Pumpkin Dinner Rolls

Place warm milk and 1 teaspoon of the honey in a small bowl. Sprinkle yeast on top. Allow to activate for 5 minutes.

Place milk mixture and remaining ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Switch to the dough hook. Knead on medium-low speed for 15 minutes. You can add more flour if dough is extremely wet, but dough should be quite sticky and won’t clean the sides of the bowl completely.

Scrape dough into a large, generously greased bowl. Cover and allow to rise until doubled, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 

Scoop dough out onto a piece of parchment paper or a greased work surface. Divide dough into 15 to 24 pieces, depending on how large of rolls you prefer. Using buttered hands, shape the pieces into balls by first pinching the edges into the center, then rolling the ball on your work surface to create surface tension. Place in a greased 13×9-inch pan or 10- to 12-inch cast iron skillet. 

Cover with a tea towel and allow to rise until the rolls fill the pan, about 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Half an hour before the rolls are done proofing, preheat oven to 375° F. Bake risen rolls for 25–30 minutes, or until golden and an instant read thermometer registers 200° F when inserted into the center of one of the rolls.

Allow to cool in the pan for 10 minutes. Invert onto a cooling rack to cool further. Serve warm or at room temperature (with butter, of course!).

Notes:
• If you use instant yeast instead of active dry, there’s no need to activate it first. Simply put all of the ingredients in the bowl and knead.
• These rolls work with a smaller amount of canned pumpkin as well. If you only have an extra cup hanging around from another baking project, you can use that and increase the milk to 1 cup.
• Because the dough is quite sticky, it’s best to knead it using a machine. If you do decide to knead by hand, add more flour and use wet or greased hands.
• You can either divide the dough into 15 pieces and bake in a 13×9-inch pan (arrange them 3 across and 5 down), or divide them into smaller pieces and bake them in two smaller pans or skillets.