If you love Spanish bread, you will love these Spanish bread rolls. They’re pretty much the iconic Filipino bread, but in the shape of cinnamon buns! They’re pillowy soft, gooey, and have the perfect amount of sweetness!
Looking for more roll recipes? Try my delicious Milo rolls!
❤️ Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- The rolls are so fluffy and light! The brioche is enriched with milk, butter, and eggs to yield flavorful, pillowy buns. And before baking, heavy cream is poured right on top. This makes them even more tender with a sticky, rich, gooey sauce on the bottom!
- The rolls are not too sweet. Despite the filling being loaded with a brown sugar filling, they’re the perfect amount of sweetness.
Love buns? Try my gooey chai buns!
Ingredients
To make brioche Spanish bread rolls, you’ll need the following ingredients:
For the brioche dough:
- Adding cornstarch with the all-purpose flour will help yield soft, cakier rolls!
- The active dry yeast will be mixed with sugar and warm whole milk before incorporating it into the recipe. If using instant dry yeast, you can skip the dissolving step and add it straight into your dry ingredients.
- Eggs and unsalted butter will enrich the brioche, making it very tender and flavorful.
For the filling and heavy cream:
- For the Spanish bread filling, you’ll mix together brown sugar (light or dark), unsalted butter, and malted milk powder, breadcrumbs, and milk.
- Right before baking, you’ll pour heavy cream on top of the rolls. This will make them richer in flavor and add a sticky syrup that will coat the bottom of the pan.
For the topping:
- This is a basic coconut frosting made with powdered sugar and coconut milk! Feel free to top the rolls with some toasted shredded coconut as well.
For the full list of ingredients and measurements, see the recipe card below.
💡 Baking Tip
Weigh your ingredients! One of my favorite kitchen tools is a kitchen scale because it’s more accurate than measuring by volume. If you use cups, spoon the flour in gently, then level it with a knife or spatula.
How to Make Fluffy Spanish Bread Rolls
Step 1: In a bowl, whisk together warmed milk, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until mixture is foamy.
Step 2: In a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment, mix flour, cornstarch, salt, yeast mixture, and eggs on medium speed until dough forms. Add a tablespoon of softened butter every 30 seconds, then mix for about 8 minutes, or until dough passes the windowpane test: take a small piece of dough and gently stretch it. If it is kneaded enough, it should be translucent and you can see light passing through.
Step 3: Lightly cover dough and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours (or overnight in the fridge!). Mix all of the Spanish bread filling ingredients in a bowl until combined.
Step 4: Roll dough out into a 18″x12″ rectangle. Evenly spread filling, top and cut out twelve 1.5-inch strips. Gently roll into coils, placing each one into a 9″x13″ baking pan.
Step 5: Lightly cover and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1.5 hours. Pour heavy cream over rolls. Bake at 350°F/177°C for 25-35 minutes, or until rolls no longer doughy in the middle. During the last few minutes of baking, make the frosting.
Step 6: Drizzle coconut frosting all over warm rolls, and optionally top with toasted shredded coconut. Serve and enjoy them warm!
For full instructions, see the recipe card below.
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Thank you so much! -Bianca ❤️
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Spanish Bread Rolls
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Equipment
- small bowl for heavy cream mixture
- 2 medium bowl for yeast mixture and filling
- large bowl for proofing dough
- Stand mixer hook attachment for dough
- plastic wrap or kitchen towel
- 9"x13" baking pan see notes
Ingredients
Brioche Roll Dough:
- 1 cup (244 g) whole milk warmed
- ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast
- 2 (100 g) large eggs
- 4 ¼ cups (531.25 g) all-purpose flour
- 4 tablespoons (32 g) cornstarch
- 1 ¼ teaspoons (7.5 g) fine sea salt or table salt
- ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter softened
Sweet Filling:
- 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter melted, room temperature
- ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar packed; light or dark
- 1 cup (108 g) fine breadcrumbs
- 2 tablespoons (12 g) malted milk powder
- 1 tablespoon (8 g) cinnamon optional; omit if you want classic Spanish bread filling!
- 1-4 tablespoons (15 g) whole milk might not need! see filling steps
Heavy Cream Mixture:
- ⅓ cup (79.33 g) heavy cream warmed
Breading:
- ½ cup (54 g) fine breadcrumbs
Coconut Milk Drizzle:
- ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar
- 1-3 tablespoons (15 g) coconut milk adjust to achieve your ideal consistency!
Topping (optional):
- ½ cup (42.5 g) dried shredded coconut feel free to toast until golden!
Instructions
For the enriched dough:
- In a medium bowl, whisk together 1 cup (244 g) whole milk (warmed), ⅓ cup (66.67 g) granulated sugar, and 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g) active dry yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until yeast is activated and mixture is frothy.
- In a stand mixer fitted with hook attachment, add 2 (100 g) large eggs, 4 ¼ cups (531.25 g) all-purpose flour, 4 tablespoons (32 g) cornstarch, 1 ¼ teaspoons (7.5 g) fine sea salt, and yeast mixture. Mix on medium low speed until dough forms.
- While mixing on medium low speed, add ½ cup (113.5 g) unsalted butter a tablespoon at a time, every 30 seconds. Continue mixing for 8-10 minutes, or until dough passes the windowpane test.To do the windowpane test, take a small piece of dough and gently stretch it. If it is kneaded enough, it should be translucent enough to see light passing through.
- Transfer dough to a large bowl, lightly cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in warm place until doubled in size, about 1.5-2 hours (or overnight in the fridge!).
For assembly:
- In a medium bowl, mix together 6 tablespoons (84 g) unsalted butter (melted but room temp; if it's hot, the malted milk powder will clump), ½ cup (110 g) brown sugar, 1 cup (108 g) fine breadcrumbs, 2 tablespoons (12 g) malted milk powder, and 1 tablespoon (8 g) cinnamon (optional). You are looking for an easily spreadable, thick, paste consistency.
- If it's too dry, mix in 1-4 tablespoons (15 g) whole milk until you get the desired texture. The amount of milk will vary depending on the brand of breadcrumbs you are using.
- On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough into a 18"x-12" rectangle. Evenly spread sweet filling. Cut twelve 1 ½-inch strips.
- Gently roll each strip into a tight roll, placing each one in a 9"x13" baking pan. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1-1.5 hours. In the last 5-10 minutes, preheat oven to 350°F/177°C.
Bake Spanish bread rolls:
- Pour ⅓ cup (79.33 g) heavy cream all over rolls. Liberally sprinkle ½ cup (54 g) fine breadcrumbs on top.
- Bake for 25-35 minutes, or until rolls are no longer doughy in the middle. In the last few minutes of baking, mix the frosting ingredients: in a medium bowl, stir ¾ cup (90 g) powdered sugar and 1-3 tablespoons (15 g) coconut milk. If it's too thick, add more milk. If it's too thin, add more powdered sugar.
- Let rolls cool for about 5 minutes, then spread on drizzle on coconut milk frosting. Optionally top with ½ cup (42.5 g) dried shredded coconut . Enjoy!
Notes
- For this recipe, I cut 12 equal pieces and arranged them 3×4 in a 9 inch by 13 inch pan. I’ve also used the same recipe to cut 9 equal pieces and arranged them 3×3 in a 9-inch square pan!
- Refrigeration instructions: Store cooled Spanish buns in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days. Reheat in the microwave.
- Freezing instructions: Store cooled Spanish buns (with or without frosting) in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 3 months. Reheat in the microwave.
