Make Japanese style milk bread rolls with this easy milk bread roll recipe! These dinner rolls are soft, fluffy, moist, and just a touch sweet. They are perfect for your holiday dinner parties but also simple enough to make for an everyday meal.
Christmas is just around the corner and we're all busy planning if not already starting our holiday cooking. Kyong and I know that a meal isn't complete without beautiful dinner rolls to soak up all the flavorful gravy and sauces you made. So, we wanted to share this easy milk bread roll recipe that requires minimal ingredients but delivers maximum satisfaction, so that every last drop of your hard work can be savored!
If you liked this milk bread dinner roll recipe, you'll also love to try our cheesy garlic pull-apart bread (Christmas edition), Korean sausage bread, and Korean cream cheese garlic bread. They're all crowd pleasers and perfect for holiday gatherings or simple snacking.
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What is milk bread?
Milk bread, like the average white bread is made of wheat flour. However, what makes the two difference is the addition of milk, fat (butter), and tangzhong. These three additions give milk bread a milkier, richer flavor and that springy, pillowy, soft texture we love in Asian breads.
Tangzhong: milk bread's secret ingredient
So, what makes milk bread so pillowy soft but still springy? The secret lies in tangzhong, a thick paste made by cooking a liquid with flour until gelatinized, about 65°C or 149°F. In the case of milk breads, milk and flour are cooked. Adding tangzhong to bread doughs allow the doughs to be high in hydration, without being a wet, sticky mess, which is what's needed if you want light, airy bread.
If your milk bread is dense, mostly likely, the dough is under-kneaded. The dough needs to develop enough gluten to expand and become soft and fluffy. A sure way to ensure that the dough is kneaded enough is using the window pane test.
The window pane test
When making any kinds of bread, it is very important to knead the dough until it reaches the "window pane" stage before proofing. This ensures that the dough has enough gluten development to trap the carbon dioxide produced when the dough is proofing. Without adequate gluten formation, the dough will not be able to expand properly, resulting in a dense dough.
To check for the window pane stage, pinch off a small knob of dough, about a Tablespoon. Gently stretch the dough between your fore fingers and thumb until you're able to see silhouettes through the stretched dough. If the dough tears before you can see silhouettes through it, knead the dough in 2 to 4 minute increments and checking in between until the "window pane" consistency has been achieved.
Alternative almost no-knead milk bread
If you prefer making breads without a stand mixer or simply have the time, you'll love this alternative almost no knead method!
- Place the flour, sugar, and salt into a mixing bowl. Give it a mix, then add the cooled tangzhong and milk with dissolved yeast. Mix the dough until no more dry flour is visible and the dough is cohesive. Cover and let the dough rest for 30 minutes in a warm area.
- After 30 minutes, knead the dough by pulling the edges toward the center to form a ball. Cover and let it rest for another 30 minutes in a warm area.
- Once the 30 minutes are up, add the softened butter and work the butter into the dough. After all the butter has been absorbed, round up the dough and cover it. Let the dough proof in a warm area until doubled, about 45 minutes or 1 hour.
- Punch the dough down and divide into 9 or 16 pieces, depending on if you want small or large rolls. Follow the recipe for the shaping and baking.
How to shape these milk bread rolls
1.After proofing the dough, deflate the dough and divide it 16 equal pieces for small rolls or 9 equal pieces for large rolls. Lightly grease a 9x9 square pan with butter or oil.
2. Working with one piece of dough at a time, knead the dough onto itself by pulling the edges of the dough toward the center. This will pop all the air bubbles in the dough and prevent uneven holes in the rolls.
3. Pinch and pull the piece of dough until it smooths out and forms into a round ball.
4. Arrange the milk bread roll in the square pan and repeat with remaining dough.
Make ahead
Holidays and dinner plans are already enough work. The great news is that both the tangzhong and these milk bread rolls are perfect for making ahead of time! The tangzhong can be made up to 3 days ahead of time. Just let it cool it completely then cover and store in the fridge until you need it.
