These sweet pastry rolls are like a combination of yeast rolls and croissants – packed into an easy to make no knead bread! The dough is made using a special technique to yield a flaky and tender bread, but is much less effort to make than traditional pastries.
Let me introduce you all to the BEST weekend baking project: blueberry breakfast pastry rolls! These seriously take the cake (take the pastry…?) for sweet breakfasts. They’re VERY similar to Danish pastries, but the method is slightly different to make for an easier baking project.
Here’s a little run down on why I think you’ll adore these pastries as much as I do:
• they look amazing
• they taste amazing
• the dough is a perfect mix between crisp and flaky + soft and fluffy
• no kneading needed (try saying that 5 times fast)
• filling options are endlessssss (I used blueberry sauce – but I list some more options below!)
The only downside is there is quite a bit of waiting involved. But that’s the price we have to pay for low effort!
what is laminating a dough?
You’re going to see me say “laminating” a few times in this post, so I figured it would be helpful to do a quick rundown of what it means if you’re new to the pastry world! If you’ve seen croissants being made before, you might already have an idea of what this looks like.
Laminating is essentially the process of folding butter and dough together to create layers upon layyyyeerrrss of… well, butter and dough. This is what gives croissants and puff pastry their signature flaky textures, and I also use this trick when making rolled biscuits for extra flakes!
This pastry doesn’t involve as much rolling and folding that you would need to do when making something like croissants, but it involves a few quick and easy folds to incorporate some flakiness into the dough!
blueberry breakfast pastry ingredients:
• flour: you’ll need some to make the actual dough and a bit to roll, laminate, and shape the pastries
• salt
• milk: I tried making this dough with a mixture of milk and water, but the 100% milk bread was a clear winner!
• sugar
• egg: a whole egg for the dough and an egg yolk for the egg wash
• butter: for the dough and for laminating! It’s the secret (not so secret actually) to getting those amazingly flaky pastry layers
• blueberry sauce: my favorite filling! I made my blueberry sauce from scratch specifically for this recipe, which is why you’ll see a few extra ingredients pictured above. Don’t be afraid to try out different filling options with your pastries if you don’t want to go with blueberry sauce – you can also use any other jam or thick spread for the filling to make different variations! Some of my favorites include apricot jam, Nutella, lemon curd, ganache, or sweet cinnamon butter!
• heavy cream: for the egg wash. It creates the nicest browning to the pastry, but you can also use milk in a pinch
• powdered sugar
• liquid for the icing: to loosen up the icing’s consistency, you can use lemon juice, water, milk, or heavy cream. Either one works fine, but the lemon juice will add a lemony flavor. The other options won’t really flavor the icing, so they make a nice, light compliment to the pastry. That being said, the icing is totally optional – I just like the added sweetness. Plus I think it makes them look pretty and who doesn’t love a pretty pastry?
how to make blueberry breakfast pastry:
Make the dough:
1. Proof yeast. Combine milk, yeast, and about 1 tablespoon of the sugar in a large bowl, and set aside until bubbly. Proofing yeast in milk tends to take longer than if you were to proof it in plain water because of the added fat. So don’t worry if it takes some time. It shouldn’t be longer than 10 minutes though (otherwise that could be a sign that the yeast is either expired or the milk was too hot – in which case the only fix is to start over with fresh yeast and milk)
2. Whisk in remaining sugar and egg.
3. Combine remaining dough ingredients. Mix together until you get a thick, sticky dough, and no longer see any dry streaks of flour. Do NOT knead! This is designed to be a low effort dough!!!
4. Gradually incorporate butter into dough. Add small pieces of butter (about 1 tablespoon at a time) and mix the dough until the butter is well combined before adding the next piece. Repeat until all of the butter is incorporated into the dough.
5. Proof dough. Cover the dough and refrigerate for about 4 hours, up to overnight, or until about doubled in size.
Laminating:
1. Roll the chilled dough into a rectangle. It doesn’t need to be perfect (you can see I truly practice what I preach lol).
2. Spread about half of the butter onto the surface, and fold the dough into thirds (like a letter).
3. Cover and chill dough until butter firms up. This should take about 1 to 2 hours.
4. Roll dough again, spread remaining butter over top, and fold into thirds again.
5. Chill for another 4 hours to set the second layer of butter and rest the dough. The dough should have about doubled in size.
Make the rolls:
1. Roll out the dough with a rolling pin & spread your filling overtop. Leave a slight border (about 1/2 an inch to 1 inch) along the edges to help keep the filling from spilling out the sides when you roll the dough.
2. Roll the dough up into a log working along the long side. The same as you would if you were making cinnamon rolls. It is important to make the roll tight to hold everything together, but take care not to overdo it because the filling could start spilling out.
3. Cut pastry rolls. You should get about 16 pastries out of the log. The ends always look a little wonky, so I like to bake them separately and consider them my treat.
4. Arrange on baking sheet.
5. Proof pastries. Set aside for 25 to 30 minutes, or until puffed up and risen. They won’t quite double in size, but they should be noticeably larger, like so:
6. Egg wash. Whisk together the egg yolk and heavy cream/milk, and brush onto your pastries. It’s best to use a dabbing motion to brush on rather than a spreading motion because that can smear the filling around – still delicious, but the pastries will look a bit messy.
