Fluffy Dinner Rolls (Tangzhong Method) 湯種麵包

I'm sure many people love fluffy dinner rolls. Imagine the lovely smell of fresh baked bread coming from your own kitchen oven.  Bread using this Tangzhong method always comes out very soft and fluffy.

So, what is Tangzhong?
Tangzhong is basically a roux with water/milk mixture with flour then cooked to become a paste.  When you add this paste to the bread mixture, it changes the chemistry of the dough and increase the gluten structure.  More moisture is trapped inside the dough and create a fluffier bread.

Here's the recipe for this wonderful dinner rolls.  Making bread is not a quick process but you (and your families) will definitely appreciate this yummy fluffy treat.

Ingredients:

Tangzhong (Roux)

1 Tbsp        Sugar
1 Tbsp        Flour
1/3 cup       Milk

Bread:

3-4 cups     Flour
1 ea            Egg (reserve a tablespoon for the egg wash)
8 Tbsp        Sugar
2 tsp           Dry Yeast
1 pinch       Salt
4 tsp           Butter (room temperature)
1/2 cup       Warm Milk
1/3 cup       Warm Water

Method:
To make the Tangzhong (Roux):

1. Whisk all the tangzhong ingredients into a small sauce pan
2. Cook it over low heat until it is thicken like a paste

To make the Bread:

1. In a small bowl, mix together the warm water, dry yeast and 1 Tbsp of sugar.  This will activate the yeast and you can also check if the yeast is still alive. (Discard if the mixture doesn't foam up in 2-3 minutes as the yeast has gone bad)
2. In a mixer with dough hook ( I use my KitchenAid stand mixer), mix together 3 cups of flour, yeast mixture from above, roux, egg, salt, sugar and warm milk in low speed
3. Add in additional flour if needed until the dough is smooth 
4. Add in softened room temperature butter, knead the dough in medium speed for 2-3 minutes or until the dough is pulling from the mixing bowl.
5. The dough should be nice, smooth and soft (like baby bottoms)
6. Turn the dough out into a greased bowl, cover with kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let it rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour)
7. After the dough is doubled in size, punch down and let the air out
8. Divide the dough into the desired size and shape

To make dinner rolls:

You'll need: a 9" square baking dish, parchment paper to line the bottom.

Pre-heat oven to 375F

1. Line the square baking dish with parchment paper for easy clean up and release of the bread when baked
2. Divide the dough into 9 portions about 55g each
3. On a floured surface, roll each portion into a nice dough ball
4. Arrange the dough balls into the baking dish
5. Put it is a warm place until the dough balls are doubled in size
6. Mix the egg with water to create an egg wash
7. Brush each roll with the egg wash and top with sesame seeds if desire
8. Bake in oven for about 10 minutes or until the top is golden brown

Yummy fluffy dinner rolls are ready to be served warm.

Enjoy!

Hint:  To help the dough rise faster if you live in a cooler area, turn on the oven to 120F then shut off the heat.  Put the dough inside the warm oven with a small pot of hot water will usually help the proving process go faster.