Dec 21, 2011
11
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Sweet Orange Buns

Home cook Linda Worsley gave us the recipe for these luscious buns filled with fragrant orange-flavored butter. This recipe first appeared in the 2012 SAVEUR 100, with the article Sweet Orange Buns.
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Sweet Orange Buns Enlarge Image Photo: Todd Coleman
SERVES 12

INGREDIENTS

1¼ cups milk, heated to 115°
1 (¼-oz.) package active dry yeast
⅓ cup sugar
2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus 16 tbsp., softened
1½ tsp. kosher salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 cups flour
½ cup packed light brown sugar
⅓ cup orange zest (from about 4 oranges)
3 cups confectioners' sugar
1 tsp. orange extract
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tbsp. fresh orange juice

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Make the dough: Combine milk and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook; let sit until foamy, about 10 minutes. Stir in sugar, melted butter, 1 tsp. salt, and egg; add flour, and mix on low speed until dough forms. Increase speed to medium-high; knead until smooth, about 8 minutes. Cover with plastic wrap; let sit until dough doubles in size, about 1½ hours. Meanwhile, beat softened butter, brown sugar, and zest in a bowl on high speed of a mixer until smooth, about 2 minutes. Add remaining salt, confectioners' sugar, and extracts; beat until smooth, about 2 minutes. Transfer ¼ cup filling to a bowl; stir in juice to make an icing. Set filling and icing aside.

2. Transfer dough to a work surface; using a rolling pin, roll dough into an 18″ × 10″ rectangle, and spread filling evenly over dough. Lift up bottom edge of dough and roll it into a log; trim ends and cut log into 12 rounds. Transfer rounds cut side up to a greased 9″ × 13″ baking dish; cover with plastic wrap. Chill 6 hours or overnight.

3. Heat oven to 375°. Uncover rolls and bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Drizzle icing over rolls before serving.

Sweet Orange Buns

This article was first published in Saveur in Issue #144

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Ratings & Reviews (11)

Tried this recipe, did not turn out as expected. How much yeast to use, is it 1-1/4 oz. or just 1/4 oz. When baked the filling melted all to the bottom and left the rolls hollow. Someone please tell me what I did wrong.
I think that the filling and icing amounts are reversed in the recipe. Theictures show that there is a lot of filling and very little frosting. One tablespoon orange j juice would make an icing which could be drizzled. Please check and get back to me on this. I am going to make it my way since yours does not make sense. I'll report back my results.
This doesn't work. Too much icing and no filling. I think the amounts are reversed.
Sorry the computer sent it twice.
Ooops. I misread the recipe. It worked sort of. Lots of filling oozed out in baking but I just scooped it up with a large spoon. When they get cool I will separate them into servings and freeze for another time. Maybe when they are cool they will solidify more.
I followed the instructions to the letter. They came out perfect, and looked exactly like the photo. The only thing I would do different: Let the filling chill a little bit (we are in Florida--it was hot the day I made these) as it tended to squish out when I rolled them up. It looked a bit messy when I put them in the refrigerator. I woke up in the morning, baked them and they were perfect. They rose up, and the filling in the bottom of the pan was delicious, thick caramel. The recipe was easy, fast and YES, I would make them again. I didn't have a mixer, so I did all the kneading by hand. The dough was beautiful, smooth and elastic. I used an organic yeast and unbleached, organic white flour. The Honeybell oranges are in season, here in Florida. I used Honeybell zest and juice.
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These were delicious, although there DID seem to be a lot of extra filling. I took the rolls out of the pan as soon as they were done, then scooped up the melted filling and saved separately so the rolls wouldn't get too soggy. Next time I might reduce the amount of filling. The flavor and texture were unsurpassed, though! Will definitely make again.
I, too, followed the directions to the letter. The filling melted out of the dough and made a mess on the bottom of the pan. The filling that remained in the roll was not creamy, it was gritty and crunchy. Any ideas as to why?? The dough was easy to work with and tasted delicious. As soon as I figure out how to get a creamy filling texture, I will make again. Next time, I will decrease the amount of filling.
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I thought this was a great recipe. I followed the directions and it turned out as shown. I loved the caramelized sugar at the bottom of the pan after they were baked. These would also be delicious with some finely ground pecans in the filling!
Flavors were great, orange rind key..., however, way too much filling, dough, way too doughy. Should reformulate ingredients, flour ratios and sugars for filling. Confectioners' sugar...Really?
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These are excellent orange rolls, the best I have had! However, 2-1/4 OZ of yeast?? Certainly this must be a typo. That is equivalent to about 1/4 CUP!!!! A clearly rediculous amount-come on Saveur, arent you editing? I used 1-1/2 tablespoons which was about perfect. It seems like a lot of filling but after it bakes, it melts into, this gorgeous Carmelized orange "sugar butter" that is so good, you will lick the pan. Its similar to that of upside down cake. I made another batch of filling and added 1/3 cup of softened cream cheese to make a Cinnabon
type frosting. The frosting literally made the rolls! I would have not been as thrilled without it. Happy family!
Sweet Orange Buns 4 5 5 11

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