Pumpkin and raisin bread roll

 This pumpkin and raisin bread roll has been enriched with a variety of wholegrains (oats, wholemeal flour) and sweetened naturally with pumpkin and raisin. 

Feel free to substitute chia seeds with other seeds like flaxseed or poppy seeds. I use chia seeds here because it is rich in Omega 3 and has high fibre content. This bread roll has high soluble fibre content, thus it keeps you full for longer.

MAKES 12 rolls
PREPARATION AND COOKING TIME: 2 hours 40 minutes

BAKING IDEAS

Baking your own bread at home is not difficult at all.  Just dump all the ingredients into a heavy duty mixer and leave it to knead for 10 minutes. 

Let it rest for at least an hour before shaping them. If you don’t have time for that, just leave them as a loaf. Let it proof for at least another hour before baking it in the oven. If you love waking up to the smell of freshly baked bread, you can even leave the bread overnight for second proofing in the refrigerator. 

In the morning, take out the bread from the fridge and put it on the top rack of a cool oven. Put a tray of hot water at the bottom rack of the oven and leave the bread to warm up for 30 minutes.  This helps to activate the yeast again.

 Pop it in the oven for 15 minutes and you can have freshly baked bread in the morning! This is great for a Sunday breakfast/brunch.

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ingredients

190 g   (1½ cup) bread flour
140 g   (1 cup) wholemeal flour
75 g     (¾ cup) wholegrain oats
150 g   (1/8 small) pumpkin, steamed and mashed
2 tbsp  cooking oil
2 tbsp  sugar
1 tsp    instant dried yeast
150-200 ml      lukewarm water
½ tsp   salt
4 tbsp  chia seeds
40 g     (¼ cup) raisins

TOPPING
1 tbsp wholegrain oats
1 tbsp chia seeds
1 tbsp almond flakes

method

TO MAKE THE BREAD DOUGH:
Put the flour, oats, pumpkin, oil, sugar, yeast and water into a heavy duty mixer. Using a dough hook, knead the mixture for 5-10 minutes, or until it forms an elastic ball of dough. If you do not have a mixer, you can knead by hand for 10-15 minutes.  Add in the salt, chia seed and raisins and continue to knead the dough until they are well mixed. Cover the dough with a damp kitchen towel and leave the dough to proof for at least an hour in a warm place. 

TO SHAPE THE BREAD ROLLS:
Put the dough on a floured cutting board and divide them into 12 portions. Roll each dough portion into long cylinder rolls and coil them up. Line a baking tray with silicon paper. Arrange the bread rolls on the baking tray. Cover the rolls with a damp kitchen towel and leave them to proof for at least another hour in a warm place. 

TO BAKE THE BREAD ROLLS:  
Preheat the oven to 190˚C for 10 minutes. Put a tray of water at the bottom rack of the oven. Spray the top of the rolls with some water and sprinkle the top with a mix of oat, chia seeds and almond flakes. Bake the bread on the top rack for 15-20 minutes or until the bread turns golden brown. Take the bread out to cool on a wire rack and serve.