Sweet Rolls

The perfect sweet roll dough base for any kind of bread roll, whether that be chocolate, jam, or cinnamon this base recipe can do anything!

How to use this recipe

This recipe for sweet rolls will become your basic enriched dough recipe when you are making any kind of sweetened bread. An enriched dough is when a bread base has extra fat to increase softness and flavour. In this case, there are added eggs and butter to give this dough a deep rich flavour and tenderness!

The extra fat in this recipe not only improves the flavour and texture of the bread it also increases the foolproof nature of this recipe! This bread dough will turn out perfect under almost all circumstances (as long as you are following the recipe!)

Other possible fillings

There are so many different options when it comes to making sweet buns and you can play around with your favourite flavours to create your ultimate bread roll. As an example, I’ve used raspberry jam, Nutella, and cinnamon butter for three kinds of bread rolls in just one bake! Without all the fuss you can recreate a whole bakery in your kitchen.

Some other examples include…

• Different flavoured jams and marmalades: Think blueberry, cherry, orange, apple… and the list goes on!
• Different kinds of spreads: Nutella, peanut butter, other nut butters, biscoff, etc.
• Chunky add ins: Chocolate chips/chunks, dried fruits, nuts, etc.
• Creams and custards: Pastry cream, cream cheese filling, custards, etc.
• Or a mix of the above!

Tips on creating the perfect bread dough

Here are a couple of tips to help you create the perfect sweet rolls!

• Make sure your ingredients are at room temperature

Yeast works at a warm temperature. If the surrounding temperature is too high they will die and if it is too cold they will be very slow. Room temperature ingredients create the best environment for yeast to flourish.

• Make sure you use luke warm or ‘blood temperature’ water

This follows the same concept as the room temperature ingredients. If the water is too hot it will kill the yeast when added. Optimal temperature is when the water is the same temperature as your body, also known as ‘blood temperature‘. If you place your finger in the water you shouldn’t be able to feel the surrounding water, as it is the same temperature as your finger.

• Knead the dough until it starts to come away from the bowl

The dough may seem very sticky after adding the eggs and butter, however as you continue to knead the dough more gluten will develop. This gives the dough elasticity and smoothness and is essential for the structural integrity of the bread rolls. It also makes the dough easier to work with as it won’t stick to your fingers.

DIfferent methods of shaping bread

When it comes to shaping this bread dough get creative with it! There are so many fun sweet rolls that you can create. See my reel here, for three examples. One a classic roll, a twist, and a swirl. You can also just shape them into round buns or long fingers.

See this matcha bun recipe here for a braided method too!

Sweet Rolls 3 Ways

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The perfect sweet roll dough base for any kind of bread roll, whether that be chocolate, jam, or cinnamon this base recipe can do anything!

• Author: Catherine Zhang
• Prep Time: 40 minutes
• Cook Time: 20 minutes
• Total Time: 1 hour
• Yield: 12 Rolls 1x
• Category: Bread
• Method: Intermediate
• Cuisine: American

Ingredients

Units USM Scale 1x2x3x

Bread Dough

• 530 g Plain flour (3 3/4 cups)
• 100 g Granulated sugar (1/2 cups)
• 1 tbsp Instant yeast
• 3 Large eggs
• 120 g Water (1/2 cup)
• 1 tsp Salt
• 150 g Unsalted butter, cubed and room temperature (2/3 cup)

Fillings

• 1/4 cup Chocolate hazelnut spread, i.e. Nutella
• 1/4 cup Raspberry jam, homemade or storebought
• Cinnamon filling, see below

Cinnamon filling

• 60g Unsalted butter (1/4 cup), softened
• 1 tbsp Cinnamon powder
• 60g Brown sugar (1/3 cup)

Icing

• 25g Icing sugar (1/4 cup)
• 2 tsp Milk

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Instructions

Bread Dough

1. Combine the flour, sugar and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fixed with a dough hook and combine
2. Add the eggs and water and mix on medium until the dough comes together
3. Continue to mix for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth
4. Add salt, then the butter one cube at a time until fully incorporated, and knead the dough until it starts to come away from the sides of the bowl. The dough should be smooth and elastic
5. Oil a medium-sized bowl and place the dough in it, cover with cling wrap, and place in a warm spot for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size

See Also This Recipe:  Cookie Croissant (Le Crookie)

Cinnamon Filling

1. Combine the softened butter, cinnamon powder, and brown sugar together in a medium-sized bowl and whisk together until well combined.

Assembly

1. Turn the proofed dough out onto a floured surface and press out the built-up air
2. Divide the dough into three portions (if you wish to create just one kind of bread roll, triple the amount of your desired filling and use that for all the rolls)
3. Roll each portion out into a large rectangle and spread over the fillings
4. Roll, braid or swirl the buns up, each of the three portions should create 4 buns (see the linked Instagram reel on how to shape the buns)
5. Place on two large baking trays lined with baking paper, cover with cling wrap and proof for 30 minutes to 1 hour, or until doubled in size
6. Preheat the oven to 170C (340F) and bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. An inserted toothpick should emerge clean of any dough.
7. Remove and cool completely

Icing

1. If you would like to ice any of your rolls, combine the icing sugar and milk together in a small bowl
2. Adjust the icing by adding more icing sugar if too runny and more milk if too thick
3. Transfer to a piping bag and drizzle over the rolls
4. Set aside and allow the icing to set

Catherine Zhang

My name is Catherine, a food blogger and dessert lover. If I look familiar you may have seen me on NETFLIX's Zumbo’s Just Desserts S2! As an Australian-Chinese pastry chef and recipe developer I share recipes and tips on desserts inspired by amazing flavours, fresh produce and of course my Asian background.

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