Buttery challah-like dough twisted up with sweet elderberry jam, glazed with a bright elderberry glaze. These sweet, spiraled Elderberry Twist Buns are lovely for a sweet breakfast or brunch, and they’re pretty dang cute, too.
Soft, buttery challah dough, sweet homemade elderberry jam, and a bright pink elderberry glaze come together in these seriously cute little twist buns. The dough is rolled out and filled with jam, then cut into strips and twisted into individual spirals before baking. Once they’re golden, they get a generous drizzle of vibrant elderberry glaze.
I love elderberries, and I love a good baking challenge, so I couldn’t resist making something a little extra special this season. This recipe takes a bit more time and hands-on work than many of my recipes, but it’s not difficult. It’s the kind of bake that’s perfect for a slow weekend when you’re happily committed to cozying up at home.
I’ll walk you through the process step-by-step, including how to shape these pretty little spirals. And if elderberries aren’t available to you, you can easily swap in another berry to make your own version.
👉 If you enjoy this recipe, you might also like my Plum Sticky Buns, Blueberry Cinnamon Rolls, and Elderberry Coffee Cake.
Recipe highlights
- Soft & buttery: A rich, chewy challah-style dough
- Jammy center: Sweet homemade elderberry jam spiraled throughout
- Gorgeously glazed: Vibrant pink elderberry glaze made from extra jam
- Fun shaping: An enjoyable weekend baking project
- Make it your own: Swap elderberry for your favorite berry
- Slow weekend vibes: The perfect bake for when summer turns to fall
Recipe overview
⏱️ Prep: ~1 hr • Rest/Proof: 2-3 hrs • Bake: 12-15 mins
🍴 Yield: 12 buns
💪 Skill level: Intermediate
😋 Flavor notes: Buttery dough, jammy berries, sweet glaze. Pairs well with: Breakfast & brunch spreads, hot coffee, cold milk.
How to make elderberry twist buns
For full recipe details and ingredients, scroll down to the recipe card below. Here’s a quick step-by-step overview on how to make these elderberry buns:
- Make the elderberry jam: Cook elderberries, sugar, and lemon juice until berries break down and mixture thickens, 10-15 mins. Set in the fridge to cool.
- Make the dough: Bloom the yeast with warm milk, water, & sugar, then add bread flour and remaining ingredients. Knead for 8-10 minutes.
- First rise: Place dough in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 1 hour.
- Roll & fill: Roll the dough into a rectangle (about 10×16 inches) and spread elderberry jam on half of it. Fold dough in half, pressing lightly to seal. Roll dough back out into an 8×12 inch rectangle.
- Shape: Cut into 12 long strips that are about 1 inch wide. Twist & swirl into spirals, tucking the ends underneath.
- Second rise: Place the buns on baking sheets lined with parchment, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let the buns rise again until roughly doubled, 1 – 1 ½ hours.
- Bake: Bake at 350°F until lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes.
- Glaze: While the rolls are baking, whisk together the powdered sugar and elderberry juice. Add a little milk until the right consistency is reached. Glaze buns while still slightly warm from the oven.
Pro baking tips for delicious pastry buns
Warm the milk just enough. When making the bun dough, make sure the milk is 105 – 115° F before you stir the yeast in. If it’s too hot, it can kill the yeast.
Don’t use too much jam. Only use ½ cup of the elderberry jam to spread between layers of dough. If there’s too much, it can make it difficult to cut and shape the buns. You may have a little leftover jam, which is excellent on toast and biscuits.
Don’t over-bake the buns. These buns bake up pretty quickly, and if you bake them too long, the dough dries out fast.
Variations & substitutions
For the elderberries: Replace with raspberries, strawberries, blueberries, huckleberries, or blackberries for another fun twist. You can use fresh or frozen berries for this recipe.
For the glaze: I don’t recommend you skip the glaze, as it provides extra moisture, flavor, and sweetness that’s essential to this recipe. However, feel free to mix up the flavor. These would also be lovely with a vanilla or lemon glaze.
For the yeast: You can use instant yeast instead of active dry. No need to bloom it first, just mix it into the sugar and warm milk and continue with the recipe steps. Note that the dough may rise a bit quicker if you use instant yeast.
