Light and fluffy blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls with a brioche lemon poppy seed dough, blueberry curd, and a lemon mascarpone frosting.
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blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls
Hello hello! Today I have for you these super delicious & summery blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls. They start out with a fluffy milk bread brioche dough that has a hint of lemon zest in it along with a ton of poppy seeds. Then, we fill them with a homemade blueberry curd that’s not only delicious but is also a super pretty color (just look above!) And then we finish them off with a lemon mascarpone frosting and even more blueberry curd. If you’re looking for a summery take on a cinnamon roll, you’ve come to the right place.
So let’s get right into it! ☺︎
why you’ll love these blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls:
- They’re super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread). method makes these rolls super soft and fluffy.
- Lemon + blueberry + poppy seed: I meannnn it’s the perfect summer flavor combo.
- Lemon mascarpone frosting: super simple, not too sweet & pairs perfectly with the blueberry curd.
expert baking tips
Weigh your ingredients:
My recipes are all written in grams because it is the most accurate way to bake. When you use a kitchen scale, you ensure that your baked goods turn out as close to the written recipe as possible. Plus, the cleanup is way easier when using a scale! I will provide standard cup measurements but please note that I have not tested the recipe using cup measurements and therefore can not guarantee your recipe will come out how mine did. Here is my favorite kitchen scale.
Use room temperature ingredients:
It’s important that your ingredients are at room temperature so that they can easily incorporate with each other. Take out your cold ingredients about an hour before you’ll need them.
the dough will take a while to knead
Kneading this dough will take a longer time than you are probably used to. This dough is enriched with eggs and butter which makes it take longer for the proper amount of gluten to develop. Kneading in the mixer can take me anywhere from 10-20 minutes. The dough is ready to be used when it passes the windowpane test and has pulled away from the sides and bottom of the bowl. If you are weighing your ingredients, just trust the process! If you are using cup measurements and the dough just is not coming together after 15 minutes, try adding in 1 tbsp. of flour at a time.
how to tell your dough is done kneading: the windowpane test
The windowpane test is (in my opinion) the best way to tell that your dough has been properly kneaded. Once the dough starts to pull away from the sides and the bottom of the mixing bowl, it is most likely ready. However, just to be sure that it’s good to go I check if it passes the windowpane test. To do that, take some of the dough in your hands and start to slowly stretch it out. If it can get thin enough to where light passes through it before tearing, then it’s good to go! If not, keep kneading until it does!
A note on oven temperature:
Ovens vary and fluctuate in temperature and might not always actually be at the temperature they claim to be at. If you love to bake like I do, I highly recommend getting an oven thermometer. They are super helpful for letting you know when your oven might be lying to you! I use this one.
ingredients for blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls –
Milk bread brioche:
- Bread flour: I recommend bread flour for the best structure. or structure and chewiness. You could also use a high-quality flour that has a high protein %, such as King Arthur (11.7%) so that your gluten will develop. If you’re using a low protein flour, the gluten will not develop enough and you will have to add a lot more flour to the brioche, which will alter the dough!
- Active dry yeast: for making the dough rise. You can easily substitute in instant yeast if that is what you have on hand – more notes on that later in the blog post.
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the brioche. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: for sweetening the brioche and for helping the yeast with rising.
- Egg: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche rolls and giving them a buttery, melt-in-your-mouth feel. I would not recommend substituting in salted butter since salt is important to controlling yeast growth and the amount of salt in salted butter is quite variable.
- Whole milk: for tenderizing and hydrating the dough. Whole milk will provide the softest rolls because the extra fat helps tenderize the dough. You can however swap in 1%, 2% or your favorite non dairy milk alternative! Just note that the dough may be a little less soft and fluffy due to the varying fat content.
- Lemon: for a bit of zest in the dough.
- Poppy seeds: for flavor, you can omit these to make regular ole’ blueberry lemon rolls as well.
BLUEBERRY CURD:
- Egg: thickens up the curd.
- Granulated sugar: to sweeten and thicken up the curd.
- Lemon: we’ll be using both the zest and the juice for maximum flavor.
- Blueberries: I used and recommend frozen – but fresh blueberries would work as well.
- Salt: like with the dough, a bit of salt helps with the flavor and sweetness of the curd.
- Unsalted butter: helps thicken the curd and make it creamy. You can substitute in salted butter here, just be sure to omit the extra salt from the curd.
lemon mascarpone frosting:
- Mascarpone: the base of the frosting and a delicious, light compliment to the dough and blueberries.
- Lemon: for the zest, to add some lemon flavor into the frosting.
- Heavy whipping cream: to whip up the frosting and make it fluffier.
- Granulated sugar: for a touch of sweetness.
- Vanilla: for flavor.
- Salt: a pinch of salt helps bring out the flavor and sweetness of the icing.
how to make blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls:
Here’s just a little overview of making these blueberry rolls. You can find the full recipe at the end of the blog post!
- Make the lemon poppy seed milk bread and let it rise until doubled in size.
- In the meantime, make the blueberry curd.
- Roll out the dough into a giant rectangle and spread the curd over it.
- Roll up the dough into six strips, let it rise again, then bake, serve & enjoy!
blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls recipe q&a
what is tangzhong?
