I could barely wait until the first day of fall to break out of my meteorologically-induced baking hiatus. Lucky for us, autumn weather arrived early to Seattle (nighttime lows in the high 40s, such a delight!) and I’ve delved into all sorts of early morning and late evening baking projects to keep us toasty. The first item on my to-bake list was the intriguing wool roll bread. If you’re plugged into the Youtube/Instagram food-verse, you’ve probably seen these round, golden loaves that do indeed look like a plump pillowy skein of soft yarn. A clever cutting and shaping technique yields a loaf topped with strands of dough mimicking yarn.
As if the universe could read my mind, the September/October issue of Bake from Scratch magazine (the best baking periodical I’ve found to date) included a recipe for a custard-filled wool roll bread. Emboldened by the early fall chill and a craving for cozy pumpkin treat feels, I couldn’t resist swapping Bake from Scratch’s custard version out for a sweet, spicy pumpkin filling! (I know I’ve been unkind to pumpkin in the past, and humbly beg forgiveness – 2020/2021 has left me too weak to resist the siren song of pumpkin spice).
This wool roll bread is just as soft and pillowy as its’ namesake implies, made with a butter and milk enriched yeast dough. This version also incorporates a “milk roux” of cooked flour and milk. Through science and magic, pre-cooking some of the flour in this way allows the dough to hold onto more moisture throughout the baking process and produces a bread that stays soft and fresh for days. This also makes a stretchy, more forgiving dough that is really easy to work with (which is important as you’ll see in the pictures below).
Though shaping the bread may seem daunting, it’s much more straightforward than it looks. You will need to work fairly quickly to ensure the sectioned pieces all get approximately the same amount of proofing time after the roll is formed. After the first proof, divide the dough into 5 sections. Roll each into an oval shape, and cut about 1/3 of the oval into thin strips. Bake from Scratch recommends a pizza cutter, which we do not own, so I used a knife – but I do think a pizza cutter would offer more control and be quicker! Make sure to really separate the strips so they don’t fuse together during baking! Place a small amount of the pumpkin filling on the uncut side, fold in the sides like a burrito, and roll from the stuffed side.
You should end up with the fringed portion on the outside of the roll – these strips will form the “strands” of the wool roll. Repeat this four more times, and then place the rolls in a springform pan to proof one more time. (I used an 8-inch springform, but next time I think I’ll switch to my smaller 6-ish to make a loaf with less space in the middle.) Brush an egg wash before popping in the oven, and in 40 minutes you’ll have the softest, airiest bread of your dreams, golden brown and filled with a sweet pumpkin-pie-esque filling, a sneak preview of the holidays feasts right around the corner.
Pumpkin Pie Wool Bread
Adapted from Bake from Scratch
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 2 Tbsp dark brown sugar
- 2 Tbsp sweetened condensed milk, divided
- 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp ground cloves
- 285-320 g (2 1/4 – 2 1/2 cups) + 1 1/2 Tbsp bread flour, divided
- 24g (2 tbsp) granulated sugar
- 2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 120g (1/2 cup) whole milk, divided
- 42g (3 tbsp) unsalted butter
- 2 large eggs, room temperature
Directions
- Make the milk roux. Place 1 1/2 tbsp bread flour and 1/4 cup milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Whisk constantly until thickened and the whisk leaves lines on the bottom of the pan. Remove from heat and allow to cool to room temperature.
- Make the pumpkin filling. Place pumpkin puree, brown sugar, 1 tbsp sweetened condensed milk and spices in a small saucepan. Cook over medium-low heat until pumpkin deepens in color and thickens, about 10-15 minutes. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, mix 1 cup (125g) flour, granulated sugar, salt, and yeast until combined.
- Heat butter, remaining 1/4 cup milk, and 1/4 cup water in a saucepan until butter is melted and temperature reaches 120-130F. Add this milk mixture and the remaining 1 Tbsp condensed milk to the flour mixture and beat at medium-low speed until just combined, using the paddle attachment.
- Add the cooled milk roux and 1 egg and beat until just combined.
- Reduce speed to low and gradually add 160g (1 1/4 cups) flour stopping as soon as no white streaks remain.
- Switch to the dough hook attachment and beat at medium-low speed until a soft, slightly sticky dough forms and pulls away from the sides of the bowl, adding up to 1/4 cup flour if dough is too sticky. This should take 5-10 minutes.
- Place dough in a large bowl sprayed with cooking spray, turn to coat. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, 45 minutes to an hour.
- Punch dough down, cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Divide dough into 5 equal balls (use a kitchen scale to get equal sized balls. Roll each into a smooth ball, pinching any seams, cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
- Grease a 6 or 8-inch springform pan with cooking spray (smaller pan will make a puffier loaf with no hole in the middle, 8-inch will make a larger loaf with a substantial hole) and preheat oven to 350F. See pictures above for cutting and shaping the loaf.
- Roll each dough ball into an approximately 10×5-inch oval. Using a pizza cutter (or very sharp knife), make parallel cuts in the dough starting about halfway down the oval, leaving 1/8 inch strips. Make sure to cut all the way through the dough and make the strips distinct, otherwise they will fuse together during baking.
- Place a generous tablespoon of the pumpkin filling on the non-cut side of the oval, leaving a 1/4-inch border. Fold in the sides and bottom around the filling and roll up starting on the filling side and ending with the fringe. Place the rolls in the prepared pan, ensuring the ends of the fringe are tucked underneath so they don’t pop up like one of my sections did!!
- Let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 40 min to 1 hour.
- Whisk the remaining egg and 1 tbsp water to make and egg wash and brush over the loaf. for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Bake from Scratch recommended covering with foil after 20 minutes to prevent excess browning – I didn’t find that to be necessary and I like the deeper golden brown color from leaving it exposed all the way through.
- Allow to cool in pan 10 minutes, then loosen around the edges with a knife and carefully release the springform clip, allowing bread to cool (almost) completely before serving – it’s delicious slightly warm and fresh from the oven!
