Coconut Milk Dinner Rolls
Classic dinner rolls made with coconut milk, for a sweet flavour & soft, fluffy texture. They’re glazed with a quick homemade garlic & coriander butter!
I’ve taken my tangzhong dinner roll recipe and swapped out the regular milk for coconut milk. This gives these rolls a softer, fluffier texture and a sweet coconut flavour. Pair this with the garlic & coriander butter that’s brushed on top and a sprinkle of nigella seeds and you’re onto a real winner!
Dinner rolls are one of my favourite types of bread to make, mainly as they’re so easy! This recipe makes a large tray of them so there’s plenty to share. You can serve them as a side dish, on their own or cut them in half and use them for sliders. They’d go especially well with curry, instead of naan!
For more bread & baking recipes, check out our ever growing collection of baking recipes! There’s a whole load of buns, rolls & loaves to make, as well as cakes, cookies, brownies & more…
Ingredients For Coconut Milk Dinner Rolls
- Coconut Milk – Make sure to use full fat coconut milk for this recipe (not coconut cream!). You’ll need less than a whole tin of coconut milk but any that you have leftover can be frozen or used for another dish.
- Flour – You’ll need a strong white bread flour for these dinner rolls. Make sure to use one with a protein content of 12-15%. I use a Canadian white bread flour from Shipton Mill.
- Yeast – This bread dough uses instant yeast (fast action) but dried active yeast can be used instead but will need activating first.
- Sugar – Caster sugar adds sweetness to these dinner rolls and helps tenderise the crumb. As coconut milk is fairly sweet already, I’ve reduced the amount of sugar slightly to avoid making the rolls too sweet.
- Salt – When making bread, using a good quality sea salt is key. I use Maldon salt.
- Milk Powder (Optional) – Adding a small amount of milk powder to the dough is optional but helps give the rolls a softer texture & a deeper golden colour. I use skimmed milk powder but whole will work too.
- Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter, to avoid making the bread too salty. I always use unsalted butter when baking as it gives us control over how much salt is added.
- Egg – You’ll need a large egg for the dough, which should weigh around 50 grams out of the shell. You’ll also need an egg for the egg wash, which we’re making with coconut milk as well.
- Nigella Seeds – A sprinkle of nigella seeds adds crunch and a subtle onion flavour. Feel free to leave these out of swap them out for sesame seeds.
How To Make Dinner Rolls With Coconut Milk
These dinner rolls are made the same way as my tangzhong dinner rolls but with some minor adjustments to accommodate the coconut milk.
As coconut milk is higher in fat than regular milk, I chose to add slightly less butter into the dough to allow us to use enough coconut milk to impart a strong enough flavour. There’s slightly less sugar in the dough as well, as coconut milk has a fairly sweet flavour already.
1. Tangzhong
A tangzhong is a Japanese technique where you take a small amount of the flour & liquid from a bread dough and cook it on the stove like a roux, to make a paste. Once cool, this paste is added to the flour and mixed into the dough along with the other ingredients (sugar, salt, yeast, etc.).
2. Mix The Dough
This is your standard enriched dough, that’s made by mixing bread flour in a stand mixer with salt, sugar, yeast, milk powder, an egg, the cooled tangzhong, water & coconut milk (warmed to 38°c/100°f). Once a smooth dough has formed, you gradually add in softened butter then continue mixing until the dough passes the windowpane test (more on this below).
3. First Rise
Once mixed, the dough needs to prove at room temperature until it has doubled in size. This will take between 45 minutes – 1½ hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
4. Shape Dough Into Rolls
Once risen, knock the dough back, transfer to a lightly floured work surface then use a bench scraper to divide into 12 equal pieces, each weighing around 60 grams. Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball then place into a lined 9×13″ baking tin so that they’re in 4 rows of 3. Each ball of dough should be spaced a couple of centimetres apart, so that they have room to rise.
5. Second Rise
Now the dough balls need to double in size again, until they are just touching each other. This will take around an hour.
6. Baking
After the 2nd rise, the dinner rolls are ready to be egg washed then baked until a deep golden brown. They’ll bake into each other which makes them perfect for tearing and sharing! As soon as they come out of the oven, you’ll be brushing them with garlic & coriander butter, to glaze.
The Windowpane Test
The best way to assess the gluten development in your dough is by using the windowpane test. Here, you take a small piece of dough & stretch it between your fingers. If it stretches thin enough so that you are able to see through it, enough gluten has been developed. If it tears, you’ll need to keep mixing until it does.
How To Shape Dinner Rolls
Shaping dough into rolls is surprisingly easy & this technique can be used to shape dinner rolls, burger buns & more! Before shaping, make sure to knock your dough back & lightly flour your work surface.
Here’s how to shape dinner rolls…
- Using a dough scraper, cut your dough into equally sized pieces (a set of scales comes in handy here!).
- Take a piece of dough then stretch & pull the edges into the middle.
- Flip the dough over then use a cupped hand to shape into a tight ball, pressing down lightly as you shape the dough. Use an un floured section of work surface to do this. Dragging the seam on the work surface helps increase surface tension.
- Place your shaped dough into a lined baking tin then repeat with the remaining dough.
Garlic & Coriander Butter
Usually when I make dinner rolls, I brush them with just regular salted butter. But as this batch is made with coconut milk, I’ve gone with flavours that go with coconut. In this case, I’ve flavoured melted butter with grated garlic and fresh coriander. If you’ve got a fresh lime, adding some zest into the butter would work really well. And if you’re not a fan of coriander, feel free to swap it out for parsley or chives instead.
Professional Tips & Tricks
- Add a tangzhong to the dinner roll dough, to give them a softer texture and extended shelf life.
