Whole Wheat Milk Bread or Rolls

The foundation for these rolls comes from Mika's blog, The 350 Degree Oven.  Like Mika, I admired "Japanese milk bread".  There was/is nowhere in Hilo which makes Japanese milk bread.  I first had this kind of bread from Panya in Honolulu.  The pillowy softness is what separates it from other local breads (Portuguese sweet bread, shokupan, etc.).  The key to the softness is using a cooked starter called "tangzhong".  Please read Mika's blog for a detailed explanation of what it does.

I must've inadvertently copied Mika's recipe incorrectly.  Only when I went back to her blog to check on something did I realize what I had done differently.  This was AFTER I had made both a loaf of hybrid whole wheat milk bread and a batch of hot cross buns (I will post this recipe another time)!  In spite of my oversight, both turned out great, and I'm posting the full recipe (the ingredients differ slightly from Mika's version).

Please don't be put off by the long recipe.  I've been wanting to do this post for a while, so all the baking times and temperatures for the variations are in the same place.  This is a recipe I use frequently, but I make shaping changes according to how we plan to eat this.  The standard shape for us is the sandwich roll.  These round rolls are perfect for stacking slices of salami or some of the round, paper-thin cold cuts.

I purchased an 11x11" square pan from Amazon.com just so I had a good pan to make these rolls.  When made in the square pan, the rolls touch each other and are great for having with soup, pasta, or stew.

I have even given loaves away as thank you gifts (seriously).  If you can spare a few minutes to learn a braiding technique, an oblong loaf or a round loaf can look unbelievably impressive.  One recipient told me she and her daughter finished the entire loaf in half-a-day (I gave it to her at work and the next morning, she told me it was gone).

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Whole Wheat Milk Bread or Rolls

     1/2 recipe of tangzhong (see below)

     1/2 c milk

     1 egg

     3 tbsp butter

     2 c bread flour

     1/2 c whole wheat flour

     4 tbsp sugar

     1/2 tsp salt

     2 tsp yeast

Place all ingredients in bread machine pan, following the manufacturer's ingredient order.  Start dough cycle.  Grease a large loaf pan (9 x 5"), a square pan (11 x 11"), an oblong pan (9 x 13"), a round pan (9"), or a flat, sheet pan.  When dough is done, divide dough and shape as desired.  
large loaf pan (grease and flour pan):  Shape dough into a traditional loaf shape or make a short, 6-strand braid).  Let rise for 40 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
square pan:  Divide dough into 16 pieces.  Shape into balls and place in 4 x 4 arrangement.  Let rise for 30-40 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 13 minutes.
oblong pan:  Divide dough into 15 pieces.  Shape into balls and place in 3 x 5 arrangement.  Let rise for 30-40 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 13-15 minutes.
round pan:  Shape dough into round ball or make a fancy braided round.  Let rise for 40 minutes.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.
flat, sheet pan:

• sandwich rolls:  Divide dough into 12 pieces.  Shape into balls and flatten.  Place in 3 x 4 arrangement.  Let rise 30-40 minutes  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
• hotdog buns:  Divide dough into 10 pieces.  Shape into ropes.  Place in 2 x 5 arrangement.  Let rise 30-40 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.
• hoagie rolls:  Divide dough into 8 pieces.  Shape into long ovals and flatten slightly.  Place in 2 x 4 arrangement.  Let rise 30-40 minutes.  Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Loaves/Rolls may be finished with a "wash".

• melted butter:  brush on for a soft finish
• milk:  brush on for a soft finish
• egg yolk + 1 tbsp water:  brush on for a shiny glaze
• egg white + 1 tbsp water:  brush on for a binder to adhere sesame seeds, poppy seeds, rock salt, etc.

Tangzhong (cooked starter)

     1/3 c flour (original recipe called for bread flour)

     7/8 c water (original recipe called for 1 cup)

Heat flour and water in a small saucepan, whisking constantly, until thickened to a paste.  Set aside to cool or refrigerate if not using immediately.

Bread Machine Rolls

"The best thing about a long weekend is a short work week."
                             -Kikukat's ex-boyfriend

Yup, yup, yup, even if the guy bugs me, he's right.  And thanks to Labor Day, this past week was indeed a short week (in time only).

A short work week means I have one less day to fret over what I'm bringing for lunch.  And fret I do.  I stress over what I'm going to bring as well as what D1 will eat.  Luckily, for at least one day each week (and its in the middle of the week so holidays don't usually affect it), I have Local Kine Errands deliver lunch for me.  Its always the same lunch...small salmon bento (the one without the meatball) from Puka Puka Kitchen.  I think I might try the large salmon bento next.  The small doesn't have too much salmon in it.

