Prepare pumpkin. Peel, core and cut pumpkin into cubes. Steam until soft (about 10 minutes), then mash up and set aside.
Add all ingredients (except butter) into a breadmaker, first the wet ingredients (milk then mashed pumpkin), followed by the dry ingredients (sugar, salt, flour, yeast).
Select the "dough" mode (refer to the menu of your breadmaker to select the dough kneading programme).
When all ingredients come together, usually after 4-5 minutes, add in the butter, continue kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. The time of kneading in my breadmaker is 23 minutes.
Let the dough complete the 1st round of proofing until double in size, about 50-60 minutes, best temperature for proofing is 28C, humidity 75%, until double in size.
Punch and deflate dough, then remove dough from bowl and divide into 9 equal portions (approx 75g each). Let rest for 10 minutes. Then shape each portion into balls.
Place in a greased/lined 8" square pan for its 2nd round of proofing, until double in size. This takes another 35-40 minutes depending on the weather. The best temperature for 2nd round proofing is 38C, humidity 85%. During last 15 minutes, preheat oven to 180°C.
Brush whisked egg wash on the surface and garnish with rolled oats or pumpkin seeds. If you'd like to make the cheese version, this is when you'd cut a cross on the top of the buns after egg wash, and top with shredded mozzarella and a light sprinkle of parmesan cheese.
Bake in a pre-heated oven at 180 degrees C for 15-20 minutes, or until top of bread is shiny and golden brown.
Remove from oven, and let cool for 5 minutes. Remove bread from pan (handle with care as bread will be very soft) and transfer onto a wire rack to let cool completely.
And now to the best part of it all, take a deep breath, enjoy the delicious aroma of your freshly baked buns and DIG IN!