- Use a digital food probe to take the temperature of the liquid before adding to the dough. This helps with proper dough fermentation.
- Mix the dough until it passes the windowpane test. This is a reliable way of checking if your dough has developed enough gluten.
- Make sure to use softened butter in the dough, so that it incorporates properly.
- Use a strong bread flour with a protein content between 12-14%. This ensures that a strong gluten network forms and that the dough isn’t too sticky.
- Brush the dinner rolls with melted butter as soon as they come out of the oven to give them a glossy finish.
Frequently Asked Questions
Coconut milk dinner rolls are best eaten within 3 days. As these rolls are brushed with garlic butter, I’d recommend storing them in the fridge.
I’ve found that the best way to reheat dinner rolls is to microwave individual portions (1-2 rolls) for 20-30 seconds. If you wanted to reheat the whole batch, cover the tin with foil then bake at 160°c/320°f for 10-15 minutes until warm.
To cook coconut milk dinner rolls in an Aga, use the simmering plate to make the tangzhong. Bake the buns in the baking oven, on the bottom set of runners.
Although it is possible to make these dinner rolls by hand. I’d definitely recommend using a stand mixer as it will be a lot easier to get proper gluten development in the dough.
Yes, absolutely! Instead of the garlic butter, use regular melted butter instead.
More Bread Recipes To Try
- Tangzhong Dinner Rolls
- Same Day Focaccia
- Brown Butter Glazed Doughnuts
- Potato Burger Buns
- Overnight New York Style Bagels
- Sourdough Pizza Dough
If you have enjoyed this recipe for coconut dinner rolls, it would mean a lot if you could leave a review & rating. And if you’d like to stay up to date with future recipes, follow us on Instagram & TikTok or subscribe to our newsletter!
Coconut Milk Dinner Rolls
Equipment
- 9"x13" Baking Tin
- Stand Mixer
- Dough Scraper
- Pastry Brush
Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 20 g Strong White Bread Flour (See Notes)
- 40 g Coconut Milk (From A Tin – See Notes)
- 40 g Water
Dough
- 400 g Strong White Bread Flour
- 15 g Caster Sugar
- 8 g Fine Sea Salt
- 6 g Instant Yeast
- 1 tsp Skimmed Milk Powder (Optional – See Notes)
- 1 Large Egg (50g Out Of The Shell)
- 120 g Coconut Milk
- 60 g Water
- 30 g Unsalted Butter (Softened At Room Temperature)
To Cook
- 1 Egg
- 2 tsp Coconut Milk
- 1 tsp Nigella Seed
Garlic & Coriander Butter
- 50 g Unsalted Butter
- 1 Garlic Clove (Grated)
- 2 tsp Finely Chopped Coriander
- A Pinch Of Sea Salt
Instructions
- Before starting, tip the tin of coconut milk into a jug then stir to combine. Sometimes you get a layer of water on top of the tin, so this step just brings it all together.
Tangzhong
- Place the flour, coconut milk & water into a small saucepan & whisk to combine. Cook over a low heat until you have a thick paste, stirring constantly with a spatula. Transfer to a bowl & leave to cool to room temperature.The tangzhong will only take 2-3 minutes to cook & around 15 minutes to cool.
Dough
- Place the flour, sugar, salt, yeast & milk powder into the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk to combine then add in the egg & tangzhong.
- Add the coconut milk & water into a jug, stir to combine then warm in a microwave to 38°c/100°f. Once warmed, pour into the flour.You can also do this in a pan, over a low heat.
- Using the dough hook, mix the dough on a medium speed until it's smooth & starting to come away from the sides of the bowl. This will take around 5 minutes.The dough may seem sticky at first but will become less so as you mix it.
- With the mixer still running, add in the butter a small amount at a time, incorporating each piece fully before adding more. Once all of the butter has been incorporated, keep mixing until the dough passes the window pane test. This will take another 5-10 minutes.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover with clingfilm (or a tea towel) & leave to double in size at room temperature. This will take between 45 minutes – 1½ hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
- In the meantime, grease & line a 9″ x 13″ baking tin.
Shaping
- Once risen, knock the dough back then transfer to a lightly floured work surface. Using a bench scraper, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces, each weighing around 60 grams.
- To shape, take a piece of dough & bring the edges into the middle. Flip the dough over & use a cupped hand to shape into a tight ball. Place seam side down in the tin.Dragging the seam on the work surface helps increase surface tension.
- Repeat the shaping process with the remaining dough, placing them into the tin, spaced a centimetre or two apart, to form 4 rows of 3. Cover the tin with clingfilm then leave to prove at room temperature, until doubled in size. This will take 45 minutes – 1 hour.The rolls should be just touching once proved!
Baking
- Whilst your buns are proving, preheat an oven to 180°c/356°f (160°f/320°f fan).
- Once your rolls are ready to bake, add the egg & coconut milk into a small bowl then whisk to combine. Brush the top of each roll with the egg wash then sprinkle the nigella seeds on top.
- Bake the rolls for 24-26 minutes, until risen & a deep, golden brown on top.
Garlic & Coriander Butter
- Whilst the rolls are baking, make the garlic butter. To do this, add the butter into a heatproof bowl then microwave until just melted. Add in the grated garlic, chopped coriander & salt then stir to combine.
- Once your rolls are baked, brush them with the garlic butter then leave to cool slightly in the tin before serving.
Notes
❤️ Stay connected with Salt Butter Smoke
The Prep List is my free weekly newsletter with seasonal recipes, kitchen notes and behind-the-scenes from my kitchen. Add Salt Butter Smoke as a Google Preferred Source to see more of my recipes in Search.
