Strawberry Sourdough Rolls

There’s something special about strawberries when they are fresh and in season. A little brighter, a little sweeter, a little richer in color. Delicious to eat plain but absolutely incredible if you make them the star of a baked good, like these strawberry sourdough rolls. Strawberries standout in these soft and tender sourdough rolls with fresh strawberry rolled up in the dough and spooned across the top of the roll – my mouth is watering just thinking about them! Soft, sweet and full of spring flavors, you’ve got to try these strawberry sourdough rolls.

Why You’ll Love Strawberry Sourdough Rolls

You will love the sweet strawberry flavor that is throughout these rolls. From fresh strawberry to freeze dried strawberry, every bite is a pop of strawberry flavor. They are easy to mix – just require some rising time and are 100% sourdough, giving you delicious rolls that are easy to digest thanks to the sourdough fermentation process. Kids and adults both love these strawberry sourdough rolls, and I know you will love them too!

Sourdough Baker’s Timeline

A sample baking schedule helps me when baking with sourdough. Sourdough takes much longer to rise than commercial yeast breads. This schedule helps me plan my bake.

A few notes: This schedule assumes the dough temperature is 78-80º F throughout the process. If you’d like to make sourdough strawberry rolls all on the same day, skip the cold bulk fermentation and go straight to shaping the strawberry rolls (you will still need to make the levain the night before and let it rise overnight). Check out the recipe notes for more make-ahead options.

Important Ingredients

• Sourdough Starter: Use a ripe & active sourdough starter to make a stiff sweet levain. This is what will leaven your strawberry sourdough rolls instead of commercial yeast.
• Strawberry Roll Dough: This strawberry roll dough is based on my favorite sourdough cinnamon rolls. Use bread flour, whole milk, eggs, sugar, salt and a stiff sweet levain.
• Freeze Dried Strawberries: Freeze-dried strawberries are crushed and mixed with sugar, butter and flour to make the sweet strawberry filling for these rolls.
• Strawberries: Fresh strawberries are used inside the strawberry rolls and in a mixture of diced fresh strawberries and sugar which is put on top of each strawberry roll for that extra sweet strawberry flavor.
• Cream Cheese Frosting: Cream cheese, butter, powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla and a little salt are whipped together to creamy perfection. Make it a drizzle or a dollop on top of each strawberry sourdough roll.

How to Make Strawberry Sourdough Rolls

Make Stiff Sweet Levain

I use a stiff sweet levain for enriched breads like this cinnamon sugar babka or these sourdough cinnamon rolls. A stiff levain is a levain that mixes up to a firm consistency and is anywhere from 50%-65% hydration. It adds elasticity to dough and helps temper the acid in the sourdough, which gives all the benefit of sourdough fermentation without the tang. The sugar in the levain helps counteract the acidity and creates a more mild flavor. To make a stiff sweet levain:

• Use 100% hydration sourdough starter at its peak
• Add 10 grams of ripe sourdough starter to 50 grams of all-purpose flour, 25 grams of water and 10 grams of sugar. Mix together.
• A stiff starter will be a little more difficult to mix together, because it forms a dough ball instead of a batter. Knead the ball of dough a few times until smooth.
• Place the stiff sweet levain in a liquid measuring cup and set in a warm (76-78ºF) spot for 10-12 hours.
• Stiff Sweet Levain is ready to use when it has doubled in size and has a rounded top. Using it right when it reaches its peak will help decrease the acidity in the dough.

Mixing the Dough

I use a stand mixer to mix this dough. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can use your hands to knead the dough, though it will take longer. Add all the dough ingredients to the mixer and fit it with a dough hook. Reserve a little bit of the flour to add toward the end of mixing the dough as needed. Weight measurements are always more accurate than volume, but I always like to reserve a bit of flour (about a half cup) so I don’t over-flour my dough. Varieties of flour and weight of eggs can impact the amount of flour added to dough, so I play it safe.

Mix the dough on low speed for about 3-5 minutes. Add the reserved flour as needed. The dough should be tacky, not overly sticky. Continue kneading about 5 more minutes until smooth, elastic and it passes the windowpane test. Place in a container or bowl for bulk fermentation.