7. Bake.
Icing (optional):
1. Whisk together icing ingredients. If needed, gradually add more liquid until it reaches your desired consistency. I like a thicker icing to drizzle streaks over the pastries, but you can add more liquid and make a glaze to create more of an outer crust (kind of like a glazed donut!)
2. Drizzle over pastries after they’ve cooled slightly & serve!
blueberry breakfast pastry storage:
These pastries are best served fresh, on the same day they’re made. They can be kept for up to 2 days on your counter or in the fridge, but anything longer than that and they start tasting stale. Keep wrapped tightly in plastic wrap or in a sealed plastic bag to maintain maximum freshness!
If you want to store your pastries for longer, they freeze amazingly! I like to reheat the pastries in the oven after freezing them, so for that reason, I always store them without any glaze or icing on them.
Let the pastries cool completely to room temperature, then transfer to an airtight freezer container or plastic bag. Seal well, and freeze for up to 3 months. To defrost, you can set the pastries out at room temperature or warm in a preheated 350°F oven for 5 to 10 minutes until thawed and warmed through. Ice / glaze, and serve normally!
Check out these other recipes!
• Lemon Poppy Seed Bread
• Spring Lemon Bundt Cake
• Small Batch Blueberry Crisp
• Blueberry Muffins
Blueberry Breakfast Pastries Recipe
Ingredients
For the pastry dough:
- 1 cup (240mL) lukewarm milk, about 110°F
- 2 & 1/4 teaspoons (1 package) instant or active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup (50g) sugar
- 1 large egg, at room temperature
- 3 cups (360g) all-purpose flour, spoon and leveled
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 1/4 cup (1/2 stick / 60g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
For laminating the dough:
- 1/2 cup (1 stick / 115g) unsalted butter, softened to room temperature
For the filling:
- 2/3 cup (200g) blueberry sauce * see notes
For the egg wash:
- 1 large egg yolk
- 2 tablespoons heavy cream or milk
For the icing (optional):
- 2/3 cup (130g) powdered sugar
- 1 to 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice, water, heavy cream, or milk ** see notes
Instructions
- Make the dough: In a large bowl, combine milk, yeast, and about 1 tablespoon of sugar. Whisk to combine and set aside to proof for about 5 to 10 minutes, or until foamy on the surface.
- Add your remaining sugar and egg to the yeast mixture and whisk to combine. Add the flour and salt, and using a sturdy spoon, mix together until you get a thick, sticky dough and you no longer see any dry streaks of flour.
- Gradually mix the butter into the sticky dough, about 1 tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition to incorporate. You don't need to knead this dough, so once the final tablespoon of butter is incorporated into the dough, it's ready to proof!
- Cover the dough with plastic wrap, and place in the fridge for 4 hours or up to overnight, or until the dough about doubles in size.
- Laminate the dough: Turn the chilled dough onto a large floured work surface. Using a rolling pin, roll the dough out into a rough rectangle that's about 10×15 inches large. Spread about half of the laminating butter over the top of the dough (1/4 cup of butter total).
- Fold the dough into thirds lengthwise like a letter (see above for visual). Place the dough back into your bowl, and cover and refrigerate until the butter layer firms up (about 1 to 2 hours).
- Once chilled, uncover the dough and place back onto your floured work surface. Repeat the above process: roll the dough into a 10×15 inch rectangle, spread the remaining butter overtop, and fold lengthwise into thirds.
- Place the dough back into the bowl, and cover and chill for 4 hours or overnight again, or until about doubled in size.
- Line 2 large baking sheets with parchment paper, and set aside.
- Shape the pastries: Turn the dough onto a floured work surface, and using a rolling pin, roll the dough into a rough rectangle that's about 10×15 inches large. Evenly spread your blueberry sauce (or other favorite filling) onto the surface of the dough, leaving a border of about 1/2 an inch to 1 inch to prevent spill out.
- Roll the dough up tightly starting from the 10 inch side to form a 15 inch long log. Using a serrated (preferred) or a very sharp knife, cut the ends off the log and slice 16 evenly sized rolls (see above for visual).
- Arrange the rolls on your parchment lined baking sheets, leaving about 1 inch of space between each roll to allow for expansion and air circulation. Cover the rolls and set aside in a warm place to rest for about 20 minutes, or until slightly puffed and visibly larger in size. They won't quite double in size.
- Preheat your oven to 400°F.
- Make the egg wash: In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and heavy cream. Mix together to combine.
- Uncover your rolls, and lightly brush the tops with the egg wash. It's best to brush on with a patting motion as opposed to a spreading motion to prevent smearing the filling.
- Bake the pastries in the center of your preheated 400°F oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until golden brown on top. Set aside to cool until they're just slightly warm.
- Make the icing: In a medium sized bowl, combine powdered sugar and 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, water, milk, or heavy cream (your choice). Whisk to combine. If needed, gradually whisk in more liquid until it reaches your desired consistency.
- Drizzle the icing over your pastries, and serve!
Notes
Enjoy!
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