Milk Bread Honey Buns

Jump To Recipe by Cindy @mycountrytable

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These Milk Bread Honey Buns are light, airy, tender, and fluffy, thanks to a quick and easy Japanese technique . These heavenly buns will become your new go to recipe for all occasions.

Milk Bread Honey Buns start with a Tangzhong roux-like mixture that gets cooked, and added to the final dough. This technique results in buns that are perfectly light and tender.

Tangzhong is a Japanese technique of cooking a mixture of flour, water and milk to create a paste that is cooled and added to the bread dough. This process gelantanizes the starches to create extra tenderness in breads.

How to make the Tangzhong

The Tangzhong is made with 3 simple ingredients…

1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole milk
1/2 cup water

Instructions

Add the ingredients to a medium saucepan. Whisk them together until smooth. Place the pan over medium heat (no higher).
Whisk the mixture constantly. It will become thick and lumpy at first. Keep whisking.
After about 3 minutes it will become like a smooth paste.

Dough Ingredients

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 (0.25 ounce) packet Red Star Platinum Yeast
1/2 cup lukewarm whole milk
1 large egg, room temperature
3 tablespoons honey OR 1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature

Instructions

Transfer the Tangzhong mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer and allow it to cool to lukewarm.
Add the flour and yeast to a large bowl and whisk to combine. Set aside. Add the egg to the milk and lightly whisk together with a fork. Add the milk/egg mixture to the Tangzhong in the stand mixer bowl.
Add the honey (or sugar), and salt.
Add the flour-yeast mixture. Add the dough hook to the mixer and mix on low speed until the mixture comes together, about 1 minute.
Add the butter, one small piece at a time, and make sure each piece is completely incorporated into the dough before adding the next piece. If you add too much butter at one time it will not incorporate into the dough. Increase the mixer speed to medium.
At this point, you’re going to knead the dough for about 10 minutes, maybe a little longer. At first the dough will look soft and shaggy and will stick to the bottom and sides of the bowl. Keep kneading it until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl , clings to the dough hook, and looks smooth and shiny. It should also be slightly tacky but not sticky. This might take up to 15 minutes, depending on how accurately the flour was measured. If the dough remains sticky, sprinkle a couple of teaspoons of flour over it, and knead for about 1 minute and check it again. If it’s still sticky, you might have to sprinkle a little more, but not much more.

First Rise

Transfer the dough to a bowl that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Spray the top of the dough, then flip it over. Cover the bowl with two pieces of plastic wrap.
Allow the dough to rise in a warm environment until it’s almost doubled in size, 45 to 50 minutes. Make sure your dough has risen enough. Test it by lightly poking the top of the dough with your finger. If the indentation remains it has risen enough. If it disappears, it has not risen enough. Once it has risen enough, place the dough in the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes to firm up. This isn’t a normal step in most bread recipes. However, the reason for this is because this dough is very soft and flimsy. Chilling the dough firms it up for easier shaping of the dough balls.
After 30 minutes of chilling in the refrigerator, put your fist in the center to deflate the dough.
Finish deflating it.

Cutting & shaping the dough balls

Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into half.
Cut each half into 8 equal pieces. To make each dough ball the same size, weigh each piece of dough on a scale. Each piece of dough should be 60 grams.
Place a piece of dough in your hand. Using your other hand, bring two sides together and pinch the dough together on top.
Rotate the piece of dough in your hand while bringing opposite sides up to meet and pinching them together.
Then mold all the seams together on top with your fingers.
Using the claw method roll each piece of dough into a tight ball. The claw method is simply placing your hand over the ball of dough like a loose claw and rotating your hand around the ball several times in a rolling motion. This forms a perfect ball.

Second Rise

Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Place 8 balls on each baking sheet, spacing them apart so they have room to rise. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Allow the buns to rise in a warm environment, no warmer than 90 degrees, (see my rising method in my tips in post). Let rise until doubled in size, anywhere from 40 to 50 minutes. Check rolls by poking one lightly with your finger. If the indent remains, the dough is ready.
While the rolls are rising, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the rolls with egg wash and bake for approximately 25 to 27 minutes or until they’re golden brown and the internal temperature is 190 degrees.

HOW DO I KNOW WHEN THE BUNS ARE DONE?

They should be golden brown on top.
Thump your finger against the bottom of one. If it sounds hollow it’s done.
Use an instant read thermometer and poke it through the side. If it reads 190 degrees it’s done.

Pro tips for making this recipe

Measure the flour correctly. If you have a kitchen scale, weigh the flour. If you don’t, use a fork to aerate your container of flour, then use a spoon and spoon it into the measuring cup, and level it off with a knife. Too much flour makes for dense dry bread.
When making the Tangzhong, whisk together the flour, milk, and water first before placing over the heat.
Use Red Star Platinum yeast for this recipe if possible. It is always consistent, with perfect results every time.
My tip for the rising…preheat an oven to 120 degrees and turn it off. Once you’re ready for the dough to rise, cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel, and place in the lukewarm oven. By now the oven should easily be down to 90 degrees. I also turn on the oven light. The dough will rise very nicely in this environment.
Make sure your dough has risen enough. Test it by lightly poking the top of the dough with your finger. If the indentation remains it has risen enough. If it disappears, it has not risen enough.
For the dough, make sure the egg is room temperature, and the milk is lukewarm.
For the dough, make sure the butter is room temperature/soft but not cold or melted. If the butter is cold, it will not incorporate into the dough. If it’s melted it will remain on the outside of the dough, making a wet sloppy dough, but it won’t incorporate into the dough.
When using the overnight method, don’t be surprised if it takes longer for the dough to rise the second time. Don’t get impatient. Make sure the buns have risen enough before baking them.

CAN I FREEZE THE BUNS TO SERVE LATER?

Yes. You can par-bake or fully bake the rolls and freeze. Wrap securely and freeze for up to 3 months. Click here then click on baking for exact steps for par-baking and freezing.

More recipes you might like…

Angel Rolls

No Knead Dinner Rolls

Butter Fan Rolls

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Recipe adapted from Red Star Yeast.