Pumpkin Shaped Buns with Jalapeno and Cheddar Cheese

The original base recipe comes from Sally's baking addiction and is for her soft dinner rolls so check it out if you just want to see her full recipe.

If you want to have a cute side dish for the holidays, these are it! They are a bit tricky to make but the more you make them, the easier it gets. The jalapeno and cheese make the buns more flavourful but can be left out if you're not a big fan of the heat. 

INGREDIENTS
240 ml / 1/2 cup warm whole milk
2 and 1/4 tsp instant yeast / standard 11 g packet
2 tbsp granulated sugar, divided
1 large egg
60 g / 1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
1 tsp salt
390 g / 3 cups all-purpose flour
150 g finely shredded cheddar cheese
1-2 pickled jalapeno (the pickled jalapeno slices should amount to 1-2 jalapeno peppers)
2 tbsp melted garlic or herb butter
oil

EQUIPMENT
baker's twine

Whisk the warm milk, yeast, and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in a large bowl or in the bowl of your stand mixer. I don't have a stand mixer, so I used a handheld mixer but this can be easily done with a spoon or a spatula. Let the mixture sit for a few minutes. This activates the yeast.

Meanwhile, slice your jalapeno into small bits and shred your cheese if needed. 

Add the remaining sugar, egg, butter, salt, and flour. Mix until the dough comes together and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky, but you should still be able to knead it with your hands. If it's too wet, add 1 tbsp of flour at a time, until you have a workable dough. 

Add in the cheese and jalapeno and mix it all together. Then mix it for an additional 3 minutes or knead it by hand on a lightly floured surface 3 for minutes. The dough should look and feel soft.

Lightly oil a large bowl. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it to coat all sides in the oil. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel. Put the dough into a warm place and let it rise for 1-2 hours or until double in size. 

Cut the baker's twine into 36 equal pieces that are approx. 18 cm / 7 inches in length. But the pieces of twine into a bowl and cover them with some oil. Make sure every piece is covered. Set them aside.

Preheat your oven to 180°C / 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

When the dough is ready, punch it down to release the air. Lightly flour your work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and roll the dough into balls. Place the dough balls onto your work surface.

Arrange the baker's twine into a criss-cross pattern on top of the baking sheet lined with parchment paper (look at the image below for reference). One string should be arranged horizontally and the other two diagonally across that one. Every bun should have three twine pieces. Put the buns on top. 

Tie each string around the loaf loosely to allow room for the bread to rise and expand. Cut off the excess string and put the buns back on the baking sheet, knot sides down.

Allow the now pumpkin shaped buns to rise for 15 minutes. 

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top. Remove from the oven and let the buns cool for 20 minutes. Cut the strings and remove them carefully. 

Once all the string has been removed, brush the buns with melted garlic or herb butter to really make them shine.

NOTES
You can substitute whole milk with a plant-based milk or even with water. The only difference is that the buns will have a different texture. 
Add as many jalapeno peppers as you like and use fresh ones if you have those instead of the pickled ones. 
Make sure you have covered all your pieces of string thoroughly with oil. Otherwise the string will get stuck to the dough.
It's better to have longer pieces of string rather than shorter because the string will get baked into the buns if they're too tight around the buns. This will make it harder to remove the string and you might even break some of the buns that way.