Fluffy Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls (Tangzhong)
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Firing up the stove
Soft, feathery cloverleaf dinner rolls made with a cooked flour paste (tangzhong) that keeps them moist for days. Three little balls in each muffin cup bake into rolls that pull apart into buttery leaves. Dough adapted from Dan Souza's method at America's Test Kitchen.
Why It Works
Cooking a little flour with water gelatinizes its starch so it can hold far more water. That extra moisture makes steam in the oven for a taller rise and keeps the crumb soft and slow to stale. Holding the sugar, salt and butter until after the rest lets the gluten develop first, and the three-ball cloverleaf gives every roll more golden crust and easy pull-apart pieces.
Notes
Make ahead: after shaping, cover the tin and refrigerate up to 24 hours. Let sit at room temperature about 1 hour until puffy, then bake. Baked rolls freeze well; rewarm wrapped in foil at 350°F for 10 minutes. For one big pull-apart round instead, shape 12–16 balls snug in a 9-inch cake pan and bake 25–30 minutes. Flaky salt or Herbs De Olympic on top before baking is a nice touch.
RECIPE CARD
Fluffy Cloverleaf Dinner Rolls (Tangzhong)
Yield: 12 cloverleaf rolls | Time: 2½ hours (45 minutes active)
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Ingredients
Flour paste (tangzhong)
- 118 g (½ cup) water
- 29 g (3 Tbsp) bread flour
Dough
- 123 g (½ cup) cold milk
- 1 large egg
- 312 g (2 cups) bread flour
- 1½ tsp instant or rapid-rise yeast
- 2 Tbsp sugar
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 57 g (4 Tbsp) unsalted butter, softened, plus ½ Tbsp melted for brushing
Instructions
- Make the paste. Whisk the water and 29 g bread flour in a microwave-safe bowl until smooth. Microwave in 20-second bursts, whisking between each, until it turns into a thick, stiff paste, 40–80 seconds total.
- Mix. In a stand mixer bowl, whisk the warm paste with the cold milk until smooth, then whisk in the egg. Add the 312 g bread flour and the yeast. Mix with the dough hook on low until a rough dough forms, about 2 minutes. Cover and rest 15 minutes.
- Knead. Add the sugar and salt and knead on medium-low 5 minutes. With the mixer running, add the softened butter 1 Tbsp at a time, letting each piece disappear before adding the next. Knead 5 minutes more, until smooth and elastic and it clears the sides of the bowl.
- First rise. Shape into a ball, place in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Shape cloverleaves. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin. Turn the dough out and divide into 36 equal pieces, about 19 g each (a scale makes this easy). Roll each into a tight, smooth ball. Place three balls in each cup, pressing them gently together so they form a clover.
- Second rise. Cover and let rise until doubled and domed just above the rim, 45–60 minutes. Meanwhile heat the oven to 375°F with a rack in the middle position.
- Bake. Bake 15–20 minutes until deep golden brown and the center of a roll reads 190°F.
- Finish. Brush the tops with the melted butter right out of the oven, let cool in the tin 3 minutes, then lift out. Serve warm.
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Schossow Kitchen · schossowkitchen.com
