If you’re looking for bread with a lot of seasonings and great for a crowd, try making sesame pull-apart rolls for your next gathering.
Jump to RecipeWhile this isn’t the quickest recipe, we really enjoyed these Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls. I found a recipe online for Benne pull-apart rolls, but we didn’t have Benne seeds. The rolls looked too good, though, so I made some substitutions to the recipe.
Another big change I made was to make this a dairy-free recipe. I found out early this year that I am allergic to dairy, so I’ve been working on taking recipes that I love and making them without dairy.
Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls take quite a while to make, but most of that is in letting the dough rest. As with any other dough recipe, it needs time to rise.
The rolls were best when first taken from the oven. We served them with marinara sauce but they would also be good with gravy. Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls would be perfect for a holiday meal. They have a lot of flavor and would go with everything else typically on your plate.
I liked eating the rolls for breakfast the following morning by adding a small amount of butter and warming them just slightly.
Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls Step by Step
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 3/4 cup flour
- 3 tbsp vegan butter, softened
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tbsp thyme
- 1/2 tbsp rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp sage
Preparation
In a small saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, until just warm.
Pour the milk and sugar into a large mixing bowl and gently stir in the yeast then let stand for 5 minutes.
Add 1 cup of flour, butter, 2 eggs, and salt, beating at low speed until smooth.
Slowly add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a sticky dough forms.
Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough is just slightly sticky.
Place the dough in a generously greased bowl and turn to coat.
Cover and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until almost double in size.
Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a large plate to draw a circle about 12 inches in diameter.
Flip the parchment paper over so the dough doesn’t touch the side that was drawn on.
After the dough has risen, punch it down then turn it out on a lightly floured surface and cover to rest for 10 minutes.
Divide the dough into 6 pieces, then divide each piece into 6, forming 36 pieces of dough.
Roll each piece of dough into a ball and line the circle on the parchment paper with 20 pieces of dough, almost touching, on the outside then a small ring of 16 pieces on the inside.
Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 375F.
In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 egg with 1 tbsp water to create an egg wash.
Brush the egg wash over the rolls then sprinkle immediately with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and seasonings.
Bake 15-18 minutes until the rolls are golden brown.
Serve warm with marinara sauce if desired.
Leftovers
Leftover Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls can be stored in an airtight container on the counter.
Recipe
Originally Published On: December 15, 2021
Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
- 3 3/4 cup flour
- 3 tbsp vegan butter (softened)
- 3 eggs
- 1 1/2 tsp salt
- 2 tbsp white sesame seeds
- 1 tbsp poppy seeds
- 1/2 tbsp oregano
- 1/2 tbsp thyme
- 1/2 tbsp rosemary
- 1/2 tbsp sage
Recommended Equipment
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, heat the milk and sugar over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes, until just warm
- Pour the milk and sugar into a large mixing bowl and gently stir in the yeast then let stand for 5 minutes
- Add 1 cup of flour, butter, 2 eggs, and salt, beating at low speed until smooth
- Slowly add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a sticky dough forms
- Turn dough out on a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough is just slightly sticky
- Place the dough in a generously greased bowl and turn to coat
- Cover and let rise for about 1 1/2 hours, until almost double in size
- Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper and use a large plate to draw a circle about 12 inches in diameter
- Flip the parchment paper over so the dough doesn’t touch the side that was drawn on
- After the dough has risen, punch it down then turn it out on a lightly floured surface and cover to rest for 10 minutes
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces, then divide each piece into 6, forming 36 pieces of dough
- Roll each piece of dough into a ball and line the circle on the parchment paper with 20 pieces of dough, almost touching, on the outside then a small ring of 16 pieces on the inside
- Cover and let rise for another 30 minutes
- Preheat the oven to 375F
- In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 1 egg with 1 tbsp water to create an egg wash
- Brush the egg wash over the rolls then sprinkle immediately with sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and seasonings
- Bake 15-18 minutes, until the rolls are golden brown
- Serve warm with marinara sauce if desired
All nutritional information is based on third-party calculations and should be considered estimates. Actual nutrition content will vary based on brands used, measuring methods, portion sizes, and more.
Sesame Pull-Apart Rolls FAQs
When you bake the rolls, you’ll have them close together, but not tight. When they expand during baking, they’ll form a ring. But, since the dough wasn’t touching to begin with, they can easily be pulled apart.
No, these would work just as well with regular butter and milk. Since I am trying to avoid dairy, I was able to use those as a substitute to keep it dairy-free.
This looks lovely but I’d love to see if this could be made vegan and omit the eggs- it’s so close and just think it could be amazing. Maybe Aquafaba could work potentially? What do you think?
I love homemade bread rolls, the smell of them coming out of the oven is always amazing! I may try this out soon
These sesame rolls sound delicious. They make a lovely sharing dish for the family to enjoy.
Wow what a neat presentation. Thanks for the detailed recipe.
These look great to snack on fresh out of the oven! Or make little sandwiches with them 🙂
I am a big fan of pull apart rolls. They make great appetizers and you can add them as sides to different dishes too.
These look great to take to our holiday gathering, easy recipe too, love it
I love a good pull apart bread, but have never tried these! Thank you so much for sharing your recipe.
I’ve never made rolls and now I want to try! These are one of my fav kinds!
I love adding sesame to bread, it adds so much to the flavor. I can’t wait to make your rolls, so good…
It’s my brother’s birthday on Wednesday, I will make them for him and I will tag you if I post it on IG.
These rolls omg…And the sesame…I am doing this on Saturday, everything looks so good…
This savory bread is so satisfying. Pull-apart homemade goodness rolls are perfect for sharing and parties at home.
I love sesame on rolls! These look like the perfect crusty addition to a nice fresh summer salad.
These sesame rolls look so good! The sauce looks so tasty as well! Thank you for the recipe.
Sesame Pull Apart Rolls are a good idea. I have some sesame seeds to use up so I can refill the container, what better way than these?
This is a fun way to serve rolls. These sesame rolls sound super delicious.
My family loves bread and my kids can eat it morning, noon and night so adding your recipe into my todo folder and I bet they would enjoy the experience of eating this pull apart bread