem,” insert a short piece of cinnamon stick into the center of each bun. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Tips & Troubleshooting
- Strings: Only use undyed, food-safe cotton kitchen twine. Synthetic string can melt. Tie loosely; the dough needs space to expand.
- Stickiness is good: Resist the urge to add lots of extra flour. A slightly tacky dough bakes into softer buns.
- Even size: Weigh portions (about 55–60 g each) for uniform baking and matching pumpkin shapes.
- Leak-proof filling: Keep the filling cool and pinch seams firmly underneath. If any cream cheese peeks out, dab with a bit of flour before tying.
- Make-ahead: Shaped, tied buns can proof overnight in the refrigerator. Bake straight from cold, adding 2–3 minutes as needed.
- Storage: Best the day made. Store airtight at room temperature up to 1 day or refrigerate up to 3 days. Rewarm at 300°F (150°C) for 6–8 minutes.
Enjoy!
With plush, spiced crumb; sparkling cinnamon-sugar crust; and that whimsical stem on top, these pumpkin shaped breads deliver equal parts flavor and charm. Serve them for brunch, tuck them into lunchboxes, or pass a basket at your fall gatherings—they’re guaranteed to disappear fast.
Pumpkin Shaped Bread (with optional cream cheese filling)
Ingredients
Dough
- 8 g instant dry yeast about 2¼ tsp
- ½ cup 120 ml milk, room temperature
- 100 g pumpkin purée about ½ cup
- 1 large egg room temperature
- ½ cup 100 g granulated sugar
- 4 cups 480 g all-purpose flour, divided
- 2½ tsp pumpkin pie spice or 1 tsp cinnamon + ½ tsp nutmeg + 1 tsp cardamom + ¼ tsp ground cloves a pinch of anise optional
- ½ tsp fine salt
- 100 g unsalted butter room temperature, in pieces
Cream Cheese Filling (optional)
- 150 g cream cheese
- ½ cup 100 g brown sugar
- 2 tbsp 30 g pumpkin purée
- 1 tsp pumpkin pie spice or ¼ tsp cinnamon + ⅛ tsp nutmeg + ¼ tsp cardamom + ⅛ tsp ground cloves
Cinnamon-Sugar Finish
- 100 g unsalted butter melted
- 1 cup 200 g granulated sugar
- 3 tbsp ground cinnamon
- Short pieces of cinnamon stick for stems
- Heat-safe cotton kitchen twine 4 pieces per bun
Instructions
- Mix dough: In mixer bowl, stir yeast into milk. Add sugar, egg, pumpkin purée, spices, half the flour, and butter. Mix to a sticky mass. Add salt and remaining flour; knead until smooth, stretchy, and slightly tacky (10–15 min by mixer). Rest 20 minutes.
- Make filling (optional): Beat cream cheese, brown sugar, pumpkin purée, and spice until smooth. Chill briefly.
- Portion: Divide dough into 17 pieces. Flatten, add 1 tsp filling (if using), pinch to seal, and round into balls.
- Tie: Arrange four lengths of twine in a crisscross. Set a dough ball seam-down in the center. Tie strings loosely to create pumpkin “ridges.” Place on parchment-lined sheets (about 6 per sheet).
- Proof: Cover and rise at room temperature until puffy, 2–3 hours.
- Bake: Heat oven to 200°C / 395°F (use 400°F if needed). Bake 10–15 minutes until deep golden. Cool until warm, then snip and remove strings.
- Finish: Melt butter. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Brush each bun generously with butter, then spoon cinnamon sugar over all sides and into creases. Insert a small piece of cinnamon stick as a stem.
- Serve: Best slightly warm. Store airtight (see notes).
Notes
- Tie strings loosely; tight strings will cut the dough or bake into it.
- For overnight proof, refrigerate tied buns on trays. Bake straight from cold, adding a couple of minutes.
- Rewarm at 300°F / 150°C for 6–8 minutes to refresh the crumb.
- The filling is optional; buns are also excellent plain with just the cinnamon-sugar finish.
