Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls
With no rising time required these rolls leave you with fluffy, gooey rolls dripping with orange glaze and tasting even better than Pillsbury Orange Sweet rolls in no time!
Today’s recipes might just be the best thing I have ever, ever created. I am so in love with fluffy, doughy, yeasty sweet roll recipes and these rolls are just that… They’re gooey. They’re fluffy. “They’re better than anything.”
Move over all other sweet rolls because these orange rolls have officially taken center stage.
Have you ever had a Pillsbury Orange Sweet Roll before? You know, the kind that come in a can? I gladly admit that I LOVE those decadent things. My friend’s mom always makes them for us on sweet summertime mornings at the lake. She always jokes that if she didn’t make orange rolls then we’d never get out of bed because the smell of nostalgic fragrance of gooey cinnamon buns gets us right out of bed.
Today I bring you a homemade version of the zingy little breakfast rolls. And when I say they are the best I really mean it!!
The whole roll, outside layer and all, tastes like the gooey center we all wait for while eating the sub-par outer layers of a typical cinnamon roll.
The rolls are surprisingly SO easy to make. There are minimal ingredients in the dough and NO rise time because the bake temperature for these rolls is 425 degrees, which is a lot higher than normal. The high temperature creates a burst of steam which inflates the rolls and quickly set the starches and proteins in the roll, leaving you with a thick and fluffy roll without the rise time.
A Few Things on Making Super Thick, Doughy Rolls
1. This recipe calls for bread flour. The difference between bread flour and all purpose flour is that bread flour is made from hard, high-protein wheat. It also has more gluten strength and protein content than all-purpose flour. So what does this all mean? It means that bread flour leaves you with a fuller/fluffier/chubbier roll.
2. I am very precise when rolling out these rolls because I like to ensure that I will end up with super thick rolls and that I will also have enough rolls. For these reasons, it’s important to measure the dough with a ruler as you are rolling it. The rectangle should be about 15×9. It’s okay if it’s a little bigger than that, but not much. Make sure the dough is even thickness all the way around, even on the edges, or you will end up with uneven rolls.
The rolls will seem a lot thicker than the typical cinnamon roll when you are rolling up the dough, but that is how they are supposed to be. I normally only get about 1.5 swirls. Plus, the super thickness (and less surface area) of the rolls allows the icing a chance to drip down into ALL the cracks and crevasses and encase the entire roll, even in middle.
A few more notes regarding the ingredients…
1. If you have never worked with yeast before, don’t be scared! Yeast isn’t as intimidating as it seems. For this recipe, heat the water for 1 minute in the microwave. Immediately add the yeast into the bowl of a mixer and pour the water over the yeast. There is no need to stir the yeast. About ten seconds after the water and yeast mix, the yeast should foam and form bubbles. Let the yeast rest for about 2 minutes and then proceed with the remaining ingredients. I’ve made these rolls so many times using Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast and this yeast activating method and it has never failed me.
2. When adding the flour, do not add it all at once. Many things can affect the consistency of the dough: temperature, humidity, elevation, etc. In the recipe, I provide a range for you to work with. After 1 1/2 cups add a tablespoon at a time, little by little, until the dough comes together and doesn’t stick to the sides. You are looking for a dough that is not sticky. Poke it with your finger – if the dough springs back, it is ready to go. You can add up to 1/4 cup more than 1 1/2 cups, but no more because too much flour can make the rolls too dry.
3. Unlike cinnamon rolls, the cinnamon is actually mixed into the dough instead of added to the filling mixture. Don’t ask me why because I don’t know why, but it tastes so much better this way. I tried this method when I was trying to figure out how to get rid of the bitter cinnamon-orange taste and it worked! There’s a hint of cinnamon, but it’s all sweet, not bitter!
Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls
With no rising time required these rolls leave you with fluffy, gooey rolls dripping with orange glaze and tasting even better than Pillsbury Orange Sweet rolls in no time!
Ingredients:
For the Dough:
- 1 1/2 cups water
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast (such as Red Star Platinum Instant Yeast)
- 3 1/2 cups bread flour
- 2 Tablespoons brown sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (about 1 medium orange)
For the Filling:
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 1/4 cup Orange Marmalade
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
For the Glaze:
- 1.5 cup powdered sugar
- 3 Tablespoons orange juice
- 1 1/2 teaspoons orange zest (about 1 medium orange)
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 1/2 teaspoon butter extract
- 1/2 teaspoon almond extract
Directions:
To make the dough:
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees and line a 9×13 inch baking dish with parchment paper.
- Heat the water for 1 minute in the microwave. Immediately add the yeast and brown sugar into the bowl of a standard mixer fitted with a dough hook and pour the warm/hot water over the yeast. There is no need to stir the yeast. About ten seconds after the water and yeast have had a chance to mix, the yeast should foam and form bubbles. Let the yeast rest for about 2 minutes.
- In medium bowl combine flour salt, cinnamon, and orange zest. Add flour mixture and mix for 2 minutes. If dough is super sticky add small amounts of flour until dough stops sticking to sides. I had to add about 1/4 cup more. Do not add more than 1/2 cup.
- Let rest for 10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead it with your hands for about 5-6 minutes until a tight ball forms.
- Using a rolling in, roll into a 15×9 inch rectangle. I used a ruler for accuracy. Make sure the dough is smooth and evenly thick, even at the corners.
For the filling:
- Spread the dough rectangle with softened butter. Spoon the orange marmalade across width of dough, it’s okay if it does not spread the entire length. Sprinkle generously with granulated sugar.
- Tightly roll up the dough and cut into 12-15 even rolls (1 1/2 inch in width each) with a very sharp knife. Arrange them in the prepared baking pan, cut sides up.
- Bake rolls for about 15 minutes, until they are lightly golden in color. Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for about 15 minutes.
For the Glaze:
- In a small bowl, mix together all of the glaze ingredients and drizzle over rolls before serving.
- Store in an air tight container for up to 3 days. Rolls taste best fresh out of the oven; but if not serving immediately, do not ice, cool to room temperature, reheat and glaze just before serving.