Japanese Milk Bread Dinner Rolls

2h 20m
Serves 9
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Directions

  1. 1Whisk and cook flour, milk, and water in a saucepan over medium heat until smooth and thick like pudding for the Tangzhong.
  2. 2Transfer the Tangzhong to a bowl, press plastic wrap against the surface, and let it cool to room temperature.
  3. 3Mix warm milk with a teaspoon of sugar and a packet of yeast, and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until frothy.
  4. 4Add the cooled Tangzhong, egg, sugar, flour, and salt to the yeast mixture and mix into a shaggy dough.
  5. 5Knead the dough with a dough hook for about 5 minutes, then add in the melted butter.
  6. 6Knead for another 5 minutes until the dough is soft, smooth, and no longer sticking to the sides.
  7. 7Lightly coat the dough with flour, shape it into a nice ball, and place it in a bowl.
  8. 8Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let the dough prove for 1 to 2 hours until it has doubled in size.
  9. 9After the first proof, divide the dough into 9 pieces.
  10. 10Shape each piece of dough into a ball.
  11. 11Place the dough balls in a greased or parchment-lined square pan.
  12. 12Cover the pan with plastic wrap and let it prove a second time until doubled in size (about another hour).
  13. 13Preheat the oven to 350°F.
  14. 14Brush the risen rolls with an egg wash.
  15. 15Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes until gorgeous and golden brown.
  16. 16Cool the rolls in the pan for a few minutes.
  17. 17Brush the baked rolls with melted butter and sprinkle with flakey sea salt.

Ingredients

  • 0.25 cup water
  • 0.25 cup milk
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 0.5 cup warm milk
  • 1 packet active dry yeast
  • 0.25 cup sugar
  • 1 egg
  • 2.66 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 4 tablespoons softened butter
  • melted butter
  • flakey salt

Equipment

saucepanwhiskbowlplastic wrapstand mixer with dough hooksquare panparchment paperovenpastry brush

Tips

  • The Tangzhong is the necessary ingredient to making the texture extra light and fluffy.
  • When bread goes stale, it's because moisture leaves the bread and it gets hard, so the Tangzhong allows more moisture to be absorbed into the flour as the dough bakes, resulting in a softer, fluffier bread.
  • Tent with foil if browning too fast during baking.

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