Spanish Rolls
Spanish Rolls are one of my favorite things to eat!
They are a soft, sweet bread dough rolled flat and filled with sweetened butter, then rolled jelly-roll style. The rolled dough is brushed with melted butter then topped with a sprinkling of a sugar-breadcrumb mixture and baked to golden brown perfection.
Eat them as a snack, dessert, or have a roll or two or three 😉 for breakfast with
a steaming cup of your favorite coffee.
It’s not that difficult to make. Follow my complete recipe below and mix up a batch of sweet bread dough. Flatten pieces of dough and brush with a butter-sugar mixture. Roll up the dough, jelly-roll style and let the dough rise.
Spread more butter on top of the rolls and top with a sugar-breadcrumb topping before baking. Use turbinado sugar, also called sugar in the raw, to top the rolls.
The sugar-breadcrumb mixture bakes up into a sweet and crunchy topping that compliments the soft and incredibly fluffy, buttery rolls.
Don’t you wish you could just reach into your computer and pull one of these
scrumptious rolls right off that pan?
Give my recipe a try. I know you’ll like it. 🙂
- 1¼ cup milk
- ½ cup sugar
- 2 packets active dry yeast
- 6 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1½ teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 large egg yolks
- 4½ cups all-purpose flour
- 2 sticks softened butter
- 1 cup white sugar
- 1 cup bread crumbs
- ¼ cup turbinado sugar (also called sugar in the raw)
- Place the milk into a microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on high for 1 minute and 15 seconds. Pour the hot milk into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add the sugar to the milk, mixing until the sugar is dissolved, about one minute.
- Add the yeast to the milk-sugar mixture then mix until dissolved. Let the yeast stand for about 10 minutes to proof (the mixture should become very foamy).
- Let the melted butter cool down a bit then mix it with the salt, egg and egg yolks. Pour the butter mixture into the mixing bowl with the yeast mixture.
- Mix in the flour, a half cup at a time until you've used four cups of flour.
- Change the paddle to the dough hook then add the last half cup of flour. Knead with the dough hook for about 5 minutes, or until the dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.
- Spray the ball of dough with butter cooking spray then cover the mixing bowl with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise in a warm place until doubled (about 45 minutes to an hour).
- After the dough has doubled in volume, punch it down then place it onto a clean countertop. Knead gently for 1 minute. Divide the dough into 24 pieces. Roll out each piece of dough into ovals.
- Prepare the filling by mixing the softened butter and sugar together until creamy.
- Evenly spread about a tablespoon of the butter and sugar mixture over each piece of flattened dough (you will have some of the mixture leftover; save this for use later).
- Roll the dough, jellyroll-style. Place onto a baking sheet about one inch apart. Cover loosely with plastic wrap; place the pan in a warm place to rise for about 20 minutes.
- While the rolls are rising, mix the breadcrumbs and turbinado sugar together.
- After the rolls have risen, gently spread some of the remaining butter-sugar mixture on top of the rolls. Sprinkle the breadcrumb mixture on top of the buttered rolls.
- Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes or until golden brown.
Can you prep make the dough and leave it in the fridge over night and bake it in the morning?
That shouldn’t be a problem for the first rise.
Hi, can you use rapid rise yeast instead of active dry?
Yes, you can.
The recipe is very easy to follow and the rolls were perfect. This recipe is a keeper!
Do we grease the pan?
No, you shouldn’t need to.
It was very easy to make ,I made a dozen for now and was very good especially right out of the oven. We say ONO here in Hawaii and gof maolek back in Guam
Mahalo and Si Yu’us Ma’ase’!
Is there a more ‘native’ name for these? I would like to make them for spanish class and it would seem more “legit” I guess. Thank you 🙂
I suppose you could just translate “Spanish Rolls” into Spanish and use that for your presentation.
can I freeze dough & or refrigerate it couple of days ahead?
You can freeze it after forming the rolls. Let it thaw out at room temperature then bake as directed after the rolls have risen as described.
First time I taste this Spanish roll when I went to Hawaii visiting my family, and i really love it.
Does the humidity in the air affect the dough making? If so how do I adjust my flour? Also how should the dough look when done kneading?
Flour can absorb more moisture if the humidity is high, and conversely, less if the humidity is low.
My rule of thumb:
High humidity = greater moisture content of your flour ➡️ Add more flour (or less liquid) to your dough
Low humidity = lower moisture content of your flour ➡️ Add less flour (or add more liquid) to your dough.
The dough should be a bit sticky.
The recipe is perfect so far. I made them yesterday and the whole family liked it. I am now making a second batch. Thank you
So glad to hear that!
I want to make these for my spanish themed Christmas eve dinner. Can I make then the day before?
Of course you can. Keep the rolls in an airtight container.
How many grams are each of the yeast packets?
Each packet of yeast is 7 grams.
Omg!!! I love these!!!! I could eat a whole bag to myself.. I have to give this recipe a try cause being far away from home.. I could eat it right here!!!!
Hi Shirley! These rolls are soooo yummy, aren’t they? Let me know how they turn out for you. Just a tip if you’ve never made yeast bread before–patience is the key (especially while waiting for the dough to rise). Good luck and let know how they turn out for you. 🙂
Hi Annie!!! Yes they are too good!! And thank you for the tip it would be but I sure will keep that in mind 🙂 can’t wait!!!