Tangzhong is a cooking method that involves cooking a portion of the flour in a recipe with 4-5x the amount of liquid. Cooking the flour pre-gelatinizes the starch in the flour, allowing it to hold on to more liquid. This leads to a bread that can hold way more liquid than it normally would be able to, which makes the bread softer, and fluffier, and keeps it from staling as fast. It’s basically a secret ingredient for better bread, using ingredients you already need for the bread! If you ever see the word “milk bread”, that means that that bread uses tangzhong!
how to store blueberry lemon poppy seed rolls
Like any fresh bread recipe, these will definitely taste the best and the most fresh on the day that they are baked. However, they can be stored, unfrosted, out at room temperature in an airtight container for up to 2 days. Keep the mascarpone frosting in the fridge until you want to serve the rolls.
can I use instant yeast instead of active dry yeast?
Definitely – just pop all of the dough ingredients into your mixing bowl to start kneading. I recommend refrigerating the dough overnight to make it easier to work with and more flavorful. However, if you are making the recipe all in one day, and using instant yeast, just note that the dough will double in size faster.
can I make the dough ahead of time?
Yes, and I highly recommend it! Brioche dough is a very enriched dough that can be hard to work with when warm. Knead the dough together, cover it, and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. When you’re ready, take the dough out of the fridge and proceed with the recipe.
tools and ingredients:
You can find all my favorite tools and ingredients that I use on my Amazon Storefront page, here!
other recipes you might enjoy:
did you make this recipe?
I’d love to see and know your thoughts! please leave a comment and review below, and tag me on instagram @freshbeanbakery. #freshbeanbakery
Blueberry Lemon Poppy Seed Rolls
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 20 g bread flour (2 tbsp. + 2 tsp.)
- 80 g whole milk (2 ⅔ oz.)
Brioche
- 200 g bread flour (1 ⅔ c.)
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 ¼ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tsp. salt
- 42 g unsalted butter room temperature (3 tbsp.)
- 1 egg room temperature
- 70 g whole milk room temperature (2 ⅓ oz.)
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 1 tbsp. poppy seeds
Blueberry Curd
- 28 g unsalted butter cubed & room temperature (2 tbsp.)
- 35 g granulated sugar (3 tbsp.)
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 20 g lemon juice (1 tbsp. + 1 tsp.)
- 1 egg
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 75 g frozen blueberries (½ c.)
Lemon Mascarpone Frosting
- 80 g mascarpone (⅓ c.)
- zest of 1 large lemon
- 1 ½ tbsp. granulated sugar
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 100 g heavy whipping cream (3 ⅓ oz.)
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Add the flour and milk to a microwave safe bowl and whisk them together. Microwave for 30 seconds, then stir and microwave for another 30 seconds. The mixture should now be a thick slurry, but if it’s not, microwave it in 10 second intervals until it has thickened.
Brioche
- Add the milk, sugar, yeast, egg, flour, salt, butter, and tangzhong to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
- Knead the mixture on medium speed for ~15-20 minutes. The dough is ready when it is no longer sticking to the sides or the bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, zest a large lemon into the dough and add in the poppy seeds. Mix until well combined.
- Shape the dough into a ball and place it back into the mixing bowl. Cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm area to rise until doubled in size (~1 hr.)**
- In the meantime, make the blueberry curd.
Blueberry Curd
- Prep a small mixing bowl by adding the cubed butter to it, along with a fine mesh sieve. Set aside.
- Add the sugar to a small saucepan, then zest the lemon into the pan. Use your fingers to rub the zest into the sugar.
- Juice the lemon, and add 20g (1 tbsp. + 1 tsp.) of lemon juice to the saucepan. Then add in the egg, salt, and blueberries. Vigorously whisk the mixture to break up the egg.
- Set the saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly (this can be slowly – we just need constant movement happening!)
- Continue to stir the curd until it thickens and reaches a temperature of at least 170°F / 76°C (This takes me about 3-5 minutes.)
- Remove the curd from the heat and pass it through the fine mesh sieve, over the butter. Mix the curd and the butter together until the butter has melted and the mixture is smooth.
- Transfer the curd to the freezer to chill until you're ready to assemble the rolls. (If you're assembling the rolls the next day, keep the curd in the fridge.)
Shaping the Rolls
- Once the dough has finished rising, lightly punch it down to remove any excess air in it. Transfer the dough to a clean and lightly floured surface, then roll it out to a 12″ x 16″ (30 x 40 cm) rectangle. If the dough keeps springing back a lot while rolling it out, let it rest for 5 minutes before continuing.
- Carefully spread 120g (½ c.) of the chilled blueberry curd over the dough into an even layer. Store the remaining blueberry curd in the fridge. Cut the dough into 6 long strips, then roll them up. (This will be messy!)
- Transfer the rolls to a lightly buttered and/or lined eighth sheet pan*** Lightly cover the pan with a towel, and let the rolls rise in a warm environment until doubled in size (~30 minutes).
- Preheat the oven to 350°F / 175°C. (Optional:) Make an egg wash by whisking together an egg with 1 tbsp. milk, then brush it over the rolls.
- Bake for ~20-25 minutes, until the tops of the rolls are golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls has reached 200°F / 93°C.
Lemon Mascarpone Frosting
- Add the mascarpone, lemon zest, sugar, and salt to a small mixing bowl. Beat (by hand or with a mixer) just until the ingredients are combined.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream and beat the mixture until soft peaks form.
- Once the rolls have cooled to room temperature, top them with the lemon mascarpone frosting and extra blueberry curd & enjoy!
Notes
Nutrition
Please note that the nutrition facts are only an estimate and may vary based on different brands of ingredients and any substitutions made.