Feel free to be creative with the fillings for these delicious pastries, which are similar to kolaches. I have suggested a couple of fillings below, which are also excellent for Danish, but you can also use store-bought pie fillings.

　　

Ingredients

makes up to 36 rolls

　　1 recipe all-purpose sweet dough (page 140)

　　1 recipe fruit filling (page 196) or lemon curd (page 196), or 1 can commercial pie filling

　　1 recipe white fondant glaze (page 144)

　　

Do ahead

Step 1

Prepare the all-purpose sweet dough as directed on page 140.

　　

On baking day

Step 2

Preheat the oven to 375°F (191°C). Remove the dough from the refrigerator and divide it into 1 1/2-ounce pieces. Form each piece into a tight round roll (see page 25), then place the rolls on a parchment-lined sheet pan, about 1 1/2 inches apart. Mist the tops of the rolls with spray oil and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Proof at room temperature for about 2 hours, until the rolls have increased to about 1 1/2 times their original size.

　　

Step 3

Dip your thumb in water, then use it to press a deep dimple into each roll. Press almost to the bottom of the dough and rotate your thumb to widen the dimple to about 1 inch across. The roll will spread slightly. Fill the thumbprint with the filling of your choice, and feel free to use a variety of fillings so that you’ll have an assortment of rolls.

　　

Step 4

Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until a golden brown, rotating the pan as necessary for even browning. As soon as the rolls come out of the oven, brush them with the fondant glaze (which will melt) and let cool for 5 minutes. Then drizzle more glaze over the tops of the rolls while they’re still slightly warm, to create decorative streaks.

　　

Step 5

Serve warm or cold.

　　"Reprinted with permission from Peter Reinhart's Artisan Breads Every Day: Fast and Easy Recipes for World-Class Breads by Peter Reinhart, copyright © 2009. Published by Ten Speed Press, a division of Random House, Inc." Photo credit: Leo Gong © 2009Peter Reinhart is a baking instructor and faculty member at Johnson and Wales University in Charlotte, North Carolina. He was the cofounder of Brother Juniper's Bakery in Santa Rosa, California, and is the author of seven books on bread baking, including Crust and Crumb, the 2002 James Beard Cookbook of the Year and IACP Cookbook of the Year, The Bread Baker's Apprentice, and the 2008 James Beard Award-winning Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads.