Homemade dinner rolls with garlic butter are incredibly soft and so delicious! These are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth perfection, thanks to the simple addition of Tangzhong. These milk bread rolls are so easy to make and the perfect addition to any meal!
I’ve been in a losing battle with bread lately. It’s true. I love making bread, but a lot of the recipe ideas in my head just haven’t been turning out like I envisioned. I started to get mad at bread, vowing to never bake bread again. But alas, here I am making more bread. But this time, I turned my sights to something simple: homemade dinner rolls with garlic butter. I took a break from all the fancy fillings, complicated enriched doughs, twists and braids, and set my sights on what I believe to be bread in its purist, most delicious form: milk bread.
Oooooh milk bread. The softest, squishiest, most comforting bite of bread you’ll ever take. I made this milk bread recipe into simple dinner rolls, brushed them in garlic butter, topped with a little extra salt, and it was magic. Buttery soft, melt-in-your-mouth bread that makes for a swoon-worthy addition to any dinner. Or any meal. Or any random snack. These homemade dinner rolls did not do me wrong. We made nice, became friends, and now hang out on the regular.
So what’s the secret behind milk bread? Tangzhong. Sounds complicated, but it’s really not. It’s not a special ingredient you have to hunt down, but rather a simple combination of ingredients that you’re already using in your bread: milk, water, and bread flour. Tangzhong is a roux or “starter” that’s made by cooking a small portion of milk, water, and flour before incorporating it into your dough. Cooking the flour in milk and water allows the flour to pre-gelatinize, therefore enabling the flour to absorb more moisture. What does this mean for your homemade dinner rolls? Softer, more tender rolls with a longer shelf-life. And by “soft,” I mean silky-smooth, buttery rolls that stay soft for days. Yes, please, thank you very much.
Please, please, please, make these homemade dinner rolls with garlic butter. They are just too good and too easy to pass up. You will 100% be the hero when you bring these to the table.
What you’ll need to bake these dinner rolls:
Active dry yeast: Yeast is the key player in bread fermentation. By feeding on sugars in the dough and producing carbon dioxide, yeast serves as a leavening agent, strengthens the dough, and helps develop flavor.
Sugar: Adds subtle sweetness, helps tenderize the dough, and helps activate the yeast in the fermentation process.
Whole milk: Makes these rolls extra soft. The sugars in the milk also help to activate the yeast in the fermentation process.
Bread flour: For structure. Bread flour has a higher protein content than all-purpose flour, which gives the rolls more structure and helps them rise higher in the oven.
Egg: For binding and structure. Plus an extra egg for the egg wash.
Butter: Adds richness, flavor, and a soft texture.
Kosher salt: For flavor.
Butter, garlic, and flakey salt for the garlic butter topping.
FAQs:
Why is this recipe primarily listed in grams? I develop my recipes in grams because weighing your ingredients is the best, most accurate way to bake. Baking is a science and precision is key to success! Measuring cups are not standardized, and what’s more, the way each baker uses them varies drastically, which ultimately gives you inconsistent (and sometimes negative) results. For instance, did you know that scooping flour out of a cannister can give you 50% more flour than what’s called for in the recipe? By weighing your ingredients rather than using measuring cups, you can confidently know that you are using the correct amount of each ingredient, giving you greater success & delicious results. I highly recommend using a kitchen scale, like this one when you bake. Plus, it makes clean up a lot easier!
What is Tangzhong? Tangzhong is a Japanese technique in bread baking. It is a roux or “starter” that’s made by cooking a small portion of milk, water, and bread flour before incorporating it into your dough. Cooking the flour and liquid allows the flour to pre-gelatinize, therefore enabling the flour to absorb more moisture. This results in softer, more tender bread that has a longer shelf-life.
How do I shape the rolls? After you’ve divided the dough into 12 equal pieces, take each piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Then, gather the edges of the disc into the center and pinch to seal, forming a ball. To smooth the surface of the dough, use your index finger and thumb to form a small “c,” and use the other hand to push the dough through. Do this once or twice, until you have a smooth, round ball.