For the milk bread, let them slow proof in the fridge overnight after shaping them. Make sure to cover the rolls well so that the dough doesn't dry out. The rolls should be doubled or closed to doubled the next day. Just let them come to temperature on your countertop while you preheat the oven before applying egg wash and baking.
How to store these milk bread rolls
Not gonna to lie, these milk bread dinner rolls taste the best the day of. But the great thing about milk breads is that it has a longer shelf life than other homemade breads. So as long it is tightly wrapped and stored in an airtight container, it'll stay good at room temperature for up to 1 week. Otherwise, you can refrigerate it up to 2 weeks or freeze up to 1 month.
Happy baking!
Mei ❤️
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📖 Recipe
Easy Milk Bread Rolls
Ingredients
For the tangzhong:
- 20 gram bread flour (about 2½ TBSP)
- 90 gram milk (about 6TBSP)
For the dough:
- 165 gram milk , warm (or ⅔ cup)
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 330 gram bread flour (about 2½ cup + 2 TBSP, spooned & leveled)
- 56 gram unsalted butter , softened (or 4 TBSP)
- 50 gram granulated sugar (or ¼ cup)
- ½ teaspoon kosher salt , plus more for garnish if desired
- 1 egg , beaten for egg wash (optional)
Instructions
For the tangzhong:
- Whisk together the milk and bread flour in a small saucepan until no lumps remain.
- Place the saucepan over medium high heat and continue to whisk until the mixture starts to thicken. Reduce the heat to medium low and continue to cook and whisk until the entire mixture is like a thick paste with no loose liquid remaining.
- Remove from heat and transfer the tangzhong to a small heatproof container. Cover and let it cool completely, or at least until the center is warm to the touch before using.*Refer to the post for a photo reference of how tangzhong looks.*
To make the dough:
- Sprinkle the active dry yeast over the warm milk. Give it a little stir and set it aside to allow the yeast to dissolve and activate, about 3 to 5 minutes.
- In the stand mixer bowl, combine the flour, sugar, and salt. Give it a mix and add the cooled tangzhong, softened butter, and milk with dissolved yeast.
- With the dough hook attachment, mix on low until the dough comes together. Then, increase the speed to medium high and knead until the dough is smooth, supple and passes the window pane test.*Refer to the post for the alternative knead-by-hand method and more details on the window pane test*
- Shape the dough into a ball and transfer to clean mixing bowl. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let the dough proof in a warm area until doubled, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
To shape the milk bread rolls:
- Once the dough has doubled, deflate the dough and transfer it to a clean work surface. Portion the dough into 16 equal pieces for small rolls or 9 equal pieces for large rolls.
- Working with one piece of dough at a time, knead the edge of the dough into the center to release air bubbles, then pull and tuck the dough to round it out into a ball. Place the dough ball into a lightly grease square pan (9x9) and repeat with remaining dough.
- Cover the pan and let the rolls proof for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until almost doubled.
To bake:
- Preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Brush the tops of each roll with egg wash and garnish each roll with a pinch of coarse salt.
- Bake the rolls for 20 to 23 minutes or until they are golden brown on top and the interior temperature registers 190°F.
- Let the rolls cool for a few minutes then remove them from the pan to cool completely on a wire rack.
- Enjoy while warm or at room temperature with butter, jam, or as dinner rolls!
Notes
- Tangzhong can be made up to 3 days before use. Just refrigerate it and keep it covered to prevent dry out.
- These milk bread rolls are best eaten the day of. However, they will still taste great and have great texture, if stored in an airtight container, up to 3 days at room temperature, up to 2 weeks in the fridge, and up to 1 month in the freezer. Just microwave it until warmed so that they are soft and fluffy and again.
- Do refer to the post above for tips, FAQs, and photo references for making these Japanese milk bread rolls!
Jaina Ellis says
Hello. Thanks for the recipe. I only used 3 cups of flour and the dough seems too hard. It’s currently rising in the oven so we will see how it turns out. Fingers crossed.