Serving & storing elderberry buns
Best eaten warm. These buns are definitely best the day they’re baked, especially when they’re still warm from the oven. If you have some left after day one, heat them back up! They are seriously at least 10x better when they’re warm.
Store at room temperature: Store in an airtight container for 2-3 days.
To refresh: Warm in a 350° oven for about 5-10 minutes. I like to wrap each one loosely in foil before placing in the oven. I highly recommend you warm them up if you have leftovers after the first day.
Make ahead: For fresh morning buns, prepare the dough and shape them the day before, then place them on prepared baking sheets, cover, and refrigerate overnight. The next morning, let the buns sit in a warm spot for 1–1½ hours, or until puffy, then bake as directed.
You can also make the elderberry jam a few days ahead of time if you’d like.
If you make these Elderberry Twist Buns, please leave a star rating and comment below. I’d love to hear what you think or answer any questions. Thank you!
Elderberry Twist Buns
Equipment
- 2 baking sheets lined with parchment
- measuring tape
- sharp knife or pastry cutter
Ingredients
Elderberry jam
- 200 grams (~1 ½ cups) elderberries, cleaned & de-stemmed
- 200 grams (1 cup) sugar
- juice of ½ a lemon
Dough
- 80 grams (⅓ cup) whole milk
- 80 grams (⅓ cup) water
- 7 grams (2 ¼ tsp/1 pkg) active dry yeast
- 40 grams (3 tablespoons) sugar
- 400 grams (~3 ¼ cups) bread flour
- 6 grams (1 ½ tsp) salt
- 1 egg
- 60 grams (2 oz/4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
Elderberry glaze
- ¾ cup powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 tablespoons extra elderberry jam
- milk or water, as needed
Instructions
- Make the elderberry jam: Stir together 200 grams elderberries, 200 grams sugar, and juice from ½ a lemon in a heavy-bottomed sauce pan, bringing to a low boil. Cook, stirring frequently, until berries break down and mixture thickens, about 10 minutes*. Pour into a small bowl and set in the fridge to cool completely.
- Make the dough: Warm 80 grams milk + 80 grams water until it reaches 100-115°F. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine warm milk mixture with 1 package active dry yeast and 3 Tbsp sugar. Let stand until frothy, about 5 minutes.Stir in 400 grams bread flour, then add 6 grams salt, 1 egg, and 60 grams melted, cooled butter. Attach the dough hook to your mixer and knead for 8-10 minutes, until a smooth dough forms.
- First rise: Shape dough into a tight ball, then place in an oiled bowl, cover, and let rise for about 1 hour.
- Roll & fill: On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough into a rectangle that's roughly 10×16 inches. Spread ½ cup of the cooled elderberry jam over half of the dough in a thin layer (be sure to set aside at least 2 Tbsp jam for the glaze). Fold the other half of the dough over the jam, pressing lightly to seal. Roll the dough back out gently, into a rectangle that's about 8×12 inches.
- Shape: Cut dough into 12 long strips that are about 1 inch wide. Grab one strip of dough from both ends, moving your hands in opposite directions to twist the dough. Then swirl it up into a spiral, and tuck the end underneath. Repeat with the remaining dough.
- Second rise: Place the buns several inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper, cover loosely with plastic wrap, and let the buns rise again in a warm spot until roughly doubled, 1 – 1 ½ hours.When the buns are almost ready, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake: Bake just until lightly golden, about 12-15 minutes. Set aside to cool.
- Glaze: While the rolls are baking, make the glaze.Press 2 Tbsp of the remaining elderberry jam through a sieve to remove seeds. Whisk the resulting elderberry juice into a bowl with ¾ cup powdered sugar. Add a little milk or water until the mixture can easily be drizzled off a spoon.While the buns are still slightly warm from the oven, dust them with a little powdered sugar, if desired, then drizzle them with glaze.Enjoy warm.
Notes
- Setting point: Cook until the jam reaches 220°F (104°C).
- Sheeting: Dip a spoon in and let the jam drip off. It should fall in thick sheets rather than a thin stream.
- Cold plate test: Drop a little jam onto a chilled plate. Let it cool for a few seconds, then push it with your finger. It should wrinkle and hold its shape.
Did you try this recipe?
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