LEMON POPPY SEED SCROLLS
MAKES 12

I love a cinnamon roll and I know that they’re incredibly popular with my readers. In saying that, limiting the enjoyment of scrolls to just cinnamon rolls is a shame because there are any number of fillings that make for completely delicious variations. So, in this book you’ll find three versions! These lemon and poppy seed scrolls are fragrant and fresh from the lemon, but still so decadent and moreish. (See page 206 for Cookie butter scrolls and page 194 for Pumpkin spice scrolls that’ll fulfil all your autumn baking cravings.)

300 g (10½ oz) warm water
4½ teaspoons instant dried yeast
40 g (1½ oz) caster sugar, plus 40 g more
450 g (1 lb) Basic plain flour blend (page 12), plus more for dusting
14 g (½ oz) psyllium husk powder
1½ teaspoons xanthan gum
1½ teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
14 g (½ oz) poppy seeds
zest of 2 lemons
3 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste or extract
60 g (2 oz) unsalted butter, cold, cubed
vegetable oil, for greasing
1 egg yolk and 2 tablespoons pouring (single/light) cream, whisked together for egg wash

Filling

300 g (10½ oz) spreadable cream cheese
100 g (3½ oz) icing (confectioners’) sugar
2 tablespoons lemon juice
zest of 1 lemon

Add the warm water to a cup with a pouring lip, then mix in the yeast and 40 g (1½ oz) of sugar. Cover and place in a warm, draft-free place for 10 minutes. A thick layer of foam should form on top, indicating the yeast has bloomed. If it hasn’t, your yeast might not be active (see page 117 for guidelines on yeast).

Combine the remaining dry ingredients including the extra sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Add the water–yeast mixture, lemon zest, eggs and vanilla, then mix on low speed until mostly combined. Increase the speed to medium–high and beat for 3–4 minutes, scraping down the bowl once or twice to make sure all the dry ingredients have been incorporated.

Add the butter and beat for a further 2–3 minutes on medium–high or until no lumps of butter remain. It should be a wet, sticky dough.

Grease a large bowl with 2–3 teaspoons of oil, then scrape down the side of the stand mixer bowl to gather the dough into a single ball, and transfer it to the greased bowl. Shake the dough around in the bowl a little, turning it over a couple of times.  The aim is not to incorporate oil into the dough at this stage, just to smooth it out a little and make it easier to turn out later. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea (dish) towel, then place in a warm, draft-free place for 1 hour.

Grease and line a 22 × 32 cm (8¾ ×12½ in) baking tin with baking paper.

To make the filling, simply whisk the filling ingredients together in a mixing bowl until smooth. Set aside.

After proving, the dough should have doubled in size. Grease your work surface with a little oil, greasing your hands in the process, and tip out the dough. Work the dough by hand to remove the air bubbles, kneading it for 30–40 seconds before gathering it into a single ball. Lightly flour the dough and your work surface and roll the dough ball around a little – this will smooth the outside of the dough and make it neater and easier to handle.

Use a rolling pin to roll the dough out into a 30 × 56 cm (12 × 22 in) rectangle with a long edge closest to you. Gently spread the cream cheese filling evenly over the dough, leaving a 2–3 cm (¾–1¼ in) clean border on the long edge furthest from you. Starting from the closest edge, roll the dough up into a log. Don’t do this too tightly; you don’t want all the filling to ooze out and you don’t want to risk stretching and ripping the dough.

Once rolled, gently pinch the seam of the log closed. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut the log into 12 equal portions, each about 4–5 cm (½–2 in) wide (cutting them using floss or twine will create neater rolls, but it is not essential). Transfer the scrolls, cut-side-up, to the prepared tin.

Cover them loosely with plastic wrap, then a tea towel, and place in a warm, draft-free place for another 20–30 minutes.  The proving time will depend on the conditions in your house (see page 117 for further information). You’re looking for them to be about 50 per cent larger – they should look puffy but not dimpled.

Preheat the oven to 160°C (320°F).

When the scrolls are ready to bake, brush any exposed dough with egg wash. Bake for 34–36 minutes, until the scrolls are golden brown. Allow to cool in the tin for at least 30 minutes before serving.

SUPPLEMENTARY RECIPES

Basic plain flour blend
MAKES 1 KG (2 LB 3¼ OZ)
315 g (11 oz) rice flour
250 g (9 oz) tapioca starch
250 g (9 oz) gluten-free cornflour (cornstarch)
165 g (5¾ oz) potato starch
20 g (¾ oz) xanthan gum

MAKES 2 KG (4 LB 6½ OZ)
630 g (22¼ oz) rice flour
500 g (17¾ oz) tapioca starch
500 g (17¾ oz) gluten-free cornflour (cornstarch)
330 g (11¾ oz) potato starch
40 g (1½ oz) xanthan gum

Store in an airtight container until ready to use.

This is an edited extract from Gluten-Free Bakes by Melanie Persson, published by Hardie Grant Books. Available in stores from 29 September 2026. Photography by Ola O. Smit.