Buttermilk milk bread rolls are super soft for your bread basket

These buttermilk milk bread rolls are doubly soft from buttermilk and the Japanese milk bread technique of making a dough paste for extra softness then topped with chopped rosemary and dill for some good savory flavors. Shaped up into easy knots, you can make up these rolls in a few minutes and bake them up after about a little more than an hour.

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I’ve had an idea to double up on the softness of milk bread by adding in buttermilk for a while. The chemistry of milk bread is genuinely interesting. Combine that with buttermilk’s softening powers and you have a potential for a really soft dough.

Whether or not you want to get into the weeds with me about baking chemistry, you’ll love the delicate softness of these wonderful rolls. They are a real contender for the bread basket for Thanksgiving!

Let’s twist up this buttermilk milk bread!

Buttermilk Milk Bread Rolls

What is milk bread?

Milk bread, aka shokupan, aka Japanese milk bread or Hokkaido milk bread is a white bread that’s made with a roux. The roux (called tangzhong or tangzhong paste) is made by cooking part of the flour with milk or water until the flour absorbs all of the liquid and there is a film of starch on the bottom of the pan.

The cooked flour holds on to the moisture because it has created what is called “pre-gelatinized starch”. Since the water is bonded to the starch of the cooked flour, the resulting bread can hold on to much more liquid than if you used the same amount of liquid in the same amount of flour. What this means is that milk bread has a soft pillow-like texture and keeps longer than standard bread.

Why you’ll love milk bread rolls

1. Delicious: There’s plenty of breads made with milk, but few have a better pure milk taste than milk bread. The milk adds a rich texture that’s something a little richer than plain white bread and not quite brioche.
2. The best toast!: Milk bread has a nice compact texture, so when the bread is stale, it slices up and makes the absolute best toast.
3. Simple: It may seem like an annoying extra step to make the tangzhong paste, but it goes rather quickly, and the dough comes together quick.
4. Buttermilk: Yes, the buttermilk adds more tenderness to an already tender roll, but it also adds a flavor you won’t get with just milk.

Stuff you need to make milk rolls

1. Bench scraper: for dividing your dough into pieces. If you don’t have a bench scraper, what are you even doing with your life? Go treat yourself. You will use it for everything!
2. Pastry brush: for brushing your rolls with egg wash.

Tips for making the best milk bread rolls

1. Use cold eggs: Most milk bread recipes have you make the tangzhong paste and then let it cool down to room temperature. There’s no need to wait if you use cold eggs. When the paste is hot, quickly crack and beat the eggs together with the paste. This will cool down the paste quickly, allowing you to make the bread without waiting.
2. Brush the hot rolls: brushing the hot rolls with butter or olive oil will keep the crust soft and add some extra flavor to boot.
3. Make a knot: I like these rolls as simple knots. Roll out a portion of dough into a rope and then cross one end over to make a loop (like a fish!) and pass the end through the middle. You shouldn’t see any hole in the knot. It’s very simple to do and relaxing! Shaping dough never gets old.

Other amazing rolls recipes to consider for Thanksgiving

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