Honey Garlic and Herb Japanese Milk Bread Rolls

A delicious mouthful.

A moist, buttery dinner roll is one of the most criminally underrated elements of a good Thanksgiving table. Growing up, my family used to buy those Hawaiian rolls from the store, and my favorite part of Thanksgiving was making leftover sandwiches with them the next day. But if you want to impress even your most discerning family members, you need to level up your roll game. Today, we’re making honey garlic and herb Japanese milk bread rolls. Japanese milk bread is an impossibly soft, fluffy, and just ever so slightly sweet bread made with something called tangzhong. Tangzhong, originating in Japan and popularized by Taiwanese baker Yvonne Chen, is a baking technique wherein we cook flour, milk, and water over the stove to create a thick paste. This paste pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour, allowing the flour to absorb more liquid — resulting in an unbelievably pillowy soft roll. Trust me when I say this small extra step is more than worth it for improving the texture of our rolls. You will never try a fluffier bread.

After we make the tangzhong, we assemble the dough (it’s pretty sticky, so have some extra flour nearby), proof, form in to rolls, proof again, and bake. Once the rolls reach golden perfection, we brush them with a luscious, savory honey garlic and herb butter and flaky salt and boom! They’re ready to steal the show at your Thanksgiving table.  If you’re intimidated by making bread, let these rolls be your gateway in to the wonderful and addictive world of bread baking. These will get gobbled (no pun intended) up quick, but try to save some for tomorrow’s leftover sandwiches. The best part? The tangzhong will keep these rolls moist and perfect for the next day. 

There truly exists no superior roll than this one, and I can’t wait to see them on your tables. Let’s go! 

Ingredients: 

Tangzhong: 

• 3 tablespoons (24g) bread flour or all-purpose flour 

• 3 tablespoons water 

• 1/2 cup (120g) milk 

Rolls:

• 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons (150g) whole milk, slightly warmed 

• 1/4 cup (50g) granulated sugar, divided  

• 1 tablespoon active dry yeast

• 4 cups (472g) all-purpose flour or bread flour 

• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt 

• 2 large eggs 

• 1/4 cup (60g) unsalted butter, softened and sliced in to tablespoons 

Egg wash:

• 1 large egg, beaten 

• 1 tablespoon whole milk 

Honey garlic topping: 

• 4 tablespoons (60g) unsalted butter

• 2 garlic cloves, minced 

• 1/2 tablespoon honey 

• 1/2 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped

• 1/2 tablespoon fresh chives, chopped 

• Flaky salt

Directions: 

Make the tangzhong. In a saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the three tablespoons of flour, the three tablespoons of water, and the half cup of milk. Continue whisking  for several minutes until the tangzhong thickens. Once it resembles the texture of mashed potatoes, take it off the heat and place in a bowl to cool. 

While the tangzhong cools, start proofing the yeast. In a small bowl, combine the milk, two tablespoons of the sugar, and the yeast. Set aside and allow to proof for 10 minutes until the yeast appears visibly foamy. 

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, the rest of the sugar, and the salt. Once the yeast mixture is done proofing, add it to the bowl along with the eggs and cooled tangzhong. Begin mixing on low speed to combine before increasing to medium.

After five minutes, begin adding the butter one tablespoon at a time. The dough will be relatively wet, but keep mixing until it pulls away from the sides of the bowl — about another 5 minutes. 

Turn the dough out on to a floured surface and form in to a tight ball. The dough will be quite sticky — if you need to, flour your hands. Place the dough in to a greased bowl, cover, and allow to proof in a warm place (like a turned off oven with the light on) until doubled in size,  about 1 to 2 hours. 

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down (I’d flour the top of the dough and your hands for this part) to release the gases and divide in to 16 equal portions, about 55 grams in weight each. Shape each dough ball by pinching the outer edges to the center of the dough create a teardrop or garlic bulb shape, and use your cupped palm to roll it on the unfloured surface, seam side down, of your countertop to form a round ball. If you’re unsure of what I mean, this video is a good reference. 

Place the rolls in a greased 9x13 baking dish, and allow to proof, covered, in a warm place for a second time, until puffy and touching each other (about 1-2 hours). 

About twenty minutes before the rolls are done proofing, preheat your oven to 350F. When done proofing, brush with the egg wash and bake for 25-30 minutes, until perfectly golden brown. 

While the rolls are baking, prepare the garlic butter. In a small saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat and sauté the garlic for 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant. Turn off the heat and mix in the honey and herbs. When the rolls are done baking, immediately brush with the garlic butter. Finish with flaky salt. 

Cool slightly and enjoy!