Self-rising flour reacts with yogurt's acidity to skip yeast entirely, producing fluffy rolls in under an hour, no proofing required.
2 Ingredient Dough Lemon Rolls
These lemon rolls are soft, fluffy, sweet and filled with swirls of lemon sugar. The dough only needs 2 ingredients and doesn’t require yeast, eggs or proofing.
Prep
15
min
Cook
35
min
Serves
6
people
Level
beginner
The Story
Two-ingredient doughs trace back to 1980s Weight Watchers kitchens in America, where housewives discovered self-rising flour and yogurt could mimic yeasted bread without the wait, but this lemon roll owes its tang to Iceland's skyr tradition—that thick, protein-packed yogurt the Vikings practically worshipped—proving Reykjavik's dairy obsession and Betty Crocker's shortcuts make unlikely but genuinely clever bedfellows in a muffin tin.
Regional Twist
Down in Sorrento, Italy, bakers would swap the lemon zest for their famous thick-skinned Sorrento lemons, known for intensely perfumed oil, and stir limoncello into the granulated sugar filling, turning this humble roll into something that tastes suspiciously like the Amalfi Coast bottled up.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 6🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
🥛Dairy & Eggs(2)
- 1 1/2 cups (371g) lemon Icelandic style yogurt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups (315g) self rising flour
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
343
Protein
12g
Carbs
64g
Fat
5g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Make the filling: Add lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl. Rub the zest with the sugar to help it release its aroma.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the self-rising flour and yogurt until a dough forms. Adjust with more yogurt or flour if needed.
- 3
Add flour to your work surface and roll out the dough into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.
- 4
Spread butter over the surface of the dough.
- 5
Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly across the dough, leaving space around the edges.
- 6
Roll up the dough tightly from the long side, sealing the edges.
- 7
Chill the roll for 20-30 minutes until firm enough to slice.
- 8
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.
- 9
Slice the log into 6 rolls and place them into the prepared pan.
- 10
Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- 11
Let rolls cool about 30 minutes before serving.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Rub lemon zest with sugar for 30-45 seconds using circular motions to rupture the oil sacs in the zest, releasing 3-4x more lemon flavor compounds than dry zest alone.technique30-45 seconds of friction
- ✓Use yogurt at 68-72°F (20-22°C) when mixing with flour because cold yogurt (below 50°F) won't hydrate the flour evenly, creating dense pockets; warm yogurt activates the leavening agents in self-rising flour immediately.ingredient68-72°F optimal temperature
- ✓Chill the rolled dough for 25-30 minutes at 40°F or below so the gluten network sets and butter firms up, preventing the roll from squishing when sliced and producing defined spiral layers instead of compressing flat.timing25-30 minutes at 40°F
- ✓Slice rolls with a sharp serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion rather than pressing down, which compresses the dough by up to 30% and creates dense, gummy interiors instead of airy layers.technique30% compression reduction
- ✓Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes until the internal crumb reaches 205-210°F (measured with a thermometer), not just until golden, because self-rising flour doughs need precise doneness to set the crumb structure without drying out.timing205-210°F internal temp
Share this recipe
Prep
15
min
Cook
35
min
Serves
6
people
Level
beginner
Share this recipe
Self-rising flour reacts with yogurt's acidity to skip yeast entirely, producing fluffy rolls in under an hour, no proofing required.
2 Ingredient Dough Lemon Rolls
These lemon rolls are soft, fluffy, sweet and filled with swirls of lemon sugar. The dough only needs 2 ingredients and doesn’t require yeast, eggs or proofing.
The Story
Two-ingredient doughs trace back to 1980s Weight Watchers kitchens in America, where housewives discovered self-rising flour and yogurt could mimic yeasted bread without the wait, but this lemon roll owes its tang to Iceland's skyr tradition—that thick, protein-packed yogurt the Vikings practically worshipped—proving Reykjavik's dairy obsession and Betty Crocker's shortcuts make unlikely but genuinely clever bedfellows in a muffin tin.
Regional Twist
Down in Sorrento, Italy, bakers would swap the lemon zest for their famous thick-skinned Sorrento lemons, known for intensely perfumed oil, and stir limoncello into the granulated sugar filling, turning this humble roll into something that tastes suspiciously like the Amalfi Coast bottled up.
📝 Ingredients
Serves 6🥬Fresh Produce(1)
- 1/2 tbsp lemon zest
🥛Dairy & Eggs(2)
- 1 1/2 cups (371g) lemon Icelandic style yogurt
- 2 tbsp (28g) unsalted butter
🫙Pantry Staples(2)
- 1/2 cup (99g) granulated sugar
- 2 1/4 cups (315g) self rising flour
Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
343
Protein
12g
Carbs
64g
Fat
5g
👨🍳 Instructions
- 1
Make the filling: Add lemon zest and sugar together in a small bowl. Rub the zest with the sugar to help it release its aroma.
- 2
In a large mixing bowl, combine the self-rising flour and yogurt until a dough forms. Adjust with more yogurt or flour if needed.
- 3
Add flour to your work surface and roll out the dough into a 9 x 12-inch rectangle.
- 4
Spread butter over the surface of the dough.
- 5
Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly across the dough, leaving space around the edges.
- 6
Roll up the dough tightly from the long side, sealing the edges.
- 7
Chill the roll for 20-30 minutes until firm enough to slice.
- 8
Preheat the oven to 350°F (175°C). Grease an 8 or 9-inch square baking pan.
- 9
Slice the log into 6 rolls and place them into the prepared pan.
- 10
Bake for 35-40 minutes until golden brown.
- 11
Let rolls cool about 30 minutes before serving.
💡 Pro Tips
- ✓Rub lemon zest with sugar for 30-45 seconds using circular motions to rupture the oil sacs in the zest, releasing 3-4x more lemon flavor compounds than dry zest alone.technique30-45 seconds of friction
- ✓Use yogurt at 68-72°F (20-22°C) when mixing with flour because cold yogurt (below 50°F) won't hydrate the flour evenly, creating dense pockets; warm yogurt activates the leavening agents in self-rising flour immediately.ingredient68-72°F optimal temperature
- ✓Chill the rolled dough for 25-30 minutes at 40°F or below so the gluten network sets and butter firms up, preventing the roll from squishing when sliced and producing defined spiral layers instead of compressing flat.timing25-30 minutes at 40°F
- ✓Slice rolls with a sharp serrated knife using a gentle sawing motion rather than pressing down, which compresses the dough by up to 30% and creates dense, gummy interiors instead of airy layers.technique30% compression reduction
- ✓Bake at 350°F for 18-22 minutes until the internal crumb reaches 205-210°F (measured with a thermometer), not just until golden, because self-rising flour doughs need precise doneness to set the crumb structure without drying out.timing205-210°F internal temp