These pineapple pull-apart rolls are the definition of a crowd-pleaser.
Made with sourdough, across the span of three days, these rolls are fluffy, perfectly fermented, and an excellent balance of sweet, tangy, buttery, and salty. Don't expect to bring any home when you bring these to the next summer party. They go with beans, spread, soup, chili, a barbecue, you name it, these rolls should have a place on the table.
Enjoy!
Tanghzong: The tanghzong is made by cooking soy milk and flour over medium heat until a thick, glue-like paste is formed. When you cook the flour with some of the liquid in the dough, you gelatinize some of the starch. This makes the dough moist, supple, and soft.
Pineapple Juice: To make this Hawaiian-roll-like, pineapple juice is added to bring sweetness and acidity. I bought a can of pineapple juice, but you may use the juice from a can of pineapple rings or chunks. If you don't have pineapple juice, you may substitute with filtered water and a little sugar. Refer to the recipe notes below. Also, if you don't have enough pineapple juice that this recipe calls for, you can make up the rest with filtered water.
''Egg'' Wash: To get the beautifully-golden, crispy crust on the top of the rolls, we are washing the rolls twice. Once right before they go in the oven, then one more time halfway through baking. The result is the golden domes formed on the top of the rolls.
Vegan Sourdough Pineapple Pull Apart Rolls
A soft and fluffy roll with pineapple juice for a hint of sweetness.
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
12 hours before mixing:
- Make the preferment. Combine the sourdough starter, filtered water, granulated sugar, and flour in a bowl. Cover and leave to rise overnight.74 grams All-Purpose Flour, 74 grams Filtered Water, 30 grams Active Sourdough Starter, 15 grams Granulated Sugar
On the day of mixing:
- Make the Tanghzhong. In a medium saucepan, whisk together the soy milk and all-purpose flour. Over medium-low heat, whisk the mixture continuously until it thickens to a paste. It will look like packet mashed potatoes. Once it reaches this consistency, immediately take off the heat and put it in the bowl of a stand mixer.166 grams Soy Milk, 41 grams All-Purpose Flour
- Add in the bread flour, honey, pineapple juice (or water), preferment, granulated sugar, and salt. Using a dough hook, mix the dough on low speed for 1-2 minutes, until the dough starts to mix and combine. Then, mix on medium speed for 4-6 minutes, until the dough starts to smooth out and form a cohesive dough ball around the dough hook. It should not be clinging to the sides.Sourdough Preferment, 476 grams Bread Flour*, 180 grams Pineapple Juice**, 11 grams Sea Salt, Fine, 42 grams Honey, or agave nectar, maple syrup, or date syrup if you want it truly vegan, 38 grams Granulated Sugar
- Leave the dough to rest for 10 minutes, covered with a tea towel. While you wait, cut the vegan butter into small pats. The butter should be at room temperature.
- Add the butter. With the mixer on low speed, add the butter one pat at a time, waiting until each pat is incorporated before adding the next pat. Once all the butter has been incorporated, about 5-8 minutes, increase to medium speed. Mix for 2-3 minutes, until the dough is cohesive. It will be a little sticky, but it should be fully incorporated. Remove from the mixer, either leaving it in the mixing bowl or transferring to a new bowl for bulk fermentation.95 grams Vegan Butter, room temperature
- 3 sets of stretch and folds every 30 minutes. Let the dough rest for 30 minutes, covered with a tea towel, before beginning the first set of stretches and folds:Using clean, slightly damp hands, scoop the dough from one side and pull upwards, then fold the dough over onto itself. Rotate the bowl 180 degrees and stretch and fold again. Then turn the bowl a quarter of the way, stretch and fold again, then turn the bowl 180 degrees and do another stretch and fold. Go around the bowl one more time, meaning you will have done a total of 8 stretch and folds, or have gone fully around the bowl twice. Leave to rest for 30 minutes, covered.
- Do the next set of stretch and folds. Scoop on the side of the dough and pull up. Once it stretches without tearing as far as it can go, fold the dough back on top of itself. Turn the bowl 180 degrees and repeat. You should do 8 stretches and folds or go around the bowl twice. Cover and let rest for 30 minutes.
- Then, do the last set of 8 stretch and folds (going around the bowl twice).
- Allow the dough to bulk rest. Cover the bowl and set it in the warmest spot in your home. Depending on your kitchen temperature, this will take more or less time. For this dough, it usually takes 2-3 hours. Ultimately, you're looking for your dough to be slightly less than double in size. It should be puffy, pulling away from the bowl slightly, and slowly rise back when poked with a finger.
- Chill the dough for 25 minutes in the fridge. For the dough to be easier to handle, chill it in the fridge to firm up a bit. While you wait, liberally butter the bottom and sides of an 8x8 square baking pan.
Portion out the dough:
- Weigh your dough. Portion out the dough into 16 even pieces. The dough balls will most likely range between 70-80 grams. I would say roughly 1/2 cup of dough if you don't have a scale.
- To shape the rolls, grab a portioned piece of dough. Pull all the corners/ edges of the dough ball towards the center, pinching the sides and corners together. If it does not form a tight ball, you can repeat the step. Then, on the granite counter, place the seam side down and push and pull the dough ball across the counter to create tension (reference the videos and pictures below for help). Place in the baking pan, 4 dough balls x 4 dough balls. Repeat until all 16 are snug in the pan.
- Chill overnight. Place the pan, covered with a towel or Saran Wrap, overnight to ferment and proof.
When shaping the rolls, the dough will be sticky. I recommend washing your hands every few rolls, as the dough on your hands will make them stickier. Wet hands keep dough from sticking!
Baking the rolls (final/ third day):
- 2-3 hours before you'd like to bake, take out the rolls. We want them to come to room temperature and finish rising. They will be a little taller, puffier, and softer to the touch. When the rolls are almost ready, preheat the oven to 400 degress Farienheit.
- Make the Eggwash. In a small bowl, pour in the soy milk and honey. Microwave for 15 seconds. Using a pastry brush, using about half the eggwash, brush the tops of the rolls. Bake for 20 minutes.1 tsp. Honey, 1 tbsp. Soy Milk
- After 20 minutes, take the rolls out of the oven. Brush with the rest of the eggwash. Drop the oven temperature to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Rotate the pan before placing it back in the oven. Bake for 18-20 minutes, until the rolls have darkened, becoming golden brown.
- Cool and Enjoy. Place the pan on a wire cooling rack for 10 minutes. Then, flip the rolls out onto the wire rack and leave to cool for at least 30 minutes before eating.
Video
Notes
*If you would like to use All-Purpose Flour, you may use 328 grams (2+ 1/2 cups) All-Purpose Flour and 148 grams (1+ 1/4 cups) Bread Flour
** If you don't have Pineapple Juice, you may replace it with equal parts Filtered Water.
If the rolls are having a hard time coming out of the pan, use an offset spatula or butter knife to scrape around the sides of the pan, freeing the rolls from the sides.
Store in an airtight container for up to 6 days. After the first day, I recommend reheating the rolls, but they do stay quite fluffy and delicious for a few days.