Mei says
Hi Jaina! I'm sorry to hear that you were having trouble with the milk bread dough, but hopefully it still turned out tasty. But could you clarify which recipe you followed? We shared this recipe in grams for accuracy and converted to cups, the amount of flour used should be around 2.5 cups plus 2TBSPs.
Mei ❤️
Jaina Ellis says
Well that was my mistake. I read the wrong line. I thought it said 4 cups. Getting ready to put them in the oven. I’ll let you know. I’m sure they will be much tastier with less flour.
Mei says
Ah, no worries at all! Yes, please! Let us know how they turn out =)
Mei ❤️
Jaina Ellis says
Turned out great. But I will definitely use less flour next time.
Mei says
Awesome! A little less flour will definitely yield fluffy, softer rolls, but so glad they turned out well!
Mei ❤️
Carly Baughman says
I noticed you recipe photo has them in a square pan - while this double to bake off in a 9x13 or do I need to increase it a different amount? I'm gonna make several batches for thanksgiving.
Thanks 🙂
Mei says
Hi Carly! For this recipe, you'll want to multiply the recipe 1.5 times to have enough dough for one 9x13 pan. Hope this helps and hope you enjoy the milk bread rolls!
Mei ❤️
Brenda says
Made these for Thanksgiving...they were beautiful and an absolute hit! I did have to give them a bit of a rest before they would pass the "window pane". Thank you for the amazing recipe...will be making them again!!
Mei says
Hi Brenda! Thank you for trying out our milk bread rolls recipe and so glad to hear that everyone enjoyed it! And yes, sometimes the dough requires extra rest time to reach "window pane" consistency, if you're making the dough by hand. How fast the gluten develop is especially dependent on how active the yeast are, which can vary depending on how warm the environment is. You can also use a bit more yeast to help speed up the process (about 1/4 to 1/2 tsp more). =)
Mei ❤️
Carly Baughman says
After asking an initial question l, I made a 6x (massive) batch for Thanksgiving this year and today they were a bit massively undermines. This was SO easy to make using the minimum-knead method, and got me 96 rolls across two 13x18 inches trays. The stayed so fresh and soft until today December 4th - I some how had a dozen left and rebaked them cover with foil for 20 and they reheated perfect and had added crunchy sides to die for. This is THE best big batch baking dinner rolls. I've printed the recipe (with credit!!) to reused forever. MAKE THESE.
Mei says
Hi Carly! We're so happy to hear that the milk bread dinner rolls turned out well and that you all enjoyed it! If you still have leftovers these milk bread rolls make really good monkey bread and bread puddings (unfortunately we don't have recipes up for those yet 😅). Thank you so much for trying our recipe! =)
Mei ❤️
Elizabeth VanderVeen says
These rolls were relatively easy to make and they turned out beautiful and delicious! I doubled the recipe for a lunch party. They were an absolute hit!
Mei says
Thank you for giving our recipe a try, Elizabeth! And so glad you all enjoyed it =)
Mei ❤️
Kathleen says
I made these for a Friendsgiving this past weekend and people loved them! So good i want to make them again! But I had an idea to make these as cinnamon rolls… do you think that would work?!
Mei says
Hi Kathleen! So glad everyone enjoyed them! Yes, these would work well for cinnamon rolls too. If you want the dough a bit sweeter, you can add a couple extra tablespoons of sugar. =)
Happy baking!
Mei ❤️
WT says
Hi! Really want to try making this. Do you have to use bread flour? Or can I use all purpose flour? Thanks!
Mei says
Hi there! We do highly recommend that you use bread flour because the protein level, which translates to how strong the gluten network will be in the dough, is different between the two flours. Bread flour will yield fluffier and bouncier rolls too. If you do use all-purpose flour, you'll most likely need to reduce the amount of liquid used. Hope this helps!
Mei ❤️
Nico Rasmussen says
I normally don’t bother to comment on recipes, but this one is such a hit! My family loved them and begs me to make them at every holiday now, they’re a new staple in our household! Wonderful recipe that’s easy to double for big gatherings.
Mei says
So glad you all enjoyed it, Nico!
Mei ❤️