Milk bread blueberry sweet rolls that are super light & fluffy, loaded with blueberry jam & topped off with a mascarpone frosting.
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milk bread blueberry sweet rolls
Cinnamon rolls are great and all, but what if we filled the rolls with something different – like a delicious homemade blueberry jam. These rolls are ridiculously soft and fluffy, filled with a super simple and delicious blueberry jam, and topped with a mascarpone frosting. Below you’ll find all the tips, tricks and info you need to successfully make yeast bread – and more specifically – these delicious blueberry sweet rolls. So let’s get into it! 🙂
why you’ll love these blueberry rolls:
- They’re super soft and fluffy: The tangzhong (milk bread) method makes these super soft and fluffy.
- Wild blueberry & mascarpone: the mascarpone frosting *perfectly* compliments the sweetness of the blueberry jam.
- They’re easy to make: well, easier than you might think! Once you’ve got the dough together, the hardest part of this recipe is waiting for the dough to rise.
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.
be careful heating the milk
Heating the milk is important for bringing the yeast to an optimal temperature for rising. The milk should be heated to ~100°F / 38°C but it does not have to be exact. As long as the milk is between 95°F – 110°F, it is good to be used. If the temperature exceeds 110°F, wait for it to cool down before using so that you do not kill the yeast!
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 milk bread blueberry sweet rolls –
Milk Bread Brioche Dough:
- Bread flour: for structure. You can use all purpose flour, but please be sure that you are using 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 probably need to add in some more flour – which will dry out 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 on.)
- Salt: for balancing and bringing out the sweetness of the dough. Salt also “controls” the yeast to make sure that it does not overly expand.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the brioche and helps the yeast with rising.
- Eggs: for binding and adding moisture.
- Unsalted butter: for tenderizing the brioche and giving it 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.
blueberry jam:
- Blueberries: I use frozen blueberries here, but fresh will work perfectly as well.
- Granulated sugar: sweetens the topping – you can also use brown sugar here in a pinch.
- Lemon juice: a touch of acidity brightens up the flavor of the jam. Fresh or bottled lemon juice, or even lime juice, will work here.
- Cornstarch: for thickening up the wild blueberry jam. I recommend cornstarch because it is better at thickening, but in a pinch you *can* use double the amount of flour in it’s place.
- Water: we’ll dissolve the cornstarch in some water prior to adding it into the jam to avoid clumps.
Whipped Mascarpone frosting:
- Mascarpone: the base of the icing and a delicious, light compliment to the dough and blueberries.
- Heavy whipping cream: to whip up the icing 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 sweet rolls
Here are some images of the process of making these blueberry rolls. You can find the full recipe at the end of this blog post!
- Mix all the dough ingredients and let it rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 hr.
- Make the blueberry jam.
- Roll out the dough into a large rectangle.
- Evenly spread the wild blueberry jam over the dough.
- Roll the dough into a tight cylinder and slice it into 6 pieces.
- Let the dough rise again, then bake, frost, serve and enjoy!
milk bread blueberry sweet 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 rolls
Is there anything better than fresh brioche? These will taste their best on the day that they are baked. I’d recommend only frosting the rolls that you want to eat, so you can store the rolls at room temperature in an airtight container, and the mascarpone icing in the fridge. If you frost them all, you’ll have to refrigerate the leftovers which will dry out the dough faster and lead to a melted mascarpone frosting situation if you want to heat them.
can I double this recipe?
Definitely – simply double the ingredients and bake it in two pans. I even more strongly recommend using a kitchen scale if you are scaling up the recipe, for the best results.
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, let the dough rest for just 10 minutes as the first rise (or whatever the instructions are on your yeast packet), then proceed with the rest of the recipe.
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
Milk Bread Blueberry Sweet Rolls
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 24 g bread flour (3 tbsp.)
- 100 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 2 tbsp.)
Brioche
- 90 g whole milk (⅓ c. + 1 tbsp.)
- 1 ½ tsp. active dry yeast
- 1 tbsp. granulated sugar
- 1 egg room temperature
- 240 g bread flour (2 c.)
- 1 tsp. salt
- 56 g unsalted butter (4 tbsp.) room temperature
- 2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream for brushing on top
Blueberry Jam
- 225 g blueberries fresh or frozen (1 ½ c.)
- 50 g granulated sugar (¼ c.)
- 45 g lemon juice divided (3 tbsp.)
- 1 tbsp. cornstarch
Whipped Mascarpone Frosting
- 110 g mascarpone (½ c.)
- 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
- ½ tsp. vanilla
- ⅛ tsp. salt
- 85 g heavy whipping cream (3 oz.)
Instructions
Tangzhong
- Add the 24g flour and 100g 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 tangzhong, flour, sugar, egg, butter, yeast, salt, and milk 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 bottom of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test.*
- Once the dough is done kneading, 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 jam.
Blueberry Jam
- Add the blueberries, sugar, and 30g (2 tbsp.) of lemon juice to a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir occasionally and bring to a simmer. Let the mixture simmer for 2 minutes.
- In a separate small bowl, make the cornstarch slurry by whisking together the cornstarch and remaining lemon juice.
- While mixing the blueberries constantly, stream in the cornstarch slurry. Continue mixing constantly until the jam thickens, then remove it from the heat. Keep the jam covered in the fridge until you're ready to assemble the rolls.
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 the blueberry jam over the dough, reserving ~2-3 tbsp. to top the rolls later. Tightly roll the dough up into a cylinder starting from the longer (16") side.
- Cut the log into 6 even pieces.
- 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℉ / 175℃.
- Brush the heavy cream over the rolls. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops of the rolls start to turn golden brown and the internal temperature of the rolls has reached 180℉ / 82℃.
Whipped Mascarpone Frosting
- In a small bowl, beat together the mascarpone, sugar, vanilla and salt just until combined.
- Add in the heavy whipping cream and beat until soft peaks form.
- Top the rolls with the mascarpone and your reserved blueberry jam. Serve, and 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.