Pecan & Orange Zest Pull-Apart Rolls
These rolls are just the right amount of rich and gooey. They’re chock-full of ground nuts, then rolled up in an orange zest-spiked dough that has just enough rye flour in it to make it feel wholesome (and heck, these ARE wholesome, but you wouldn’t know it.)
Plan on making the dough the day before, and stashing it overnight in the fridge. That way, in the morning you can pull these together in just a few hours with minimal effort. If you want extra crunch, make the streusel, and throw it on right after the icing.
Pecan & Orange Zest Pull-Apart Rolls
Pecan filling rolled up in an orange zest and rye flour spiked dough. Hearty, gooey and easy to pull together for a real weekend treat.
Equipment
- Stand mixer, fitted with hook attachment (recommended, but optional)
- Rolling pin
- 9" springform pan
- Sheet pan, or aluminum foil
Ingredients
For Dough
- 240 g milk, slightly warm (1 cup)
- 8 g active dry yeast (1 tsp)
- 367 g all-purpose flour (about 2 1/2 cups)
- 50 g rye flour (about 5 TBSP)
- 42 g white sugar (3 TBSP)
- 7 g salt (1 tsp)
- zest of 1/2 orange (any variety)
- 1 egg, lightly beaten
- 57 g melted butter, cooled to room temperature (2 ounces, 1/2 stick)
For Filling
- 6 oz soft butter
- 3/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1 cup ground or chopped pecans
- 1/8 tsp salt
For Icing
- 1 cup powdered sugar
- 6 T heavy cream (might want more or less, depending on the consistency you like.)
- 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- pinch of salt
For Streusel (optional)
- 2 T rolled oats
- 1 T coarsely chopped pecans
- 2 T brown sugar
- 2 tsp vegetable oil
Instructions
Make Dough – day before
- Put yeast into gently warmed milk, stir, and allow to sit for a few minutes.
- If you're using a stand mixer (recommended), use hook attachment. (If you're kneading by hand, stretch out your fingers.) Into the bowl of your stand mixer, or a large bowl, pour in all purpose flour, rye flour, salt, sugar & orange zest. Mix to combine.
- Pour yeast/milk mixture into bowl with flour, followed by the egg, and melted butter.
- If using mixer, mix on low setting for 3-4 minutes. Once the ingredients are thoroughly combined and it's starting to look like a dough (it will look wet), then increase speed on mixer to develop gluten. Allow to mix for about 8 minutes, until dough is starting to gently pull away from the sides of the bowl and is wanting to wrap around dough hook.If mixing by hand, start by using wooden spoon (a Danish style whisk works well here). Once the wet is thoroughly incorporated, knead dough vigorously for about 10 minutes. It'll be hard to handle at first, but it will get easier as you work it. The dough is ready when it feels tacky to the touch, but *not* wet.
- Shape dough into a ball, and transfer to a clean bowl that has been lightly oiled (bowl should be big enough to allow dough to double in size). Cover with plastic, and refrigerate for at least 12 hours, or up to 2 days.
Make the Rolls – day of.
- About 3 hours before you intend on eating these rolls, pull dough out from the fridge. Allow for it to sit at room temp for a half hour.
- While you wait, make your filling. Using a stiff wooden spoon, a Danish whisk, or your bare hands, mix together all ingredients of the filling. The butter should be soft enough to make the filling a spreadable consistency. Set aside.
- Using pan spray or soft butter, thoroughly grease a 9" springform pan. Cut out a circle of parchment paper that willl fit on the bottom of said pan, and place on greased bottom. Set aside.
- Now! Look back at your dough. Tip it out onto a clean counter, and using a rolling pin, roll dough out to a 12" by 15" rectangle (30cm x 38cm), about a 1/2" (1.25cm) thick.
- Spread your filling evenly all over your dough rectangle, leaving a slight border on the longer sides (you'll be trimming those ends off, so no need to waste filling.)
- Starting on short side, roll up your dough! Do this with an assertive but gentle touch.
- Trim off the ends (but save them and bake them up, too! They make great niblets!), then cut the dough into 8 equal pieces. I find this easiest to do by cutting the dough in half, then cut each half in half, and then those halves in half again.
- Place rolls into prepared pan, leaving a little space between each roll. Cover, and allow to proof for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the rolls have risen 1.5 times, and you can lightly indent the dough with your finger.(Put the scrappy niblets your trimmed off in a seperate pan with a little bit of parchment! For real, don't waste these. They're perfect for the impatient person who doesn't want quite so sweet of a treat.)
- Preheat your oven to 350 degrees about a half hour before your rolls are looking ready to bake (maybe try poking a niblet at this point and see if it's ready to go in – these tend to proof a little faster than the big rolls.)
- When the oven is hot and your rolls are proofed, place the springform pan onto a sheet pan and place in center of your oven. The sheet pan is to catch buttery-sugar drips, and to save you the drama of having to clean out your oven. Alternatively, you can wrap the springform pan in aluminum foil.
- Bake rolls for 15 minutes, and rotate. Bake (about) another 15 minutes – depending on your oven, they might need a bit more time. Rolls should be lightly golden brown on top.
- While the rolls are baking, make your icing. Whisk together powdered sugar, heavy cream, vanilla extract and salt. Depending on how thick you like your icing, you might want to add a little more or less cream.
- If you're making the streusel, combine oats, nuts, sugar and oil together while the rolls are in the oven. Pour onto a small pan and bake in oven along with rolls, for about 8 minutes, until nuts are smelling fragrant and delicious. Set aside.
- After rolls are baked, but still warm from the oven, release them from the springform pan, and drizzle with your icing, then top with streusel (if using). Eat immediately with a warm cup of coffee or tea, and have yourself a lovely little time.
