Recipe Index

Ingredients

• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1 (¼-oz.) packet active dry yeast (about 2¼ tsp.)
• 10 Tbsp. unsalted butter, room temperature, divided, plus more for bowl
• 5 cups bread flour
• 1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. Diamond Crystal or 2¼ tsp. Morton kosher salt
• ¼ cup honey
• Vegetable oil (for kitchen shears)

Method

1. Warm the whole milk in a small saucepan over medium-low heat until lukewarm, 110–115° on a thermometer, which takes about 2 minutes.
2. Pour the milk into a stand mixer bowl fitted with a dough hook, stir in the yeast and leave the mixture for 8–10 minutes until foamy.
3. Cut 8 tablespoons of the butter into 1/2-inch pieces and add them to the bowl with the bread flour, salt, honey and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons of lukewarm water.
4. Mix on low for about 2 minutes until combined, then raise the speed to medium and mix for 10–12 minutes until the dough is soft, pillowy and no longer sticky, stretching a small piece thin enough for light to pass through as your test.
5. Put the dough in a lightly buttered large bowl, cover it and leave it in a warm, draft-free spot for 1 1/2–2 hours until doubled in size.
6. Line a 13x9-inch baking pan with parchment with a generous overhang and brush it with 1 tablespoon of butter, swiping a little underneath to hold the paper in place.
7. Punch the dough down, pat it into an even square on a work surface and cut it into 16 pieces of about 2¾ oz each.
8. Shape each piece into a tight, smooth ball by pinching its edges into the centre, turning it pinched-side down and dragging it in a circular motion under your cupped hand on the unfloured surface.
9. Set the balls smooth-side up in the pan in a 4x4 grid and leave them uncovered at room temperature for 45–60 minutes until doubled.
10. Heat the oven to 275°, rub kitchen shears with vegetable oil and cut a 1/2-inch-deep slit along the length of each roll.
11. Bake the rolls for 42–47 minutes until cooked through, with a thermometer in the centre of one roll reading 190°, taking on little or no colour; cool them in the pan.
12. To finish, heat the oven to 425°, set the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet or back in a 13x9 pan, brush their tops with the remaining tablespoon of butter and bake for 12–15 minutes until golden brown.
13. Let the browned rolls sit on a rack just until cool enough to handle and serve them warm.

Cook: 1 hour 15 minutes · Total: 5 hours 25 minutes (plus cooling)

Nutrition (per serving, where published)

Estimated from USDA FoodData Central ingredient data