I looked up a bunch of different recipes for making dinner rolls, and I feel like I reached a sweet spot with this recipe. This recipe uses the Tangzhong technique or the water roux technique, which basically adds an extra level of softness to the bread.
You also need a kitchen scale for this recipe. See kitchen scale helps a lot. The cup measurement simply messes with the recipe, as you tend to pack a lot more flour when filling a cup measurement. Kitchen scales are accurate and so reliable and trust me you really get a feeling that you are a professional baker, baking in a 5 star restaurant, when using a scale. So please set the cup measurements aside and make the kitchen scale your friend. Here is the link to the one I use.
A thermometer is very useful when baking a bread. Since the right temperature is very important for the yeast to get activated, and yeast is very important for, um ... baking a bread. So get one of that too. I use this one.
Step 1 : Gather all of your ingredients.
Whole milk - 120 gm
Instant yeast - 9 gm
Bread Flour - 320 gm
Fine Sea Salt - 3 gm
Granulated Sugar - 56 gm
1 Whole Egg
Unsalted Butter - 42 gm
Step 2 : Now make a Tangzhong or a water roux, which is basically a small amount of water, flour and milk, cooked enough to form a paste. This helps in making the bread fluffier.
Ingredients :
Bread Flour - 20 gm
Water - 27 gm
Whole milk - 60 gm
Step 3 : Let the Tangzhong cool, and then now heat the milk to 95 F, and put the instant yeast in it. Let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes.
Step 4 : Now put flour, salt and sugar in the standing mixer bowl, and mix it for a minute on low speed.
Step 5 : Now after a minute of whisking, mix in the 10 min rested milk-yeast mixture, followed by cooled down Tangzhong paste, and then the whole egg. Mix all of this on medium-low until everything comes together.
Step 6 : It will slowly start to come together, might seem dry, but do not add anything. Believe. Believe. Now after a while you might need to scrape down the bowl if necessary, and then once it all comes together, slowly, bit by bit, add in the butter, and you'll see a smooth dough forming. Once all the butter is in, let it knead for seven minutes by itself.
Step 7 : Now while dough is kneading, lightly grease the bowl in which you will proof this dough, and also a 9inch x 9inch cake pan in which you will bake the pavs.
Step 8 : Once the seven minutes are over, take out the very smooth dough and start shaping the dough, and then placing it in the greased glass bowl. Cover with a damp towel and let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature (I actually let it rise in the oven with the oven off and lights off for the first 1 hour, and then with only the lights on for the next 1 hour)
Step 9 : After 2 hours, the dough should have risen well. Nearly doubled.
So, now!! think about a person who was mean to you and let you down, and how much you wanted to punch them, and then, just punch the dough down!
Ok now stop stop, you don't want to kill them?! Take the flattened dough out and put it on a lightly floured surface.
Step 10 : Now ok, so I don't have a Phd in Mathematics, so I couldn't divide this circle into 9 equal parts.
Sh*t I'm an engineer. I can't let my teachers and parents down. I'm gonna make this work. Divide into 9 equal parts each weighing 75 gm approx. I had 7 which were exactly 75 gm and then 2 which were 67 gm and 70 gm. Also roll these, into small smooth balls, following the same process as earlier.
Step 11 : Now put these 9 balls, in the 9 inch x 9 inch greased cake pan, and let it rise again for 2 hours. This time I let them proof in the oven for the entire two hours with lights and oven both turned off.
Step 12 : After 2 hours, take the cake tray out of the oven. The rolls would have puffed up. Brush it with egg wash (1 whole egg and 2 tbsp milk), and sprinkle some sesame seeds (optional)
Step 13 : Now I had to let them sit for 10 - 15 minutes, at room temperature, covered with a damp towel, while I was waiting for my oven to pre-heat. Once it's preheated. Bake'em at 350 F for 30 minutes (if you have a fan oven, then lower the temperature by 20 degrees and the time too, by 5-7 minutes).
Meanwhile prepare garlic butter, which is 56 gm of butter and 2-3 cloves of garlic. You don't have to fry the garlic, just sauté it for about 2 minutes and that's it. Don't let the garlic turn brown. Thanks Chef Joshua Weissman for this awesome addition.
Step 14 : When the buns are out, brush them with the garlic butter and there you have it!! Eat, enjoy, relish, or just watch them, admire them. They are so soft and delicate!! Ahh!!
The Tangzhong or water roux technique has now become my favorite! I stored the leftover dinner rolls wrapped in an aluminum foil, and left it on the kitchen counter.
And now if I may!
I'm sorry the pav was feeling lonely and I had to! So here it is! Vada, the companion, the better half, the ally to my Pavs!
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