Strawberry Jam Rolls

This recipe for strawberry jam rolls is a relatively new strawberry season staple in our house.  We love going to the local farms and picking our own strawberries.  We eat the fresh strawberries, sometimes we make strawberry shortcakes.  Any strawberries left behind, will usually end up in a batch of homemade jam.  To use that jam, we’ll make an enriched dough and fill it with homemade jam.  

Strawberry Jam rolls can be a bit of work– the ingredients list is long and the total baking time is even longer.  The good news is that most of this time is not active baking time.  The rolls just need time to rise. Don’t be scared about the list y’all!

Jump to:

• Ingredients
• Kitchen Equipment
• How to make strawberry jam rolls
• More “Berry” Good Recipes. 
• Recipe

Ingredients

• whole milk
• rapid rise yeast
•  large eggs
• all purpose flour
• Cornstarch
• granulated sugar
• Fine sea salt
• unsalted butter
• Strawberry jam
• powdered sugar
• heavy whipping cream
• vanilla extract

A note about the strawberry jam

Use your favorite jam for the filling.  I am a big fan of Bonne Maman jam, but as soon as I made that strawberry jam, I knew it would be a perfect filling for some sweet rolls.   Homemade jam is thinner than store bought, so I was not sure how much to use.   You’ll notice there isn’t a measurement in the recipe, because you kind of need to feel it out a bit, and I didn’t measure it in real time.  Even still I wish that I had used just a bit more.

Kitchen Equipment

• Stand mixer with dough hook attachment [this machine is technically optional. You can knead the dough with your hands if you’re looking for a nice upper body work out.] 
• Measuring cups/Spoons/ Kitchen Scale
• Parchment paper or aluminum foil 
• Instant read thermometer
• Large bowl
• Plastic wrap
• Knife Bench Scraper or unflavored dental floss
• Ruler
• Bench scraper
• 9x13 pan or 2 jumbo muffin tins w/ paper liners

What about the Roll? 

The “roll” part of the strawberry roll is my go-to recipe for cinnamon rolls.  The dough is an enriched dough that includes cornstarch, butter and eggs.   All of this “enrichment” creates a rich dough that takes longer to rise. Patience is a virtue.  The resulting roll is soft, melts in your mouth and rises nice and high. It’s seriously a great recipe to keep tucked away. 

Strawberry Roll Glaze

The type of glaze was a big debate in our house. My go-to cinnamon roll glaze includes cream cheese.  I wanted the tangy strawberry jam to be the main flavor- and I felt like the cream cheese would compete a little more than I wanted. So instead I went with a butter based glaze flavored lightly with vanilla extract. Instead of icing them all, I left some unglazed and with the sweetness of the strawberry jam, you really don’t need the glaze, if you don’t want it. 

How to make strawberry jam rolls

 Make the Dough

•  Mix together the flour, cornstarch, sugar and sea salt in the bowl of the stand mixer. 
• Warm the milk to 110ºF.  This is where you’ll need that thermometer.  The milk needs to be warm enough to activate the yeast, but not too warm that it kills the yeast.  
•  Pour the warmed milk into a measuring cup and stir in the instant yeast until it dissolves.  Wait 2-3 minutes.  If the yeast is active, you’ll notice some frothing action.  Add the eggs to the milk/yeast mixture and whisk it all together.  
• Turn the stand mixer on the lowest setting and slowly pour the milk mixture into the flour.  Increase the speed by 1 and stir until a dough comes together.  Add the softened butter a piece at a time, mixing until each piece is incorporated before adding the next piece.  
• Knead the dough on a medium speed for about 10 minutes, or until the dough comes away from the bowl. 

First Rise: 

On a clean work surface, scrape the dough out of the mixing bowl and shape into a ball by folding each corner into the middle and pressing the dough down in the center.  Place the dough ball, seam side down in the greased bowl.   Cover with plastic wrap and place the dough in a warm spot (75 to 80 degrees) to rise for 2 hours or until it doubles in size. 

Assemble the Rolls

• Prepare the 9x13 baking dish by lining it with either aluminum foil or parchment paper.  Make sure to leave enough overhang to be able to pull the rolls completely out of the pan. 
• Roll the dough into a 18 x 18 inch square. Brush the brown butter evenly across the dough leaving a ¼  inch border on the edges.  Evenly sprinkle the cinnamon sugar mixture on top of the browned butter dough.  
•  Roll the dough from the side closest to you in a tight cylinder and press the dough at the end of the roll to create a tight seam. 
• Slice the rolls in 1 ½ inch pieces and place them in the prepared pan leaving about an inch worth space between each roll. 
• Cover the baking pan with plastic wrap

2nd Rise: Now or Overnight?

• Now: Set the baking pan in a warm spot (about 75ºF to 80ºF) for about 1 hour, until the rolls are doubled in size. 
• Overnight:  Place the baking pan in the refrigerator for 8 to 12 hours.  1 hour before baking, remove the baking pan from the refrigerator and let the rolls come to room temperature. 

Bake: 

The baking temperature for the strawberry jam rolls is 350ºF.  They should bake for 25 to 35 minutes, until they are lightly browned.  Remove the strawberry jam rolls from the oven and let cool slightly on a wire rack for 10 -15 minutes.

More “Berry” Good Recipes. 

I couldn’t resist the pun.  You’re welcome.

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