Bulk Fermentation

Put the dough in a container and cover it. The entire bulk fermentation should take about 4 hours at 78-80ºF. Take the temperature of the dough, it should be between 78-80ºF. If your dough is significantly colder, bulk fermentation will take longer. If it’s warmer, the bulk fermentation will be a bit shorter, however wild yeast perform best in the 78°F range, so do your best to keep the dough in that range. I use a dough proofer or the inside of my oven with the light turned on (don’t turn the oven on!) to keep my dough warm. Let the dough sit for 4 hours in that warm place. By the end of 4 hours it should have puffed up and risen just a little.

Strawberry Sourdough Roll Filling

Strawberry Filling: Crush freeze-dried strawberries into a very fine powder. I roll a rolling pin over the bag of strawberries, crushing them finely before using. Mix together freeze-dried strawberry powder with granulated sugar, very soft (almost melted) butter and a little bit of flour until it forms a thick paste.

Diced Strawberries: Dice or finely chop strawberries until you have about 2 cups worth. Take the first 150 grams of strawberries and mix with 20 grams of granulated sugar. Cover and set aside for topping the strawberry rolls after they are baked. The second 150 grams of strawberries will be added on top of the strawberry sourdough rolls before they are rolled up.

Shaping and Proofing Strawberry Rolls

Shaping: This recipe makes 8 strawberry rolls. Prepare a 9 by 13 pan with parchment paper or use a non-stick pan. Roll the dough out on a lightly floured countertop or pastry mat about 16 by 12 inches. Spread the strawberry filling all over the dough. Sprinkle 150 grams diced strawberries over the filling. Starting with the dough closest to you, roll up the strawberry rolls and pinch together the seam. Flip the roll over, seam side down. Cut the long log of strawberry roll dough into 8 equal pieces. Place the rolls in the baking pan, nestling them in together if needed.

Proofing: Strawberry sourdough rolls are made with 100% sourdough starter, so they are going to take a much longer time to rise than a roll made with commercial yeast. They also require a warm environment to get the rise they need in a 3-4 hour time period. Cover the rolls and place them in a warm spot (oven with the light turned on is my go-to). Let them rise for about 3-4 hours until puffed up and airy. Do NOT bake these rolls if they haven’t risen and feel dense. They will feel light and airy and should have risen to touch each other in the pan before baking.

Baking Strawberry Sourdough Rolls

Preheat the oven to 350ºF (make sure you take the risen strawberry rolls out if you are using your oven as a proofing box). Bake the rolls for about 30 minutes if the rolls are nestled and touching each other. Ovens do all bake differently. Some ovens bake hotter in the back and cooler in the front. If you want an even bake on your rolls, rotate your pan 180º after the first ten minutes of baking. This will keep half of your rolls from getting too dark or the other half being too light. Check the center of one of the strawberry sourdough rolls after baking to make sure that the middle isn’t raw. Sometimes you need to let them go a minute or two longer to make sure they are completely baked through.

Frosting and Topping the Rolls

Whip together the frosting ingredients until a smooth and thick, creamy frosting comes together. Set aside until the rolls have baked. After the strawberry sourdough rolls come out of the oven, top with creamy frosting and a Tablespoon or two of the reserved macerated (sugared) strawberries from the fridge. Enjoy!

Amy’s Recipe Tip

If you want to serve theses strawberry sourdough rolls in the morning without doing any extra work, let the rolls rise until just about fully proofed. Cover them and stick them in the refrigerator. The next morning, pull them out of the refrigerator let them come to room temperature and bake.

Substitutions

• Stiff Sweet Levain: I much prefer using this for these strawberry rolls, but if you want to substitute regular ripe, active sourdough starter that can also work. Use the same amount of levain called for in the recipe. You will need to add a little extra flour to the dough to compensate.
• Whole Milk: You can substitute 2% milk if needed in this recipe. Whole milk gives added richness to the dough, so I like to use it when possible.
• If you want to substitute the strawberry and make regular cinnamon rolls instead, find that sourdough recipe here.

How to Store Leftovers

Place any leftover strawberry rolls in a ziplock bag and store them in the freezer. When you want one, take one out of the freezer and warm up in the microwave for about 30-60 seconds and enjoy.

If you liked this, you’ll also like…

• Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Caramel Apple Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Red Velvet Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Soft Orange Sourdough Rolls
• Sourdough Sticky Pecan Rolls

Frequently Asked Questions