My dear sweet friends, I have created the ULTIMATE brunch dish with these bagel rolls. They are SO delicious and perfect for a crowd. These bagel rolls have a soft dill brioche dough and are filled with cream cheese, more dill, chives, and smoked salmon. Like the perfect bagel but all wrapped up in a dill-packed brioche bun.
Making the Bagel Rolls
Making these Bagel Rolls is just like making cinnamon rolls! First, you will make your dough by combining the instant yeast, warm buttermilk, sugar and salt in a mixer. Once combined, you will add your butter and eggs. The batter will seem a little strange at this point, but once you add the flour and dill it all comes together. You will knead the dough, either by hand or with your dough hook, until it forms a smooth ball. Then you are ready to let the dough rise! Cover the dough with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm spot for about 1 hour, or until the dough doubles in size. The time it takes to double will depend on a number of factors, like how warm you might keep your kitchen, so focus more on the dough doubling in size rather than the timing.
Once the dough has doubled, you are ready to roll it out to a large rectangle and add your fillings! The larger your rectangle is, the tighter your swirls will be. I shoot for a rectangle that is about 24×16 inches. To roll out your dough, first prepare your work surface. Either use a silpat (this one is my favorite!) or smooth surface and sprinkle with some flour. Place your dough down on your surface and sprinkle flour over top, as well as on your rolling pin. Roll your dough out, squaring it off as you go to create a rectangular shape.
Once your dough is rolled out to a rectangle, you are ready to add your fillings. First, spread your cream cheese in an even layer over the dough using an offset or rubber spatula. It is REALLY important that the cream cheese is room temperature or you will have a really hard time spreading it. Then sprinkle the chives and dill over top. Cover with the smoked salmon in an even layer.
Now you are ready to roll and slice! oll the dough as tightly as you can from the wider end. Start off really slowly and work your way across the dough so you can keep your spirals tight. Seal the edges by pinching the end of the dough to the roll. Then use your hands to even out the roll. Slice into 12 equal size rolls and place them in a greased 9×13 baking dish to double in size.
Rolled up 
Before proofing 
Ready for the oven!
Once the rolls have gotten noticeably larger (it might not be a FULL double in size, but it should be close!) you are ready to bake! You can add toppings to the top of the buns if you wish. Everything Bagel Seasoning, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds all work. I usually choose not to, but the world is your oyster! Bake the rolls at 350F for 40 minutes, until the buns are a light golden brown all over and cooked all the way through. The finished buns are so delicious! Soft and dilly brioche, filled with herby cream cheese and smoked salmon. The smoke salmon is especially good – it retains its smokey flavor but takes on the soft texture of baked salmon. So so so good and the PERFECT brunch meal. Enjoy!
Bagel Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 2 tbsp buttermilk warm, about 115F
- 2.25 tsp instant yeast (can also use active dry)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1/4 cup granulated sugar
- 1/2 cup unsalted butter room temperature, cut into tbsp sized cubes
- 2 large eggs room temperature
- 4.25 cups all-purpose flour
- 1/3 cup chopped fresh dill divided
- 2 tbsp minced chives
- 12 oz cream cheese block, such as Philadelphia room temperature
- 16 oz smoked salmon
- 1 whisked egg for egg wash (optional, for topping)
- Everything bagel seasoning or sesame seeds (optional, for topping)
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer, fitted with the beater attachment, combine the buttermilk, yeast, sugar, and salt. If you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let this mixture sit for a few minutes until the yeast activates and the mixture starts to bubble.
- Add the butter and eggs and beat on medium speed until mostly the butter is broken apart and the eggs are combined. The batter will look a little strange right now, but it will come together once you add the dry ingredients.
- Add the flour and 1/4 cup of the chopped dill and beat on medium speed until a dough begins to form.
- Remove the beater attachment and replace with the dough hook. Knead the dough until a smooth ball forms.
- Remove the dough hook and leave the ball of dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl of dough with a kitchen towel and set aside in a warm place to double in size. This will depend on several factors, including the temperature of your kitchen, the temperature of the milk you used, how you chose to knead your dough, etc. but this generally takes about an hour for me. But I keep our house pretty warm! So focus more on the dough doubling in size, and less on the timing. I like to take a picture of the dough before I set it aside so I can compare it to what it looks like later to make sure it has truly doubled.
- When you poke the dough and the imprint of your finger mostly remains, but springs back slightly, the dough is ready to be rolled. If the fingerprint fills in quickly and all of the way, let it continue rising. If the fingerprint doesn’t spring back at all, the dough is overproofed. You can still continue on with the recipe, but the dough may be a little tougher than you would want.
- While you wait for the dough to proof, prepare a 9×13 baking dish (I like to use a Pyrex for this so I can see through the dish as it bakes!) by spraying with cooking spray or greasing with butter.
- Once your dough has doubled, turn the dough out on a generously floured surface (if you have a nonstick pastry mat like a silpat, this is your moment to use it!)
- Flour the surface of the dough and rolling pin, and roll the dough out to a large rectangle. The larger the better, because it means more swirls!
- Spread the cream cheese into a thick even layer over the dough and sprinkle the remaining dill and all of the chives over top. Then top with the smoked salmon slices in an even layer.
- Roll the dough as tightly as you can from the wider end. Start off really slowly and work your way across the dough so you can keep your spirals tight.
- Then cut into 12 equal size pieces and place in a 9×13 baking dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray or greased with butter.
- Cover the rolls with a kitchen towel and allow to proof in a warm spot in your kitchen, until they are double in size, or at least noticeably larger than before. Don't be worried if they don't completely double in size, but you definitely want them to be noticeably larger. This will probably take about 30 minutes to an hour. I promise they will grow even more in the oven!
- While the rolls are proofing, preheat the oven to 350F and position a rack to the middle row of your oven.
- Once the rolls are finished proofing, you can add some toppings if you choose. If you want to add toppings, lightly brush the rolls with the egg wash and then sprinkle the toppings over the buns. Be careful with toppings – if your smoked salmong is a little salty, you won't want to add a salty topping. Things like poppy seeds and sesame seeds are safe choices if you want to add a topping, but they are great without them!
- Bake for about 40 minutes, until lightly golden brown on top and fully cooked through. You can also test that the buns are cooked through by inserting a digital thermometer into the dough of an interior roll – the temperature should be about 188F.
- Let the rolls fully cool in the baking dish and enjoy! They are also delicious warm out of the oven if you can't wait!
