My Buttery-Soft Filled Rolls, Two Ways
A buttery, soft dough designed to be filled, rolled and scoffed.
The Master Dough
Ingredients
1 cup warm milk
½ cup caster sugar
7 g dry yeast
⅓ cup butter, softened
2 eggs, at room temperature
Vanilla extract or vanilla bean paste, measure with your heart
2 cups self-raising plain flour
2 cups 00 bread flour
Additional flour for kneading and rolling, if needed
Method
1. Activate the yeast
Pour the warm milk into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.
Add the sugar and stir until dissolved. The milk should feel warm—not hot—or it may kill the yeast.
Sprinkle the yeast over the milk and leave it undisturbed for approximately 5 minutes.
2. Add the butter and eggs
Add the softened butter, eggs and vanilla.
Mix briefly until the ingredients are reasonably combined.
3. Add the flour
Add the self-raising flour and bread flour.
Mix only until no large pockets of dry flour remain. Do not knead the dough yet—we are giving the flour time to absorb the liquid and the gluten a moment to gather itself.
Leave the dough to rest for 5 minutes.
4. Knead the dough
Using the dough hook of a stand mixer, knead the dough for 5 minutes. Alternatively, knead it by hand on a lightly floured surface.
Continue kneading for another 4 minutes, adding a small amount of extra flour only if the dough remains firmly stuck to the sides of the bowl.
When ready, the dough should be smooth, elastic and only very lightly tacky. Avoid adding too much flour, as a softer dough produces softer rolls.
5. Let it rise
Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl and cover it with a tea towel.
Leave it in a warm place for approximately 1 hour, or until doubled in size. Watch the dough rather than relying entirely on the clock—it may need a little longer in a cool kitchen.
6. Roll it out
Tip the risen dough onto a lightly floured surface.
Gently roll it into a large rectangle approximately 1 cm thick. The dough is now ready for your chosen filling.
Salted-Caramel, Macadamia and Flaky-Sea-Salt Rolls
Sticky, buttery caramel rolled through pillowy dough with toasted macadamias, then poured generously around the rolls so every edge becomes glossy, gooey and caramelised.
Ingredients
For the salted caramel
100 g butter, cut into cubes
200 g brown sugar
100 ml thickened cream
½ teaspoon fine salt
To assemble
1 batch buttery-soft dough
Chopped macadamias, to taste
Flaky sea salt
Butter, for brushing
Method
1. Make the salted caramel
Prepare the caramel before beginning the dough so it has plenty of time to cool.
Place the brown sugar in a stainless-steel saucepan over low heat. Warm it very gently, stirring as needed and taking care not to let it burn.
Add the cubed butter once sugar has all melted, and continue cooking slowly until the butter has melted and the mixture has come together.
Increase the heat slightly and bring the mixture just to the edge of a simmer, then immediately reduce the heat again.
Very slowly pour in the cream while whisking continuously. The mixture may bubble vigorously.
Once all the cream has been incorporated, add the salt and bring the caramel to a gentle simmer for approximately 1 minute.
Remove it from the heat and allow it to cool for 5 minutes. Transfer it to a heatproof bowl and refrigerate while you prepare the dough. It should cool and thicken but remain spreadable.
2. Fill the dough
Line an approximately 20 × 25 cm rectangular baking dish with baking paper.
Spread a thin layer of the cooled caramel over the rolled dough. The caramel will be softer and runnier than a traditional cinnamon-roll filling, so don’t add too much at this stage.
Scatter chopped macadamias generously over the caramel.
3. Roll and cut
Starting from one long side, carefully roll the dough into a snug log.
Cut the log into 8 large rolls and arrange them in the prepared baking dish.
Pour the remaining caramel into the centre of each roll and through the spaces around them. Finish with additional chopped macadamias.
This is where the sticky, caramelised magic happens.
4. Bake
Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until the rolls are puffed, baked through and lightly golden.
If they need a little more colour, increase the temperature to 200°C for an additional 2–3 minutes, watching them carefully.
5. Finish
Brush the warm rolls with a little melted or softened butter and finish with flaky sea salt.
Tiramisu-Inspired Mascarpone and Coffee Rolls
Ultra-soft rolls filled with vanilla mascarpone, strong coffee and Frangelico, baked in a Baileys cream bath and finished with a generous cloud of cocoa.
Ingredients
For the mascarpone filling
250 g high-quality mascarpone
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 tablespoon Frangelico
4 espresso shots, cooled
2 tablespoons instant custard powder
Alternatively:
4 teaspoons instant coffee
120 ml hot water, cooled
Hazelnut Moccona is my personal favourite
For the cream mixture
1 cup thickened cream
1 tablespoon Baileys
To assemble and finish
1 batch buttery-soft dough
Unsweetened cocoa powder, for dusting
Method
1. Make the mascarpone filling
Prepare the coffee and allow it to cool completely.
Beat together the mascarpone, vanilla bean paste, Frangelico, cooled espresso and instant custard powder until smooth and evenly combined.
Keep the filling refrigerated until the dough is ready.
2. Fill the dough
Line an approximately 20 × 25 cm rectangular baking dish with baking paper.
Spread the mascarpone and coffee filling evenly over the rolled dough, leaving a small border around the edges.
Dust cocoa powder over the top.
3. Roll and cut
Starting from one long side, carefully roll the dough into a log. The filling is soft, so work gently.
Cut the log into 8 large rolls and arrange them in the prepared dish.
4. Add the Baileys cream
Combine the thickened cream and Baileys.
Pour the mixture evenly over and around the rolls immediately before baking. It may look like an excessive amount of cream. This is precisely why the finished rolls become so exceptionally soft and decadent.
5. Bake
Bake in a preheated 180°C oven for approximately 20 minutes, or until the rolls are puffed, baked through and golden on top.
If they require more colour, increase the oven to 200°C for an additional 2–3 minutes.
6. Cool and finish
Allow the rolls to cool before dusting them generously with cocoa powder.
Serve slightly warm for an ultra-soft, creamy centre.
Sofia’s Notes
I generally use a 20 × 25 cm rectangular dish and cut the dough into 8 rolls. These are intentionally very large, heavy and decadent.
The size of the dish can be changed depending on how thick you want the rolls. A smaller dish produces taller rolls that bake closely together; a larger dish gives them more room to spread.
I line the baking dish with baking paper. This makes lifting out the rolls easier and saves you from chiselling caramel or baked cream from the dish later.
