Description
A summery twist on cinnamon rolls, these glazed strawberry rolls can be made ahead to save time in the morning.
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 cup (240ml) whole milk*
- 2/3 cup (135g) granulated sugar
- 1 and ½ Tablespoons (14g) active dry yeast (2 standard size packets)
- 1/2 cup (8 Tbsp; 113g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature and cut into 4 pieces
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 4 and 1/2 cups (563g) all-purpose flour (spooned & leveled), plus more for dusting/rolling
Filling
- 1 and 3/4 cups (222g) finely chopped strawberries*
- 1/3 cup (68g) granulated sugar
- 1 and 1/2 Tablespoons cornstarch
Lemon Glaze
- 1 cup (120g) confectioners’ sugar, sifted
- 2– 3 Tablespoons (30-45ml) fresh lemon juice
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a small saucepan, warm the milk over low heat until lukewarm—about 95°F (35°C). Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment (OR you can use a handheld mixer). With a spoon, manually stir in the sugar and yeast. Cover the bowl with a towel and let sit until the yeast is foamy, about 5-10 minutes. If the yeast does not dissolve and foam, start over with fresh yeast. On low speed, beat in the softened butter until it is slightly broken up. Add the eggs, one at a time, and then the salt. The butter won’t really be mixing into the mixture, so don’t be alarmed if it stays in pieces. On low speed, gradually add the flour. Once it is all added, beat on medium speed until a soft dough forms—about 4 minutes.
- Increase speed to medium-high and beat until the dough is soft and supple, about 6 minutes longer. If you do not have a stand-mixer with a hook attachment, knead the dough by hand in this step.
- Knead the dough: Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 5 full minutes. (If you’re new to bread-baking, my How to Knead Dough video tutorial can help here.) If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Do not add more flour than you need because you do not want a dry dough. After kneading, the dough should still feel a little soft. Poke it with your finger—if it slowly bounces back, your dough is ready to rise. You can also do a “windowpane test” to see if your dough has been kneaded long enough: tear off a small (roughly golfball-size) piece of dough and gently stretch it out until it’s thin enough for light to pass through it. Hold it up to a window or light. Does light pass through the stretched dough without the dough tearing first? If so, your dough has been kneaded long enough and is ready to rise. If not, keep kneading until it passes the windowpane test.
- Form the dough into a ball and transfer it to a lightly greased bowl. Cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap, a paper towel, or aluminum foil and let sit in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours. Here’s what I do: turn the oven on to 200°F (93°C). Turn the oven off. Stick the covered dough inside the oven and allow it to rise in this warm environment.
- As the dough rises, make the filling: Warm the strawberries in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir constantly for 4 minutes until the strawberries begin to release juices. Add the granulated sugar and cornstarch and continue to stir for another 2 minutes. The mixture will thicken. Remove from the heat, spoon into a heatproof bowl or container, and chill until ready to use. You do not want a warm filling as you spread it onto the dough.
- Grease the bottom of a 9×13-inch baking dish, then line with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and, using a rolling pin, roll into a 12×18 inch rectangle. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.
- Spread the strawberry filling all over the dough. Tightly roll up the dough to form an 18-inch-long log. Cut into 12 even rolls (about 1.5 inches in width each). Arrange them in the prepared baking pan.
- Cover the rolls and allow to rise in a warm environment once again until the are puffy—about 1 – 2 hours (or overnight, see Overnight instructions.)
- After the rolls have risen, preheat the oven to 375°F (190°C). Bake for about 25 minutes, until they are golden brown. About halfway through the bake time, I like to cover the rolls loosely with aluminum foil so the tops don’t brown too much. Remove pan from the oven and allow to cool on a wire rack for about 10 minutes as you make the glaze.
- Make the glaze: Whisk the lemon juice and confectioners’ sugar together until smooth. Pour over warm rolls and serve.
Notes
- Make Ahead & Freezing Instructions: Cover leftovers tightly and keep in the refrigerator for up to 1 week. Baked rolls can be frozen up to 2-3 months and warmed up to enjoy at a later date.
- Overnight Instructions: For the second rise in step 7, cover the sliced rolls very tightly and let sit overnight in the refrigerator. In the morning, remove from the refrigerator, keep covered, and allow to rise in a warm environment for 1 hour then continue with step 8.
- Freezing then Baking: Let the rolls rise as instructed in step 7. Bake them at 375°F (190°C) for only about 10 minutes. Cool completely, then cover tightly and freeze up to 2-3 months. Take the rolls out of the freezer and thaw completely in the refrigerator. Then, finish baking them.
- Special Tools (affiliate links): Electric Mixer (Handheld or Stand) | Small Saucepan | 9×13-inch Baking Dish | Rolling Pin | Cooling Rack | Whisk
- Milk: Whole milk encouraged. 2% is fine, but whole milk is best with its higher fat content. For best taste and texture, I don’t recommend any other milk or milk substitutes.
- Strawberries: Fresh or frozen chopped strawberries work. Do not thaw first if using frozen.
- Reference my Baking with Yeast Guide for answers to common yeast FAQs.