Strawberry Milk Bread Rolls

If you’ve tried our milk bread cinnamon rolls, you know why they’re one of our all-time favorite recipes. They’re soft and pillowy and keep that texture without going hard, thanks to the tangzhong and milk bread method. In this version, we’re making our classic milk bread cinnamon rolls with a strawberry twist.

To turn these into strawberry rolls, we add freeze-dried strawberries to each component. Strawberry powder is first added to the dough for a subtle pink hue. Then it’s mixed into the filling, where it combines with butter and bakes into an almost jammy center. Lastly, strawberry powder is stirred into the cream cheese topping for a pink, tangy finish.

🍓 Step-by-Step Summary

Start by making the tangzhong, which gives these rolls their soft, pillowy texture. In a small saucepan, combine the bread flour and water over medium heat. Stir constantly for about five minutes, until it thickens into a smooth paste. Transfer the tangzhong to a container and refrigerate for at least four hours or overnight. Before you use it, let it sit at room temperature for about an hour so it’s easier to incorporate into the dough.

Next, bloom the yeast. Warm your milk to about 105°F and stir in one tablespoon of sugar along with two packets of active dry yeast. Let it sit for five minutes until it’s fragrant and bubbly on top.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, combine the bread flour, milk powder, salt, strawberry powder, and the remaining sugar. Turn the mixer on low and pour in the bloomed yeast mixture, eggs, and room-temperature tangzhong. Mix for two to three minutes until the dough starts to come together. Then add the softened butter and mix on low for one more minute. Once the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to medium-high and knead for eight minutes. The dough should pull into a ball and feel soft but not too sticky. If it’s sticking to the bowl, add a little extra flour.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, cover with a towel, and let it rise for about one hour or until it doubles in size. Once risen, lightly flour your countertop and roll the dough into a large rectangle, about ¼ inch thick. To make the filling, mix together the softened butter, sugar, vanilla (or vanilla bean paste), and ground freeze-dried strawberries. Spread the filling evenly over the dough, leaving a half-inch border around the edges.

Roll the dough tightly from the long edge into a log. Use unflavored dental floss or a sharp knife to slice the log into 12 equal pieces. Place the rolls into two greased 9×13” baking pans, cover again with a towel, and let them proof for another 45 minutes, until they’re puffy and nearly doubled in size.

While the rolls are proofing, preheat your oven to 350°F. Once ready, bake the rolls for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown around the edges and fully baked through the center. Let them cool for about 10 minutes before frosting.

To make the cream cheese glaze, beat together the softened cream cheese, butter, heavy cream, and strawberry powder until smooth. Add the vanilla bean paste, a touch of almond extract (if using), sifted powdered sugar, and salt. Stir until the glaze is smooth and spreadable. Frost each roll with about a tablespoon of glaze, and serve while warm.

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Strawberry Milk Bread Rolls

Prep Time 1 hour hour

Cook Time 30 minutes minutes

Rising 2 hours hours

Total Time 3 hours hours 30 minutes minutes

Servings 12 large cinnamon rolls

Equipment

• 2 9×13" pans

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• 200 g water
• 40 g bread flour

Dough

• 1 cup milk
• 4 T milk powder 24 g
• 2 packs yeast 14 g
• 700 g bread flour ~5 cups
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar 50 g
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 stick softened butter
• 40 g freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder

Filling

• 1 stick butter softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla or 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste
• 40 g freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder
• Cream cheese glaze:
• 4 tablespoons butter softened
• 4 ounces cream cheese softened
• 2 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1 tablespoon vanilla bean paste teaspoon vanilla extract
• ¼ teaspoon almond extract optional
• 1 cups confectioners’ sugar sifted
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 40 g freeze dried strawberries ground into a powder

Instructions

Tangzhong:

• Add the flour and milk into a medium saute pan over medium heat. Stir to combine.
• Continue to stir with a spatula until it forms a thick paste (about 5 minutes)
• Refrigerate the mixture for at least 4 hours (up to overnight). An hour before use, take the paste out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature

Milk Bread Dough:

• Blooming the yeast:
• To bloom the yeast, add together warm milk, 1 tablespoon of sugar, and the yeast into a small bowl. The milk should be about 105 degrees fahrenheit. Let the mixture sit for 5 minutes until it is slightly sweet smelling a bubbly.
• Making the dough
• In the base of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, add the bread flour, freeze dried strawberries, milk powder, salt, and remaining sugar. Run the mixer on low and add in the bloomed yeast, egg, and tangzhong. Mix for about 2-3 minutes on low until the dough begins to form.
• After 2-3 minutes add in the softened butter and continue to mix on low for about 1 minute. After the butter is incorporated, increase the mixer speed to medium high and mix for 8 minutes. At this point the dough should form a ball that is not too sticky, if it is not forming a ball, add in a few more tablespoons of bread flour.
• Once the dough is smooth and formed into a ball, place it into a greased mixing bowl. Cover the bowl with a towel and proof it for about 1 hour or until it has doubled in size (the time this takes will depend on the temperature of where you are letting the dough proof)
  

Shaping:

• After the dough has doubled in size. Flour the counter or a large surface and roll it into a rectangle (about ¼ inch thick)
• Make the filling by mixing softened butter, vanilla bean paste, freeze dried strawberries and sugar. After the filling is mixed, spread it over the dough leaving a ½ border along the edges
  
• After adding the filling, roll the dog into a log rolling the longer side inwards until a tight log forms.
  
• Once the roll is formed used unflavored floss or a knife to but the dough into 9 pieces.
• Place each roll into a greased 9×13 inch pan. Cover the pan with a towel and let them proof for about 45 minutes or until they have almost doubled in size.
  
• Preheat the oven to 350˚F
• After they have proofed, bake the cinnamon rolls for 25-30 minutes or until they are golden on the edges but baked in the center. Cool for 10 minutes before frosting.
  

Frosting:

• Add the cream cheese, heavy cream, freeze dried strawberries, and butter into a bowl and mix with a spoon until smooth. Add the extracts, powdered sugar, and salt into the bowl and mix until smooth. Frost each cinnamon roll with about a tablespoon of the icing and serve.