D1 normally brings some kind of sandwich with a whole deli counter of meat packed in.  Earlier in the school year, I offered to make her a wrap.  She came to my room that day and asked what I used to "spread" the meat.  From that day on, she has insisted (snicker, snicker) that she make her own sandwich/wrap.  The only thing I do is wash her lettuce when I wash mine.  I gladly dole out the $ for the cold cut supply because this takes a load off of me in the morning.  The Help says we are keeping the Safeway and KTA deli counters in business just with our dry salami and honey ham purchases.  Maybe we try roast beef next.

Frankly, I'm really not a sandwich person.  What I really enjoy is bringing some kind of soup for lunch, and this past week, I actually did just that.  The Help made a big pot of bean soup, which he shared with his parents.  I brought a bowl of it for lunch, and I was able to bring a bowl of it for one of the bosses who did me a huge favor.  In addition to the bean soup, I also packed fresh apple cake and some rolls.

The apple cake is the same one featured on my blog about a year ago.  It is often pinned on Pinterest, and people who try it always tell me how good it is.  This week, at the suggestion of some readers, I frosted it with a lemon cream cheese frosting, and it was really good.  I will eventually get around to posting that recipe.

The rolls...the rolls...where do I begin?  First of all, this is the only recipe you need to justify purchasing a bread machine.  Seriously.  Everyone here, including picky, picky D2, loves these rolls. 

It has taken me a while to develop this recipe just the way I like it.  I modified a recipe which came with the bread machine manual of my original bread machine.  The original recipe was not sweet at all.  I tried adding sugar, as much as 1/2 cup, to see how sweet I could get these.  At 1/2 cup of sugar, the rolls were too difficult to shape.  Cutting the sugar back to 1/3 cup gave me the sweetness I wanted with the ease of shaping that I needed (I am not Portuguese. . .shaping bread is NOT in my blood, but I can wrap a mean potsticker!).

And I have made these rolls into all kinds of shapes.  Because the original recipe gave instructions for making 15 rolls, for a while, I stuck to that and made 15 (like you see in the small picture below).  I made them in a shallow rimmed pan (large cookie sheet) and placed them kinda close so they'd touch when they rose.  They baked up really nice, and they spread a little.  These were good for making sandwiches.

Then I got a little wiser and realized that its hard to divide the dough into thirds then into  5 pieces, so I bought a large square pan (ordered from Amazon. . . around 11" x 11" or so) and made 16 rolls (4 x 4) in the square pan.  These are the rolls you see in the other pictures.  They spread less and are just slightly smaller than the ones made in the flat pan.  If you don't have a large square pan, dividing the dough into 15 pieces and placing them in a 9 x 13" pan will also give you the same result as the square pan.  I have divided the dough into 8 pieces, made them elongated and used these for hoagie-like sandwich rolls.  I haven't done it yet, but if you divide the dough into 10 or 12 pieces and shape them into ropes, those could be hot dog buns!

Normally, I dip the rolls in melted butter after I shape them, but I tried brushing them with water and sprinkling some fancy lavender salt on top.  This is fine if you plan to eat the rolls on the same day.  But after the first day, the salt melted and left the tops wet.  I will stick to the butter dip.

While I made these rolls to go with the bean soup, the Ds jumped in and helped themselves.  They always do, and they will readily partake in the rolls, no matter the shape.  They will each grab a roll (or half a roll if I make them like hoagie rolls) as they leave the house in the morning and eat it plain.  Sometimes they will stuff the roll with cold cuts (D1), shredded Costco roast chicken (D2), or salami (both).  And you can be sure that when D1 stuffs her roll, it is packed with a layer of meat nearly as thick as both bread layers combined!

click on recipe title for printable recipe

Bread Machine Rolls

     1 c milk
     1 egg
     2 tbsp butter, cut in pieces
     3 1/4 c bread flour
     1/3 c sugar
     1 tsp salt
     3 tsp yeast
     1-2 tsp melted butter

Place first seven ingredients in pan of bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer.  Set machine to dough cycle.  When dough cycle is complete, remove dough to floured surface and let rest 5 minutes.  Generously grease a 9 x 13" pan (low sides, preferable). Divide into 15 balls, somewhere between the size of a golf ball and a racketball.  Dip one side of ball into melted butter, invert and place in 3 x 5 pattern in prepared pan.  Let rise 30-40 minutes.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Bake rolls for 15 minutes.  Remove to a wire rack to cool.