Magical Bread Rolls with Pumpkin & Buckwheat
The bread rolls are magical. Really—they are endlessly customizable, filled with fiber and protein, the perfect way to use up veggies, and absolutely delicious. Plus they’re no-rise, gluten-free, vegan, and still have a wonderful texture.
The secret? Psyllium husk. Yup—this fiber-rich plant provides the perfect binder for the buns. Whip in lots of air bubbles while the psyllium-liquid mix is setting, and you’ll end up with fabulous balls of goodness.
Since these are no-rise and the psyllium husk is such a great binder, you have a lot of room to experiment with flours in this recipe. I always use at least some buckwheat flour, as it gives these buns an extra rich flavor, but I go crazy with the full mix—almond, chickpea, rice, coconut, cashew, sorghum, quinoa, cassava, oat, and amaranth have all made the mix at some point.
When selecting flours, I like to go for a good mix of high-fiber (like oat and sorghum) and high-protein (like chickpea and quinoa), with at least one nut (usually almond). But really, you could use a single flour, a gluten-free flour blend, wheat flour if you’re not gluten-free, or a little bit of everything*. These just work!
*I only make adjustments for coconut flour. It’s so absorptive that an extra fourth cup liquid can help.
Beyond the flour, the rest of this recipe is pretty flexible as well. Mix in wild greens (I made these with nettle puree in the spring), add spices (they’re amazing with sundried tomatoes, chopped olives, and red onions), stir in a cup of quick oats or nutritional yeast, or even swap out the squash puree with another veggie or fruit -- shredded zucchini, apple puree, mashed bananas...as long as the end texture is similar, you can get wildly creative with the “magical” buns.
Magical Bread Rolls
Makes about 18 rolls
Ingredients
3 tbsp psyllium seed husks
1 cup lukewarm water or plant milk
1.5 cups pumpkin or winter squash puree
4 tbsp olive oil (divided)
1 tsp sea salt
4 cups mixed flour
Directions
Set the oven to 375°F.
Add psyllium, water/plant milk, and squash puree in a large bowl. Stir to combine and leave for about 15 minutes to thicken. Then beat the psyllium gel vigorously—your hand and a wooden spoon is fine—to get as much air as possible into the gel.
Add salt and 2T oil and whisk for another minute or until all is combined.
Fold in the flour. I find that I need to use my hands and get messy to work the flour into a dough.
Roll the dough into 18 or more equal pieces (or 12 big ones, 24 little guys…whatever!) Dip your hands in warm water to avoid the dough sticking to them.
Brush with the remaining olive oil (optional but tasty) and bake for about 45-60 minutes (depending on the size of the buns and your oven). They are ready when the crust is just turning golden and firm and the inside sounds hollow when you knock on the bread. If they have a soft crust, they need more time.
Important—let these cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing them open—they’ll continue to cook inside, and if you open them too soon they could be a bit mushy.
Enjoy!
Me with my harvest of the giant lunga di napoli squash toddlers.
Slicing open the smallest of the bunch — still got enough to fill 8 gallon-size freezer bags!
Want to grow your own giant squash? I’ll include a few seeds with any purchase from my shop — just send me a note a checkout! (While supplies last, of course.)