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MAKES 6 BIG BAD GIRLS // TOTAL TIME 2.5 HRS
Dough
Filling
Icing
Warm milk and ½ tsp sugar until 110-115f. Add yeast and let sit 10 mins until bubbly and active.
In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, salt. Cut in cubes of room temperature butter until only pea sized lumps remain. Transfer to bowl of a stand mixer with dough hook.
Lightly beat the eggs and add them along with the milk/yeast to the dough bowl. Mix on low speed until a dough comes together. Kick it up to medium speed and let it knead for five whole minutes. Dough should come together tacky but not sticky and messy. If too sticky after fully incorporated and kneaded for five minutes, mix into the dough an additional 3-4 tbsp flour. Don't exceed 4 ¾ cups. Perform windowpane test until dough is thoroughly kneaded. (Tear off small piece and stretch to see if light can pass through without tearing. Tearing = needs more time kneading.)
Grease or spray a large mixing bowl and place dough inside, let rise in a warm place for about 1hr or until doubled in size. (Really get this step going successfully with extra warmth by preheating your oven to 175-200f, then turning it off and leaving door cracked with CLOTH covered bowl of dough inside to assist your rise. Obviously don't put like. Plastic wrap in the oven. Maybe you can. I wouldn't.)
Start the filling while dough rises. In a medium saucepan, Add chopped fresh or frozen strawberries, lemon juice, and sugar. Toss it up to coat those berries in sugar and lemony goodness, Bring to a lively bubble as the liquids are released from the berries, and then turn heat to low.
Do a little dance. Your buns will come out so bad if you don't. They will be ruined. RUINED. Just kidding. I had to edit this section and didn't want to re-number everything.
Cook down the berries for 10-15 minutes until they're real juicy and reducey.
In a small bowl or measuring cup, combine 1 tbsp corn starch with 1 tbsp water. Add slurry to berries, heat still on (low) and cook an additional few minutes, stirring consistently until they've thickened into a spreadable, fruity paste. Let cool slightly before spreading over dough in the next step. Set aside two tablespoons of filling for the icing later, and one tablespoon for the heavy cream you'll be using in step 12 below.
Roll it out and then roll it up! When the dough has doubled in size, assemble the buns. Roll out the dough on a lightly floured surface to a large, ¼" thick rectangle.
Spread strawberry filling evenly to cover the rectangle.
Roll tightly, and cut into 6 equal pieces with a thread (by sliding it underneath the roll and pulling tightly to pinch sections off of the roll), or very sharp knife and light sawing motion. You can also cut strips of (already strawberry spread) dough with a pizza cutter or sharp knife and roll the buns individually.
Spray or grease a 9x13" pan. Arrange the rolls, spacing them evenly, cover loosely and let them sit there for like 20 minutes to rise a second time. Vigorously stir to combine 1 reserved tbsp of strawberry filling with the ½ cup heavy cream, then pour the strawberry cream into the bottom of the pan. Hell yeah.
Preheat oven to 375f and bake the rolls for 23-28 minutes or until the centers temp at 200f. These babies are BIG so BE NOT AFRAID to slap some foil over them if they're starting to brown too much in the final 10 minutes.
While the rolls bake, make strawberry icing. Beat 4oz (half a block) room temperature cream cheese until smooth.
Add powdered sugar, milk, reserved 2 tbsp strawberry mixture, vanilla, and a tiny pinch of salt. Beat until smooth.
Spread generously onto rolls with a spoon while they're still hot out of the oven. This pan of buns will be cute and pink as hell. If you want them pinker, use gel food coloring, or even more strawberry. Personally I don't even care.