Salted Honey Milk Bread Rolls

These salted honey milk bread rolls may seem intimidating, but they really are just easy yeast rolls for beginners. The dough requires just a few basic ingredients, a simple assembly, and a quick bake time. With the sweet, honey butter and a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt, these golden pillows are absolutely addicting! And if you're anything like me, I know you're gonna snag that extra soft center roll!

For more savory bakes, try Salted Soft Pretzels with Cheese Dip, New York Style Bagels, Everything Bagel Babka, and Pesto Brioche Swirl Bread.

Ingredient Notes

Ingredient quantities are listed in the recipe card below. Here you'll find notes on why I chose certain ingredients, as well as ingredient substitutions.

• Flours: Proper dinner rolls require more gluten than other breads, so use a combination of bread flour and all-purpose flour.
• Butter: You'll need a few tablespoons of butter for both the dough and the honey butter.
• Sugar: The sugar is primarily for helping to activate the yeast.
• Salt: Use a high quality kosher salt to help bring out the flavors in this recipe.
• Yeast: I recommend using instant yeast, but you can also use active dry yeast. Just be sure to let it sit with the milk and sugar for a few minutes in the first step and wait for it to become foamy.
• Milk: Use whole milk for best flavor, and be sure to warm it to 110 degrees so the yeast activates properly.
• Milk Powder: Dry milk powder is used in a lot of baked goods to help keep them extra soft for longer!
• Egg: Be sure to bring the egg to room temp by placing it in a bowl of warm water.
• Honey: For the honey butter, you'll need about ¼ cup.
• Flaky Sea Salt: Top each roll with a generous sprinkling of flaky sea salt. I LOVE Maldon.

See recipe card for full information on ingredients and individual quantities.

Step by Step Instructions

These salted honey milk bread rolls require some technique but not as much as you'd think! For the full ingredient list and method, see the recipe card at the end of this post.

STEP 1: Make the tangzhong starter: In a small saucepan, combine the water, milk, and flour. Heat over low-medium heat, mixing frequently with a rubber spatula for about 5 minutes or until it thickens. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. 

STEP 2: Make the dough: In a glass measuring cup, combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Once foamy, whisk in the egg until well combined. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a hook attachment, combine the flours, milk powder, salt, tangzhong starter, and milk mixture. Mix on medium speed until a ball forms around the hook, then add the softened butter. Mix on medium-high speed for about 8 minutes until smooth and passes the windowpane test. Transfer the dough to a greased bowl, cover, and place in the fridge to proof overnight. Alternatively, the dough can proof for about 1 hour in a warm environment. 

STEP 3: Shape the rolls: Once proofed, divide the dough into 12 parts, about 40g each. After they have been divided, shape the rolls. Flatten each dough piece into a disk, then fold the edges over into its center, forming a smooth surfaced ball. On a non-floured surface, roll the ball with a cupped hand until smooth. Set aside to rest and repeat with the remaining rolls. Once all of the rolls have been shaped, quickly roll them again with a cupped hand, then place in a 12"x8" oval dish or 9" square pan spaced about 1" apart. 

STEP 4: Proof & bake: Cover the rolls and allow to proof for about 1 hour in a warm environment until doubled in size. Brush with an egg wash, then bake for about 20 minutes until golden. Brush with the honey butter & enjoy!

Expert Baking Tips

• Windowpane Test: The windowpane test is used to tell when the dough has developed enough gluten. To check if the dough is ready, tear off a small piece and carefully spread it out to see if you can see the light through it without it tearing. If it tears, mix for another minute and check again.
• Divide into 12 equal rolls: I highly recommend using a kitchen scale to measuring out each roll to 40g! This will ensure they are all the same size and will bake evenly. 
• Brush with honey butter: Once the rolls come out of the oven, immediately brush them with the honey butter so they absorb all of that goodness!

Make Ahead Tips

These rolls are best the day they are baked, but to save yourself some time, you can prep the recipe by making the dough the night before & proofing overnight. Then, the next day all you need to do is shape, proof one last time, and bake! 

Storage Tips

Since these milk bread rolls are best the day they are made, I recommend freezing any leftovers right away. Warm them up the microwave for a few seconds, and they're good as new! 

All of the recipes on this blog are carefully developed with gram measurements so you can easily recreate them in your own kitchen with success. Volume measurements are extremely inaccurate and leave room for significant errors. Not all measuring cups are made equally, so your one cup of flour will be different from my one cup of flour. By providing precise measurements in grams (aside from minor ingredients, which are given in tsp/tbsp), you can make these recipes accurately and with less cleanup! All you need is this kitchen scale. 

If this still isn't enough to convince you, I have provided volume measurements in the recipe card. If you are interested in understanding the conversions, this is the best conversion chart.

But trust me, once you try baking in grams you'll never turn back!

Happy baking! x