These cranberry cream cheese sourdough dinner rolls with a twist on classic homemade dinner rolls. The enriched sourdough dough, which includes milk, honey, butter, eggs, and fresh orange zest makes each roll wonderfully soft, tender, and full of flavor.
Each roll holds a delicious filling of cream cheese and dried cranberries (Craisins). The creamy tangy filling pairs with beautiful sweet-tart cranberries and the fragrant orange zest add a lovely citrus note to the bread.
These homemade sourdough dinner rolls are perfect for Thanksgiving, Christmas, or any special family meal. Serve them alongside holiday dishes a bowl of soup or simply enjoy them warm as a special homemade treat.
Why You Will Love These Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Soft and tender: Thanks to the rich and nourishing sourdough dough which contains milk, butter, eggs, and honey, these dinner rolls will be really soft and fluffy.
Subtle orange taste: Orange zest will give your dinner rolls an amazing fragrance of citrus that perfectly matches the taste of cranberries.
Simple filling of cream cheese: This filling requires only cream cheese and dried cranberries with no extra sugar and eggs.
Naturally fermented: Thanks to the sourdough starter, these dinner rolls will have a subtle sour taste and a unique structure.
Good for holiday celebrations: This tasty combination of cranberry, orange, and cream cheese will make these dinner rolls perfect to be served on Thanksgiving and Christmas.
An interesting variation of classic dinner rolls: Inside each roll there will be a creamy cranberry cream cheese filling.
This was inspired by my Cranberry Pecan Sourdough Bread on this site, and also this Cranberry Walnut Orange sourdough.
Jump to:
- Why You Will Love These Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Ingredients for Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- Instructions
- Tips for Making the Best Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Rolls
- What to Serve with Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- How to Store Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
- FAQ
- Related
- Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Ingredients for Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
You need following ingredients to make this delicious Cranberry cream cheese sourdough dinner rolls
- All Purpose flour: supplies the gluten structure needed for soft fluffy dinner rolls.
- Active sourdough starter: Use an active starter that is bubbly and ready to leave the dough.
- Milk: Adds moisture. Contributes to a tender crumb.
- Honey: Provides sweetness and complements the tartness of cranberries.
- Butter: Adds richness and softness to the dough.
- Eggs: Help create a tender crumb and contribute to the beautiful golden color.
- Orange zest: Fresh orange zest gives the dough a citrus fragrance and pairs wonderfully with cranberries.
- Salt: Balances the sweetness. Enhances the overall flavor.
- For the cranberry cream cheese filling
- Cream cheese: cream cheese creates a smooth creamy filling. Fat cream cheese works especially well.
- Dried cranberries (Craisins): These provide sweet-tart flavor and a pleasant chewy texture. Mix them directly into cream cheese without soaking first.
- The filling needs no added sugar or eggs; the dried cranberries’ natural sweetness balances the cream cheese’s tang.
See recipe card for quantities.
Instructions
Prepare the enriched sourdough dough.
Start by preparing sourdough dough with milk, honey, butter, eggs orange zest, flour, active sourdough starter, and salt. Mix and knead until an elastic dough forms. Because this enriched dough contains butter, milk, and eggs it may take a little longer to develop gluten than sour dough
- Step 1: Wet Ingredients
- Step 2: Dry Ingredients
Step 3: Dough Before fermentation
- Step 3: Cream Cheese cranberry mixture
Step 4: Dough after fermentation
- Step 4: Dough filled cream cheese and cranberries
Once dough is doubled in voludme divide them into 8 piece and fill with cranberry creamcheese mixture
After baking brush with butter while it warm.
Tips for Making the Best Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Rolls
Use active sourdough starter: A healthy bubbly starter is important for fermenting enriched dough.
Use softened cream cheese: This makes it easier to mix the dried cranberries evenly into the filling.
Do not soak the cranberries: They can be mixed directly into the cream cheese.
Avoid overfilling: Use filling to create a creamy center without making the dough difficult to seal.
Seal the rolls Pinch the edges together securely to help prevent the filling from leaking during baking.
Allow proofing: Enriched dough takes time to rise. Look for puffy rolls rather than following a fixed time alone..
What to Serve with Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
These rolls are especially delicious as part of a holiday meal. Their cranberry and orange flavors complement turkey, chicken, and other festive dishes.
The rolls can also be served with:
- Homemade vegetable soup
- Butternut squash soup
- Roasted vegetables
- Thanksgiving turkey and gravy
- A holiday cheese and fruit platter
The rolls are also lovely on their own with a cup of coffee or tea.
How to Store Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Since these dinner rolls contain a cream cheese filling, store leftover rolls in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Reheat gently before serving. Avoid leaving the filled rolls at room temperature for long time.
Next time I will double cream cheese and cranberries.
FAQ
Yes! Dried cranberries, commonly sold as Craisins, work beautifully in this recipe. Dried cranberries have a sweet tart flavor and a chewy texture that pairs well with cream cheese
No. This recipe uses softened cream cheese and dried cranberries for the filling. Dried cranberries provide sweetness while the cream cheese contributes a tanginess.
Orange zest adds a citrus fragrance that complements the cranberry flavor. Cranberry and orange are a combination, especially in holiday baking.
These are enriched sourdough dinner rolls with a sweet flavor from honey and dried cranberries. The rolls are not as sweet as dessert rolls and work beautifully alongside savory meals.
Yes, you can prepare the dough. Shape the rolls ahead of time provided you follow an appropriate refrigeration and proofing schedule. Because the filling contains cream cheese, refrigerate the shaped rolls if holding the rolls overnight and allow the rolls to finish proofing as needed before baking.
Related
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Cranberry Cream Cheese Sourdough Dinner Rolls
Ingredients
- 3 cup 375g All purpose flour
- 1 cup 245g whole Milk
- 1 Egg
- 1 tablespoon Honey
- ½ cup 100g sourdough starter
- 4.75 tablespoon 67g Unsalted butter
- 1 teaspoon 2g Salt
- 1 orange zest
Cranberry Cream Cheese filling
- 8 0z Cream Cheese
- ½ cup Crasins
Instructions
- . Mix Wet & Dry: In a large bowl, whisk together the milk,egg, sourdough starter, orange zest, honey, salt, egg and all-purpose flour.
- When it become soft dough gradually incorporate softened butter
- Knead: Knead the dough for about 8 minutes until smooth and elastic, or until it passes the windowpane test (incorporating butter gradually if doing the enriched fold method).
- First Rise (Bulk Ferment): Let the dough bulk ferment for about 5 hours at warm room temperature (78°F), doing stretch-and-folds every 30 minutes if desired.
- Shape: Divide the dough into equal balls (around 106g each).
- Then place 27g of creamcheese mixture into the dough and shape them into round and place them into a greased baking pan or dish.
- Second Rise: Cover and let proof for 30-45 minutes until puffy and doubled.
- Bake: Preheat your oven 375°F depending on your specific batch size) and bake for about 23 minutes rotate the pan, and bake for another 7 minutes until golden brown.
- Finish: Brush the warm tops generously with melted butter right out of the oven.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
This is Swathi ( Dr. Ambujom Saraswathy Ph.D) from Zesty South Indian Kitchen who loves to explore cuisines from all over the world. Whenever possible I try to to give an Indian touch to several of the world cuisine, and has weakness for freshly baked bread. All the recipes you see here are created by me and approved after taste-test by my family.
Borj says
I love homemade sourdough bread, and this festive twist looks absolutely delicious.
Danielle says
This worked exactly as written, thanks!
Caleb says
My family loved this!