Buttery Soft Dinner Rolls

I can’t think of many simple pleasures in life better than making bread from scratch (especially during quarantine). Is it just me? 

Courtesy to my many adventures of exploring Asian bakeries down Route 40 (also known as Korean Way), my love for soft milk breads manifested very quickly. I discovered El Mundo Eats’ no-tangzhong milk buns about a year ago and instantly loved the recipe. From there, I began experimenting with different variations of milk buns—whole wheat maple, lemon blueberry, matcha, and a more traditional (yet still fluffy) dinner roll. These served as one of my family’s primary sustenance during our 53-hour drive from Maryland to Washington, and they stayed soft and delicious through the end.

The freshly forming resistant gluten, just-proved dough ball soft as a baby’s cheeks, perfect spheres of evenly weighed pre-baked rolls, luxurious smells rolling out from the oven, soft golden shine of baked egg wash, and stringy, chewy layers between each bun... PERFECTION. If you have the time and ingredients, I highly recommend making these bread rolls.

These stuffed buns are chive and cheddar, chocolate, and strawberry jam. You could also go for cinnamon sugar, pesto, peanut butter, sesame paste, or red bean to name a few!

You can also stuff these rolls with any fillings of your choice! Instead of making 32 rolls, make 16 instead (double the size). After the first proof, roll them out into rectangles approximately 4x6 inches, oriented like a sheet of printer paper. Add ~1 tbsp of filling to the middle 1/2 section and fold the two sides over the center, like a trifold. Lightly pinch together these seams, flatten the “pocket,” and roll up the dough! I spaced these apart on a baking tray and brushed them with an egg-yolk-water mixture right before baking.

Buttery Soft Dinner Rolls
Active Prep Time: 1 hour
Inactive Prep Time: 2-3 hours
Cook Time: 20 mins
Yield: 32 rolls

Ingredients
For dough:

• 590 g all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp + 2 tbsp granulated sugar, separated (or to taste)
• 2 tsp active dry yeast
• 320 g milk of choice, warm (I use skim dairy milk or unsweetened almond milk)
• 1.5 tsp kosher salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature
• 4 tbsp butter, softened

For egg wash:

• 1 large egg, beaten
• 1 tsp water
  
  

Directions

1. Line two 8x8 glass baking dishes with parchment paper and preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Combine warm milk, 1 tsp sugar, and yeast. Stir and let sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy.
3. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, and additional sugar to taste (optional). Add yeast milk mixture and egg and mix into a shaggy dough with a spatula. Knead until smooth either by hand or with a stand mixer.
4. Add butter 1/2 tbsp at a time and knead into dough until smooth—dough will be sticky and resistant at first but will eventually combine and not stick to the bowl.
5. Let rise until volume doubles, around 1 hour. Punch down and knead a few times before dividing into 32 equal buns (I use a kitchen scale for accuracy, but you can also eyeball them).
6. Place 16 buns in each pan. Brush evenly with egg wash, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour or until the size increases by 50%. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350°F.
7. Bake in preheated oven (350°F) for 18 minutes and raise temperature to 400°F for 2-4 more minutes until golden on top.
8. Remove from oven and lift bread rolls along with parchment paper out of the pan onto a cooling rack. Let stand to cool (or enjoy immediately—I’m never patient enough).
9. Store at room temperature in sealed container for up to 3 days.

Per roll: 100 calories: 15.4 g carbs; 2.8 g fat; 2.8 g protein

Inspired by El Mundo Eats.