Tangzhong Dinner Rolls

The softest homemade dinner rolls! We’re making these rolls with an enriched dough & a tangzhong, for a rich flavour & fluffy texture.

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These are the softest, fluffiest dinner rolls ever!

The secret to making next level dinner rolls, is to use a tangzhong in the dough! We’re also going to be enriching this dough with milk, eggs & plenty of butter. These tangzhong dinner rolls are incredibly fluffy, super soft & are glazed with melted butter, for a shiny finish.

These homemade dinner rolls were an instant winner in my house & are great eaten with just salted butter or they can be used to make sliders! This is a great recipe to have saved, they’re super easy to make & is a great base for loads of different flavourings! Maybe throw some grated cheese into the dough or brush garlic butter on top…

For more bread 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…

What Is A Tangzhong?

A technique that originates from Asia, a tangzhong is where a small amount of the flour & liquid in a bread recipe is pre cooked in a saucepan to make a thick paste (like a roux). This paste is then cooled down & added in to the dough along with the remaining flour & water.

Making dough with a tangzhong, makes bread that is super soft & tender. Another benefit is that tangzhong breads have a longer shelf lives than other types & will stay soft for several days.

I’ve found that using 5% of the flour from the dough is best when making a tangzhong. I then use 1 part flour to 4 parts liquid (50/50 milk & water).

Ingredient Notes

• Flour – You’ll need a strong white bread flour for these dinner rolls. Make sure to use one with a protein content of 13-15%.
• Yeast – We’re using fast action/instant yeast for this dough. Dried active yeast can also be used but will need activating first.
• Milk – I’d recommend using whole milk in your dough for the softest texture. Semi skimmed milk will also work though.
• Salt – A good quality sea salt is key here. I use Maldon salt.
• Egg – You’ll need 2 eggs for these rolls. One to go in the dough & one for the egg wash. Make sure to use a large egg in the dough.
• Butter – Make sure to use unsalted butter for this recipe. We’re adding some into the dough & brushing melted butter on top of the buns once they’re baked.
• Milk Powder – Adding milk powder to our dough helps keep the bread soft & gives the rolls a deeper colour once baked. I use skimmed milk powder but whole will work as well.

How To Make Tangzhong Dinner Rolls

The full, printable recipe for these bread rolls can be found at the bottom of this post! Here’s a quick rundown of the recipe…

1. Tangzhong
   To make a tangzhong, we place flour, water & milk into a small saucepan, whisk to combine then set over a low heat. We then cook this, stirring frequently until a thick paste forms. This will only take a minute or two. Once cooked, we transfer the tangzhong to a bowl & let it cool to room temperature.
2. Mix Dough
   Once our tangzhong is cool, it’s time to make the dough. To do this, we place bread flour into the bowl of a stand mixer, along with instant yeast, sea salt, caster sugar, milk powder, an egg & the tangzhong. Next, we add in milk & water (warmed to 38°c/100°f) then mix the dough with a dough hook until smooth. This will take around 5 minutes on a medium speed.
3. Add Butter
   Next, we mix in softened butter, a small amount at a time. Once incorporated, we continue kneading the dough until it passes the windowpane test (more on this below). This will roughly take another 5-10 minutes.
4. 1st Rise
   Next, we transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl & leave to double in size at room temperature. This will roughly take 1-1½ hours, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
5. Knock Back
   Once our dough has risen, we knock it back then transfer to a lightly floured work surface, ready to shape.
6. Shaping
   Next, we portion our dough into 12 equal pieces, each weighing around 60 grams then shape each one into a tight ball. As we shape each piece of dough, we place them into a lined 9″x13″ baking tin so that they sit in 4 rows of 3.
7. 2nd Rise
   The rolls now need to prove for another 45 minutes – 1 hour, until doubled in size. They should be touching!
8. Baking
   Once risen, we brush each bun with egg wash then bake at 180°c/356°f for 15-20 minutes, until they are well risen & a deep, golden brown colour on top.
9. Glazing
   As soon as the dinner rolls are baked, we brush them with melted butter then let them cool in the tin before serving.

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…

1. Using a dough scraper, cut your dough into equally sized pieces (a set of scales comes in handy here!).
2. Take a piece of dough then stretch & pull the edges into the middle.
3. 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.
4. Place your shaped dough into a lined baking tin then repeat with the remaining dough.

Dinner Roll Tips & Tricks

• Use a tangzhong for extra fluffy dinner rolls, that stay fresh for longer.
• Use a digital food probe to take the temperature of the liquid in the dough. I recommend using a Thermapen!
• Make sure to use softened butter in the dough, so that it incorporates properly.
• Use the windowpane test to assess the gluten development in your dough as you knead it.
• Use a strong white bread flour with a protein content of 13-15%, for optimum gluten development.
• Brush the baked dinner rolls with melted butter, for a glossy finish!

Frequently Asked Questions

Cooking Dinner Rolls In An Aga

With all of my recipes, I include cooking instructions for conventional ovens, fan ovens & also Agas. Here’s how to cook this recipe on an Aga…

Cook the tangzhong using the simmering plate & bake the dinner rolls on the bottom set of runners in the baking oven.

Equipment Used

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• Stand Mixer
• Baking Tin
• Thermapen Food Probe
• Measuring Jug
• Dough Scraper
• Milk Powder

More Bread Recipes To Try!

• Same Day Focaccia
• 3 Day Poolish Pizza Dough
• Potato Burger Buns
• Tear And Share Cheesy Garlic Bread
• Pizza Oven Pittas
• Overnight Tangzhong Doughnuts

Watch How To Make This Video

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