High Altitude Orange Poppy Seed Breakfast Rolls
Soft and fluffy poppy seed rolls, flavored with fresh orange zest and filled with homemade poppy seed filling.
All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.
Equipment
- Stand Mixer with Dough Hook
- 12-Cup Muffin Pan (or a 9x13 Baking Dish)
- Coffee Grinder (or a Spice Grinder or Mortar and Pestle)
Ingredients
Dough
- 1 recipe Cinnamon Roll Dough
- 1 tsp fresh orange zest (zest of 1/2 a navel orange)
Filling
- ¾ cup poppy seeds
- 3 tbsp unsalted butter
- ⅓ cup whole milk
- ⅓ cup granulated sugar
- ¼ tsp coarse Kosher salt (if using table salt, use half the amount)
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten
- 1 tsp vanilla extract
Instructions
Dough
- Prepare the Cinnamon Roll Dough, as instructed, adding the fresh orange zest to the dough.
- After letting the dough rise to double in size, cover and refrigerate the dough overnight.
- When ready to assemble and bake the rolls, on a lightly floured surface roll out the chilled dough into a rectangle measuring approximately 12x18 inches.
Filling
- Using a coffee grinder, spice grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the poppy seeds until they become powdery and the texture resembles potting soil. Scrape the ground poppy seeds into a bowl, and set aside.
- In a small saucepan set over medium to medium low heat, melt the butter, then whisk in the milk, sugar, salt, egg and vanilla.
- Stirring constantly with a silicone spatula, heat the custard mixture until it thickens enough to coat the back of the spatula. This should take about 5-10 minutes.
- Set a fine mesh strainer over the bowl of poppy seeds, and pour the custard through the strainer to remove any bits of cooked egg.
- Stir the poppy seed filling until smooth, then refrigerate for about 10 minutes to cool it down before filling the rolls. You can also make the filling 1 day in advance, keeping it refrigerated until needed.
- Spread the cooled filling evenly over the dough.
Shaping
- Roll up the dough (starting on one of the long sides) into a log, keeping it as tight as you can. Using a gentle sawing motion with a sharp, non-serrated knife, cut the dough into 12 rolls. You can also use unflavored dental floss to cut the dough, by sliding the floss under the log of dough, then crossing it over the top to cut through.
- Butter a standard sized 12-cup muffin pan (or a 9x13 inch baking dish) and place the rolls, cut side up, in the pan. Cover the pan with a towel, and set in a warm place for just 20 minutes, until slightly puffed.
Bake
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
- Bake the rolls on the center oven rack for about 18-20 minutes (if baking them in a muffin pan) or for about 20-25 minutes (if baking them in a 9x13 baking pan). The rolls should be puffed, a very pale golden brown, and a digital instant read thermometer inserted into the center of one of the rolls should read 190F.
- Let cool for 5 minutes, then serve warm with softened butter or jam, or drizzle with icing. You can find icing recipes in the recipe notes section below.
Notes
Storage and Reheating
Store leftover rolls in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days.
Reheat individual rolls in the microwave at 50% power for about 30 seconds.
Cream Baked Poppy Seed Rolls
For the ultimate gooey texture, bake the rolls in a 9x13 baking dish. Just before baking the rolls, pour 1/2 cup slightly warmed heavy whipping cream over the rolls, then bake as instructed.
Icing
For a sweeter finish, combine 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 1 tsp vanilla extract, and 4-5 tbsp milk or cream, until smooth and drizzly. Drizzle the icing over the rolls. For an orange icing, replace the milk with orange juice.
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