A few notes before you bake:
When dividing the dough into 12 pieces, I like to use my kitchen scale and do this by weight. Weighing each piece of dough ensures that each roll is equally sized and will bake evenly. Feel free to eyeball it if you prefer! Either way, they’ll turn out delicious.
The garlic butter is optional. You can simply do an egg wash and leave them plain, or brush with melted butter (without the garlic) before serving.
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Homemade Dinner Rolls with Garlic Butter
- Prep Time: 20 minutes (plus 2 1/2 hours proofing time)
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 3 hours, 15 minutes
- Yield: 12 rolls 1x
- Category: Bread
- Method: Baking
Description
Homemade dinner rolls with garlic butter are incredibly soft and so delicious! These are buttery, melt-in-your-mouth perfection, thanks to the simple addition of Tangzhong. These milk bread rolls are so easy to make and the perfect addition to any meal!
Ingredients
For the bread dough:
- 120 gm (1/2 cup) whole milk, warmed to 105-110°F
- 7 gm (2 1/4 teaspoons or 1 packet) active dry yeast
- 50 gm (1/4 cup) granulated sugar, divided
- 344 gm (2 3/4 cups, spoon & leveled) bread flour
- 1 large egg, plus one additional egg for the egg wash
- 56 gm (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Tangzhong (recipe below)
For the Tangzhong:
- 60 gm (1/4 cup) whole milk
- 2 tablespoons water
- 16 gm (2 tablespoons) bread flour
For the garlic butter:
- 56 gm (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- Kosher or flakey salt, to taste
Instructions
To make the dinner rolls:
- First, make the Tangzhong. Combine 60 gm (1/4 cup) whole milk, 2 tablespoons water, and 16 gm (2 tablespoons) bread flour in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture thickens, an instant read thermometer registers 149°F, and the whisk leaves a line at the bottom of the pan, about 3 to 5 minutes. Pour the mixture into a small heatproof bowl and set aside to cool to room temperature.
- Next, begin making your bread dough. Combine 12 gm (1 tablespoon) sugar, yeast, and 120 gm (1/2 cup) warm milk in a small bowl. Set aside until the yeast is activated the mixture is foamy, about 10 minutes.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the Tangzhong, foamy yeast mixture, remaining 38 gm (3 tablespoons) sugar, bread flour, egg, melted butter and kosher salt, and mix on low speed until a rough dough forms, about 2 minutes. Increase the mixer to medium-low speed and continue to knead until a soft, elastic dough forms, about 6 to 9 The dough will be tacky but pulling away from the sides of the bowl.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead a few times by hand, forming the dough into a smooth ball. Place the dough in a large, lightly greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm, draft-free place until doubled in size, about 60 to 90 minutes.
- Punch down the dough to remove excess air, and leave to rest for 5 minutes. In the meantime, lightly grease a 9×13″ baking pan and set aside.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (NOTE: I prefer to do this by weight). To shape into rolls, take each piece of dough and flatten into a disc. Then, gather the edges of the disc into the center and pinch to seal, forming a ball. To smooth the surface of the dough, use your index finger and thumb to form a small “c,” and use the other hand to push the dough through. Do this once or twice, until you have a smooth, round ball. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Arrange the rolls in the prepared pan, spacing them out evenly so they have a little room to grow. Lightly cover with plastic wrap and allow to proof in a warm, draft-free place until puffy, 45 to 60 minutes. In the meantime, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- In a small bowl, lightly beat 1 egg plus 1 tablespoon of water to make the egg wash. Lightly brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. Bake for 24 to 30 minutes, until golden brown and an instant read thermometer reads 190-200°F when inserted into one of the rolls. If serving immediately, brush the warm rolls with garlic butter and top with additional kosher or flakey salt to taste (*see notes below if you’re not serving immediately).
To make the garlic butter:
- Combine the butter and garlic in a small saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir frequently until the butter is melted and the garlic is fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add kosher or flakey salt to taste.
Notes
*If you’re not serving the rolls immediately, I recommend waiting to brush with the garlic butter until right before serving. To do this, simply rewarm the baked rolls in the oven and then brush the warm rolls with the garlic butter. Sprinkle with additional kosher salt or flakey salt to taste.
Storage: Store leftover rolls in an airtight container, either at room temperature or in the refrigerator.
