An Inspired Cook

It’s that time of year again when I get a craving for sweet rolls. It must be the holidays, the chill in the air and a hot drink that make me desire them so much. I like to make them up ahead and freeze individually so that I can pull one out every so often. I love them with my morning coffee, afternoon tea or generally anytime, which is why I have to put them out of sight in the freezer or I might be tempted to have one every day. This years flavor is lemon blueberry, it’s not overly sweet but has a wonderful blueberry flavor with a citrusy lemon glaze. These two flavors just belong together. And the brioche dough is so light and tender, it practically melts in your mouth.

This is my tried and true Brioche Dough recipe. It’s the ultimate sweet dough to make any kind of sweet bread or rolls.  You’ll need flour, yeast, salt, water, honey, eggs, and softened butter.

You can make the dough by hand or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the dough hook attachment.  First start by adding salt, yeast and water together.  Let that sit a few minutes for the yeast to activate and bubble up.

When the yeast is ready to go, add the honey, eggs and softened butter.  Mix together with a wooden spatula.

Add the flour and begin to incorporate into the liquids.  When it begins to form into dough, use the dough hook on low speed to knead the dough together.

Continue kneading until all the flour has been incorporated and the dough starts to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  The dough will be sticky and wet.

Generously sprinkle flour over a work space and gently knead the dough.  Use just enough flour to form the dough into a ball.

Place the dough into a large bowl and cover with a cup towel.  Set in a warm place to rise (approximately 2-3 hours).  The dough should double in size.

Sprinkle a generous amount of flour on your work surface, divide the dough in half and shape into 2 rectangles.

The filling for these rolls include frozen blueberries, sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest.

Roll out one piece of the dough into a large rectangle to 1/4 inch thickness. Brush half of the softened butter over the rolled out dough.

Sprinkle half the sugar mix evenly over the dough leaving 1/2 inch around the borders. Sprinkle half of the blueberries evenly across the dough. Begin rolling along the long edge toward you. Roll it slowly capturing all those berries as you roll it up.

Use a sharp knife or dental floss to make 3/4 inch to 1 inch thick slices.

Prepare (2) 9 inch round or square baking pans by rubbing a pat of butter on the bottom and around the sides of the pan. Place the cut rolls in the pan leaving a little bit of space around each roll to rise and expand. Prepare the other half of the dough as instructed above.

When you have both pans filled, place in a warm space and cover with a cup towel. Allow to rise and double in bulk. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and bake for 30 minutes or until dough is golden brown on top.

To make the lemon glaze you’ll need confectioners sugar, lemon juice, lemon zest and a tiny bit of milk.

Sift the powdered sugar, add lemon juice, and zest plus 1 – 2 tablespoons of whole milk. Whisk all ingredients together to create a citrusy glaze.

They didn’t look very pretty when first cut and placed in the pan but when they rise and are baked, the blueberries and sugar spills over the edges of the dough to make some beautiful rolls. All they need is a lemon glaze over top.

Let the rolls cool slightly before drizzling glaze over top.

Lemon Blueberry Sweet Rolls

Brioche Dough
3/4 cup Lukewarm Water
3/4 tablespoons Yeast
3/4 tablespoons Kosher Salt
4 Eggs, beaten
1/4 cup Honey
1 1/2 sticks Unsalted Butter, softened
3 3/4 cups All Purpose Flour

Lemon Blueberry Filling

1/4 cup Butter, melted and divided in half
6 tablespoons Sugar, divided in half
1 tablespoon Cornstarch, divided in half
Zest of 1 Lemon, divided in half
1 1/2 cups Frozen Blueberries, divided in half

Lemon Glaze

1 cup Powdered Sugar
3 tablespoons Lemon Juice
2 teaspoons Lemon Zest
1 – 2 tablespoons Whole Milk

Add the water, yeast and salt in a mixing bowl of a stand mixer.  Let the yeast sit for a few minutes to activate and begin to bubble and foam.  Add the honey, eggs and softened butter.  Stir with a wooden spatula.

Begin to add the flour a little at a time.  Stir the flour into the liquid ingredients until it begins to form into a dough.  Use your dough hook and mix on low to incorporate all the flour into the dough.  Scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary.  The dough will be sticky and wet.  Prepare a work space and generously sprinkle with flour.  Knead the dough with enough flour to form a round ball.  Place the dough in a large bowl, cover with a cup towel and place in a warm area to rise (approximately 2 – 3 hours).

When dough has doubled in bulk, punch down the dough and using your previous works space knead the dough until it is easy to work with.  Divide the dough in half and shape into 2 rectangles.   Take one rectangle and roll out to approximately 1/4 inch thickness. Brush 2 tablespoons of the melted butter over the dough leaving 1/2 inch free around the edges. Mix together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon zest into a bowl. Sprinkle half of the mix evenly over the buttered dough and then half of the frozen blueberries.

Gently begin to roll the long side of the dough from the bottom up until you have a long roll.  Tuck the ends underneath to seal.  Slice the rolls with a sharp knife or use dental floss to cut the rolls approximately 3/4 – 1 inch thick.  Prepare the reserved dough and cinnamon roll filling as instructed above to make another pan of rolls.

Prepare (2) 9 inch round or square baking pans by rubbing a pat of butter on the bottom and around the sides of the pan.  Place the cut rolls in the pan leaving a little bit of space around each roll to rise and expand.  Prepare the other half of the dough as instructed above.  When you have both pans filled with the lemon blueberry rolls, place in a warm space and cover with a cup towel.  Allow to rise and double in bulk.  Bake rolls for 30 minutes or until the tops are golden brown in a preheated 350 degree oven.

To make glaze: Sift powdered sugar and whisk in the lemon juice, lemon zest and whole milk. Drizzle glaze over warm rolls.

Makes approximately 16 sweet rolls