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Victor Protasio; Food Stylist: Ruth Blackburn; Prop Stylist: Christine Keely
Orange rolls are a welcome addition to holiday mornings, weekend brunches, or special occasion gatherings. Serve by themselves, as a dessert-like treat, or partner with savory sides like bacon or quiche for a full meal.
These sweet orange rolls have a bit of spice (cinnamon in particular) to balance the sweetness and tartness of fresh orange zest and juice and tangy orange marmalade.
You can make them if you rise and shine early, or you can make ahead: Refrigerate the pan of unbaked rolls overnight; omit the second rise, and let the rolls sit at room temperature for about an hour before baking.
Ingredients
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1 (1/4-oz.) envelope active dry yeast
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1/4 cup warm water (about 110°F)
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1 1/4 cups, plus 1 tsp. granulated sugar, divided
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3 large eggs, lightly beaten
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1 cup whole milk, at room temperature
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1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
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6-6 1/3 cups bread flour, divided, plus more for work surface
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1 cup unsalted butter, softened, divided
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1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
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3/4 cup orange marmalade, divided
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1/2 cup powdered sugar
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2 tsp. orange zest plus 1 Tbsp. fresh juice
Directions
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Stir together yeast, warm water, and 1 teaspoon of the granulated sugar in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, milk, salt, 1 cup of the granulated sugar, 2 cups of the flour, and 1/2 cup of the butter to yeast mixture in bowl. Beat on low speed just until smooth, about 1 minute. Replace paddle attachment with dough hook attachment. Add 3 cups of the flour to mixture; beat on medium speed until dough is smooth but still sticky, about 5 minutes.
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Dust a work surface with 1 cup of the flour. Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead until elastic and just a little tacky to the touch, incorporating flour from work surface into dough and adding up to 1/3 cup additional flour as needed if dough is too sticky. Transfer to a large bowl lightly coated with cooking spray, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place (80°F) until roughly doubled in size, about 1 hour.
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Stir together cinnamon, 1/2 cup of the orange marmalade, and remaining 1/4 cup granulated sugar and 1/2 cup butter in a small bowl until mostly smooth. Set aside.
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Turn dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Roll out to an 18- x 12-inch rectangle. Spread butter-marmalade mixture over surface, leaving a 1/2-inch border. Starting at 1 long end, roll up dough into a log. Cut crosswise into 15 pieces (about 1 1/4 inches thick each). Arrange rolls in a 13- x 9-inch baking pan lightly coated with cooking spray. Cover with plastic wrap; let rise in a warm place (80°F) until puffy and almost doubled in size, about 30 minutes.
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Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover rolls; gently brush with remaining 1/4 cup marmalade. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Let cool in pan on a wire rack 15 minutes.
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Whisk together powdered sugar and orange zest and juice in a small bowl until smooth; drizzle over rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.