Caramelized Onion Rolls
These caramelized onion rolls are made with a fluffy thyme pastry dough, filled with sweet and salty caramelized onions, and baked to perfection.
Ingredients
CARAMELIZED ONION FILLING
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 large sweet onions chopped
- 1 tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
- 3/4 teaspoon salt
PRE DOUGH
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 3 tablespoons flour
DOUGH
- 2/3 cup whole milk cold
- 2 1/2 cups flour
- 5 tablespoons butter melted
- 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 1 teaspoon dried thyme
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
EGG WASH + GARNISH
- 1 egg whisked with 1 tablespoon milk
- 1 teaspoon flake sea salt for sprinkling
Instructions
CARAMELIZED ONION FILLING
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Heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, sugar, dried thyme, and salt and stir to cover in the hot oil. Reduce heat to low and cook until the onions turn lightly golden, stirring every 5 minutes, for about 35-40 minutes (it's better for them to be lightly golden than deeply golden, since they'll also be baking in the oven after this and you don't want them too dried out). Set aside to cool to room temperature (this is **IMPORTANT**! Do not put hot caramelized onions on the dough, it will become goopy and impossible to work with).
PRE-DOUGH
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Whisk together the milk and flour in a small saucepan until smooth. Place over medium low heat and continue stirring until the mixture thickens to a paste-like consistency, then remove it from the heat and empty the pre-dough into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment.
ROSEMARY DOUGH
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Add the dough ingredients to the bowl of the stand mixer with the pre-dough and mix together at low speed to form a dough. Continue mixing the dough until it's smooth and elastic — for about 10 minutes with the hook attachment at low speed, or you can knead the dough by hand for 16 to 20 minutes.
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Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and place at room temperature out of direct sunlight to rise until doubled in size, (about 1 hour depending on how toasty your house is.)
ASSEMBLY + BAKING
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Grease a 13 x 9 inch casserole dish and lay a sheet of parchment paper on the bottom and set it aside.
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Punch down the risen dough and roll it out to a 14 x 17 inch rectangle. Spread the exposed surface with cooled caramelized onion mixture. Roll up along the short side so the log is 14 inches long. Cut into 12 equally-sized slices. Arrange the rolls, spiral facing up, in the casserole dish is 4 rows of 3, leaving a bit of room around each slice. Set aside and allow to rise at room temperature for 1 hour, and preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit during the last 20 minutes of proofing.
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Brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with the flake sea salt. Bake at 375 degrees Fahrenheit until the rolls are golden, about 35 to 40 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes before serving.