Potato breads and rolls are so delicious that one might never guess they were inspired, in my house, by leftovers. I almost always make too many mashed potatoes for Shabbat dinner, and have been turning those leftover spuds into potato bread—to delectable results.

With Thanksgiving coming up, you’d better believe that you can swap roasted or canned pumpkin for mashed potatoes in really any potato bread recipe. One result is luscious, festive, dressed-up dinner rolls. I like to make the type of rolls that grow together as they bake, then get pulled apart. (If you watch Great British Bake-Off, you’ll hear Paul Hollywood referring to this as a “batch bake.”)

For the purpose of making these rolls pareve to accompany a Thanksgiving dinner, I created a version that uses oil instead of butter, and water instead of milk. However, at other times, when not eating a meat meal, I would recommend following the dairy version.

Since corn is an essential Thanksgiving element, both to the meal and to the holiday’s colonial history, cornbread usually features somehow on my table. Coming from New England, I prefer my cornbread muffin style (i.e. sweet). Here, I’m including two variations—one made in muffin tins and one prepared as a round bread. One includes the fresh sage and lemon zest I find in my Mediterranean garden, and the other pairs orange with frozen cranberries.

Cornbread takes me back to crisp New Hampshire mornings as a child, when I’d toast up a cornmeal toaster cake before school. Or to when my father, who was in charge of making the cranberry sauce, would come home from the supermarket with a couple bags of the season’s first cranberries.

I’m partial to using oil in cake recipes. Every time you’ve had an impossibly moist cake, with a delightfully tight and dense crumb, it was probably oil-based. However, like the rolls, if you’re making the cornbread for a dairy meal, do go ahead and substitute whole milk for the water.

Either way, I’ve never gotten any complaints around here!

Pumpkin Dinner Rolls
Makes 18 rolls

6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 1/2 teaspoons instant or rapid rise yeast
1/2 cup olive oil (or softened butter)
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
Up to 3/4 cup water (or whole milk)
1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, for egg wash

1. Mix the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl, mixing after each addition. Add the oil or butter, pumpkin puree and eggs. Mix to combine.
2. Add the water or milk 1/4 cup at a time, mixing in between each pour to form a workable dough. You want the dough to be as soft as possible without getting sticky. You may not need to use all the liquid.
3. Transfer to a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Place the dough back in the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let rise for at least 3 hours or more, until the dough reaches the top of the bowl.
4. Remove the risen dough from the bowl and divide into 19 parts. Roll each part into a ball, turn it over and pinch the bottom seam shut.
5. Place the dough balls on a large parchment paper-lined baking tray, leaving only about an inch of space between each roll.
6. Let the rolls rise for approximately one hour, or until the rolls have risen to almost touch each other. Preheat the oven to 350° about 20 minutes before you plan to bake the rolls.
7. Lightly brush with egg wash and bake for 20 minutes. Let cool completely before pulling apart and serving.

Sage Corn Muffins
Makes 12 medium-sized muffins

2 1/3 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup neutral vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 2/3 cups water (or whole milk, if making these dairy)
5 leaves fresh sage, finely chopped
Zest of 1 large lemon, about 1 tablespoon

1. Preheat oven to 500°. Prepare a medium-sized muffin pan by filling with paper liners and spraying the top with cooking spray.
2. Sift the first four ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the oil, sugar, eggs, water, sage and lemon zest. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and to the wet and whisk until just combined.
4. Using a cookie scoop or measuring cup, fill the muffin cups up to the top of the pan. Put the pan in the oven then immediately reduce the temperature to 350°. Bake for approximately 25 minutes, or until the muffins are golden and spring back to the touch.

Orange and Cranberry Cornbread
Makes 1, 10-inch-round bread

2 1/3 cup flour
1 cup cornmeal
4 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup neutral vegetable oil
3/4 cup sugar
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 2/3 cups water (or whole milk, if making these dairy)
Zest of 1 orange
1/2 cup frozen cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Liberally oil a round 10-inch cake pan or cast-iron skillet by wiping with a paper towel evenly along the bottom and sides of the pan.
2. Sift the first four ingredients together in a medium bowl and set aside.
3. In a large bowl combine the oil, sugar, eggs, water and orange zest. Whisk to combine. Add the dry ingredients and to the wet and whisk until just combined.
4. Fold in cranberries using as few strokes as possible to prevent red streaking in the batter.
5. Pour the batter into the greased pan or skillet. Bake for 45 minutes, or until the sides have pulled away from the pan and a toothpick comes out with just a few moist crumbs clinging to it.