Make the dough:

• Sprinkle the yeast on the warm water in a small bowl with a pinch of the sugar. Set aside for about 5 minutes until the yeast is foamy.
• Warm the milk in a small pan on the stove until you see bubbles around the edges. Cut up the butter and add it to the pan to melt.
• Crack your eggs and use a fork to whip them into the butter and milk mixture, then add in the sugar, salt, and vanilla, then stir to combine. Check the temperature with your finger (the milk/egg mixture should be just warm to the touch.).
• Put the flour into a large bowl or your stand mixer bowl. Make a well in the center with your hands, then pour in the milk mixture then the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to make a rough dough.
• After that, with a dough hook on your stand mixer, beat the dough for about 10 minutes on low speed (2 on a Kitchen Aid) until you get an elastic sticky dough that forms into a ball around the dough hook.
• Cover the dough with plastic wrap and set in the fridge to rise overnight or 4 hours minimum.

Assemble the rolls:

• Cover 2 half sheet pans with a piece of parchment paper.
• Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface.
• Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the dough, then roll it in to a rectangle that’s a little less than 1/4″ thick. It should be about 17″ X 15″.
• Check periodically if the dough is sticking by scraping under it with a bench scraper. Add a tiny bit more flour under the dough where it was sticking.
• When the dough is rolled out, cover it with a thin layer of strawberry jam, using a large offset spatula to spread it out evenly. Be careful not to spread it too thickly anywhere as it will ooze out the edges when you make the rolls. You may not need all the jam listed, but it depends on how large you roll out your dough.
• Fold over 1/3 of the dough onto itself along the long edge, covering the jam. Fold the top edge over that to make one long skinny rectangle.
• Use a pizza cutter to cut pieces about 1″ wide along the long edge. You should get about 16 pieces.
• Sprinkle a little flour dough and set down one of the 1″ wide strips. Cut the strip down the length almost all the way to the top. It’ll look like a tiny pair of pants.
• Twist the strips around each other, exposing the jam as you twist.
• Quickly fold the twist back in on itself like a snail. Tuck the uncut edge under the bun.
• Set the finished bun on one of the prepared sheet pans.
• Wipe up your work space after each roll as stray jam is probably making everything look like a crime scene.
• Repeat the shaping with the rest of the strips.
• Cover the buns with oiled plastic wrap to rise for 45 minutes.
• Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350 F (180 C).
• Right before the rolls go into the oven, beat together 1 egg with 1 tsp of water to make an egg wash. Brush the egg wash on the buns. As you do this, try to brush with the cut edges instead of across them to avoid smearing the jam.
• Bake the buns for 20-25 minutes until golden brown and set.
• Let the buns cool for a few minutes while you prepare the icing.

Add the icing:

• Mix together the powdered sugar, milk, and vanilla into a pourable glaze. Drip the icing off the tines of a fork in a back and forth motion across each buns.
• Let the glaze dry as the buns cool.

Serve your strawberry rolls with a strong cup of coffee. They are best the day they’re made.