Soft White Rolls
Soft White Rolls
I’ve been forever searching for the perfect soft white roll (or bap as we like to say in the UK!) and I’ve finally got it!
We use two different techniques to increase the softness of the dough – a tangzhong which is a very popular technique, but also scalding the flour, which is one you don’t see as much. The combination gives you a roll that stays soft for days – perfect for a BBQ or a picnic sandwich. You can also shape it as a hot dog roll too.
If you want to add some seeds, simply wet the dough balls when you’ve rolled them, then roll them in sesame or poppy seeds before you proof them!
Ingredients
Method
Into a medium saucepan, add the flour and milk and whisk on a medium heat until a thick paste forms.
Scoop it out of the pan, and into a bowl to cool for 10-15 minutes.
Into the bowl of a stand mixer, add the cooled tangzhong, bread flour, salt and yeast. Work the mixture together with your hands, just to break up the tangzhong into the flour.
Into a medium saucepan, add the milk, condensed milk, cream and egg and whisk it together.
Heat the mixture, whisking occasionally, over a low heat until it reaches 46-48C (114-118F) on a digital thermometer. It is really important to not go above this heat, as above 50C and you will kill the yeast when you add it in.
Once at temperature immediately remove it from the heat and pour it directly over the dry ingredients.
Quickly stir it together with a rubber spatula until there are no more bits of dry flour in the bowl. Make sure to scrape down the sides. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and rest it for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, add in the cold cubed butter and attach the dough hook to your stand mixer. Knead on a medium low speed, scraping down the bowl occasionally for about 8-10m. The dough should start pulling away from the side of the bowl when it is ready.
Scoop the dough onto your work surface and shape it into a rough ball. Lift it into a lightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with cling film. Proof the dough at room temperature for 1 hour.
In the mean time, lightly grease a L15" x W10.5" x H1" baking tray and line it with a sheet of parchment.
After an hour, scoop the dough out and cut it into 105g pieces. The dough will be quite soft but try to avoid adding any flour if possible as this will make it slightly harder to shape the dough balls.
Using a bench scraper can make it much easier to shape the dough into tight balls.
Once you have formed the balls, it can help to lightly flour your hands to lift them up and place them onto a tray. You will get 12 buns in total. Space them out evenly across the tray.
Cover the tray and then proof the dough balls for about 2 hours, or until they look very puffy and are touching. Pre-heat the oven to 175C/340F non-fan assisted just before they are ready.
Very lightly flour the top of the buns using a sieve (this is just decorative so not much is needed), and then bake them for 25 minutes. They should be golden on top but still slightly pale on the sides.
Remove the pan from the oven and let them cool in there for 5 minutes, before lifting onto a wire rack to cool fully.
These can be stored in sandwich bags and will stay fresh or they can be frozen and defrosted at room temperature.
If I wanted to use sourdough starter instead on instant yeast what would the weight of the sourdough be?
I’m afraid I haven’t tested that
How would you replace the egg, for egg allergy, in this recipe. Do you think extra weight in cream would work? Thank you
I haven’t tested it, but maybe try replacing it with more milk?
The best I’ve ever made!!!!
So glad!
I made these for some fried chicken sliders and they were a huge hit at the party. I haven’t made bread in forever and the recipe was easy to navigate. You are succinct in your instructions. It really made me excited to bake more bread. I want to adapt the recipe to make Hawaiian rolls. Can I substitute some of the milk for pineapple juice? I’m a little worried about curdling.
So glad!! I’m not sure about the juice as there is a lot of sugar in it, not sure what that might do!
These are now on regular rotation, my 3 year old is obsessed. So soft and freezes really well too, we use these for lunches and had some for a barbecue this weekend. Can’t recommend enough!
Amazing – thank you!
These are the best omg. And I made them into cinnamon buns and it was the FLUFFIEST
So glad!!
Made them today. Excellent! I added about 1/3 cup of flour during the kneading process. The dough just looked too wet. They came out fine though. Used your exact measurements, maybe because I live in a humid climate.
Thanks Matt!
So glad!!
These are the best and softest rolls I’ve ever had!!! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
So glad!
From the recipe, it seems to take about 4.5 hours if steps are followed back to back. Is that about right?
Yes! Lots of dough proofing time 🙂
I made this recipe today exactly as written, and it came out perfectly. I served the buns with pulled pork and slaw. They are just as good as Mat promises. I did use an assisted oven and there were no issues.
So glad!