Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls

A individual orange sweet roll on a blue plate with a fork cutting it in half.

Course: Breakfast / Dessert

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Baking recipes, Breakfast rolls, Homemade sweet rolls recipe

Prep Time: 15

Cook Time: 35

Proofing: 3

Total Time: 3 50

Servings: people

Calories: 684kcal

Author: Kris Longwell

These Homemade Orange Sweet Rolls are everything you think they should be...and more. Heavenly and delicious.

Print Recipe

Equipment

9" diameter cake pan, or 8"x 8" baking dish

Ingredients

FOR THE DOUGH

3⅔ cup all-purpose flour
2¼ tsp rapid rise dry yeast 1 package, active dry yeast will work, too
½ cup whole milk warmed to approx. 100° F
6 tbsp unsalted butter melted, and then cooled to approx. 100° F
½ cup sour cream
⅓ cup sugar
2 tsp Kosher salt
1 large egg lightly beaten

FOR THE SWEET ROLLS

6 tbsp unsalted butter softened
⅔ cup sugar
2 tbs orange zest

FOR THE ICING

1 tbsp orange zest
2 cups confectioner's sugar aka powdered sugar
4 tbsp fresh orange juice

Instructions

MAKE THE DOUGH

In a large bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with the dough attachment, mix together the flour and the yeast.
With the mixer on medium speed, add the warmed milk and melted butter (that's cooled slightly) to flour/yeast mixture. Next add in the sour cream, sugar, salt, and egg.
Beat at medium speed until the dough is smooth and elastic, approximately 5 minutes (Dough should pull away from sides of the bowl, but still stick to the bottom).
Spray a large bowl with nonstick cooking spray.
Place the dough in prepared bowl, turning to coat top.
Cover, and let rise in a warm draft-free place until the dough has about doubled in size, approximately 1 to 2 hours (seen note).

PREPARE THE SWEET ROLLS

Spray a 9-inch round pan (2 inches in height works well) with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside.
Lightly punch down the prepared dough and on a lightly floured surface, roll dough into a 14"x10" rectangle.
Spread the softened butter (6 tablespoons) evenly over dough.
In a small bowl, stir together sugar (⅔ cup) and zest (2 tablespoons) then sprinkle over butter.
Starting on one long side, roll dough into a log.
Slice into 9 to 10 rolls.
Place rolls in prepared pan.
Cover, and let rise in a warm draft-free place until almost doubled in sized, approximately 45 minutes to 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 350° F.
Bake, uncovered, until golden brown, approximately 30 minutes.
Let cool in pan on a wire rack for about 10 to 15 minutes.

MAKE THE ICING AND FINISH THE ROLLS

In a medium bowl, stir together the remaining 1 teaspoon zest, confectioners' sugar, and orange juice until smooth.
Drizzle and smear icing over warm rolls.

Video

Notes

If using active dry yeast in place of rapid rise, simply allow the dough to rise a little longer. There are multiple factors that will cause the time for the dough to rise to vary from time to time. It may only take 1 hour for the dough to double in size, but it could take up to 3 hours.

IMPORTANT: Don't add really hot milk and melted butter to the flour/yeast mixture. If you do, it will kill the yeast and the dough won't rise. We recommend using an instant-read thermometer to check the temperature. Neither the milk or the melted butter should be over 100° to 105° F.

The dough can be prepared the night before. Instead of letting it rise in a warm, draft-free area, simply cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours.

If you don't have a zester or micro-plane, you can rub the skin of the oranges against the small blades on the side of a box cutter.

Nutrition