1Make a milk paste (Tang zhon, 1/3 cup whole milk and 2 tablespoons of bread flour). Mix it up on medium heat until it forms a thick paste.
2Add 1 tablespoon of yeast to ½ cup of warm milk. Mix and set aside to let it bloom.
3In a large mixing bowl, add 2 ½ cups of bread flour, ¼ cup of granulated sugar, and 1 teaspoon of salt. Mix and set aside.
4Mix the wet ingredients together: milk paste, yeast mixture, and 1 lightly beaten egg.
5Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix on low with a dough hook for 5-7 minutes until a dough ball forms and it stops sticking to the bowl.
6Once the dough stops sticking, add in 3 tablespoons of softened butter and mix until you don't see it anymore.
7Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover it, and let it rest and rise for 1 hour.
8After an hour of rising, punch the dough down, turn it out, and cut it into three portions.
9Stretch one piece of dough into a long rectangle and roll it up. Repeat with the remaining dough.
10Shape each piece into a tight roll.
11Add rolls to a lightly greased loaf pan. Cover again and let it rest and rise for 1 hour.
12After another hour of rising, brush the rolls with an egg wash (1 whole beaten egg).
13Bake at 350°F for 30-35 minutes.
14Once the bread is cool enough, remove it from the pan and rub some butter on top.