Easy Soft and Fluffy Milk Buns

Easy Soft and Fluffy Milk Buns: Elevate Your Baking Game

Get ready to explore the wonders of homemade baking with our incredible milk buns. These buns are soft, light, and subtly sweet, representing the essence of comfort and satisfaction. They fill your kitchen with an irresistible aroma, enticing you to indulge. Whether you’re hosting a fancy dinner party or simply craving a cozy evening treat, these buns promise to please your taste buds and lift your spirits.

What sets our milk buns apart is their unmatched softness and fluffiness. Thanks to a special tangzhong starter, they remain light and pillowy, when freshly baked and maintain their freshness for days afterward.

Crafted with simplicity in mind, making these buns is incredibly easy, and they hold up well when made ahead. Versatile and delicious, they’re perfect for sandwiches, burgers, or simply enjoying on their own.

So, if you’re seeking the softest, fluffiest, and most delicious bread rolls, look no further than our milk buns. Gather your ingredients, preheat your oven, and get ready to experience the magic of homemade baking like never before. With our easy-to-follow recipe and expert tips, you’ll soon be enjoying the sheer bliss of sinking your teeth into a freshly baked milk bun, knowing that every bite is a testament to your culinary prowess and the simple pleasures of life.

What is Milk Bread?

Milk bread, a staple in many baking traditions, gets its unique qualities from adding milk to the dough. This not only gives it a subtle sweetness but also makes the bread rich and creamy. People often say it tastes and feels like French brioche but with less butter, making it lighter. Making milk bread is like making an enriched dough. You add extra ingredients like eggs, sugar, and fats beyond the basic flour-water-yeast-salt mix.

But what really makes milk bread special is using a paste or starter called a Yudane or Tangzhong. This starter, made by mixing flour and water or milk and heating it, helps make the bread soft and fluffy. It’s a simple step, but it makes a big difference. That’s why milk bread is a favourite for baking across many cultures.

What is Yudane or Tangzhong

Yudane and Tangzhong are both techniques used in bread-making to improve the texture and softness of the final product.

Yudane involves mixing flour and boiling water together to form a thick paste, which is then cooled before being incorporated into the bread dough. This paste helps to gelatinize the starches in the flour, resulting in a softer, moister crumb in the finished bread.

Tangzhong, on the other hand, is made by cooking flour and water or milk together into a roux-like paste. This paste is then cooled and added to the bread dough, where it helps to retain moisture during baking, resulting in a softer, fluffier texture.

Both Yudane and Tangzhong are straightforward yet powerful techniques for enhancing the quality of bread, particularly in achieving a soft, tender crumb. They hold particular popularity in Asian baking traditions. These methods assist the bread in rising higher and becoming fluffier during baking, while also ensuring that the baked rolls or buns remain softer and fresher for longer.

Ingredients Used to Make Easy Soft and Fluffy Milk Buns

Tangzhong :

A simple starter mixture made with water, milk, and flour. It sets the stage for the buns’ tender texture.

For the Dough:

• Butter: You add unsalted butter for moisture, richness, and flavour to the buns.
• Milk: You use whole milk for its creamy richness, which adds to the flavour and texture of the buns.
• Yeast: This is the leavening agent that makes the buns rise and gives them their fluffy consistency.
• Sugar: It adds sweetness and helps to activate the yeast, resulting in a flavoursome dough.
• Flour: Ive used high protein bread flour for its gluten content, providing structure and a soft texture to the buns. Normal bread flour also works perfectly.
• Salt: This enhances the flavour of the dough, balancing the sweetness and other ingredients.
• Egg: It provides structure and richness to the dough, resulting in a soft and tender crumb.

For the Egg Wash

• Eggs
• Milk

How to Make The Best Soft and Fluffy Milk Buns

Step 1 – Make the Tangzhong

• Whisk the ingredients together in a small saucepan to create the Tangzhong. Place the saucepan over low heat and continue whisking until the mixture thickens into a paste. Aim for a thick consistency where the whisk leaves visible lines that don’t disappear.
• Transfer the Tangzhong to a small bowl and let it cool. Once it cools, cover the bowl with clingfilm and refrigerate it overnight.

If you’re short on time, you can use the Tangzhong immediately. Simply scrape it into a small bowl and refrigerate it to cool while you prepare the dough.

Step 2 – Making the Dough

• Make the dough by melting the butter in the same saucepan used for the tangzhong (no need to wash the pan first) over medium heat. Stir in the milk and warm the mixture until it reaches between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit. Add 1 tablespoon of sugar and mix well. Remove from the heat and let it sit while you combine the remaining ingredients.
• Measure the flour (keeping about ½ cup aside), yeast, salt, and remaining sugar into the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Gently mix the ingredients together. Add the egg and cold Tangzhong. Use the dough hook to start bringing everything together. Gradually add the warm milk mixture until a sticky dough forms.
• Knead the dough on medium speed for 10-12 minutes, gradually adding the last ½ cup of flour. Keep kneading until the dough becomes smooth and wraps around the dough hook, although it may still stick to the bottom of the bowl. The dough will feel somewhat sticky and tacky, mainly due to the high liquid content and butter. However, it should start to pull away from the sides of the bowl as you mix it. Resist the temptation to avoid adding more flour, or the buns will end up dense.

Step 3 – Proofing the Dough

• Lightly grease a large mixing bowl. Shape the dough into a ball and put it in the greased bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in a warm spot to rise until it doubles in size. This might take anywhere from 60 to 90 minutes, depending on the freshness of yeast and the warmth of your kitchen.

Note: If you live in a cold country, preheat your oven to the lowest setting, turn it off, then place the dough inside to rise.

Step 4 – Shaping the Buns

• Once the dough has doubled in size, gently remove it from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it.
• Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and sprinkle some flour on top of it as well.
• Gently roll the dough into a square or round shape, about ½ inch thick.
• Cut the dough into 16 equal portions for dinner-sized buns. (I suggest using a digital kitchen scale.)
• Take a piece of dough, cup it in your hand, and pinch the sides together to form it into a bun. Roll it between your palms until it’s smooth on top and pinched at the bottom.
• Place the dough balls, pinched side down, into a square baking pan lined with baking paper.
• Cover the pan with plastic wrap and leave it somewhere warm for about 30 minutes, or until the buns have almost doubled in size and are just touching each other.

Step 5 – Baking

• For the egg wash, whisk the egg and milk together. Gently brush the buns with the egg wash. This will give them a lovely golden brown shine as they bake.
• Preheat the oven to 175°C (375°F) and bake for 20-25 minutes, or until the buns are golden on top and cooked through.

NOTE : If the buns are browning too quickly (check at 10-15 minutes), loosely cover them with a sheet of foil for the rest of the baking time.

• Let them cool for a few minutes. Then pull apart and enjoy!

Helpful Tips and Tricks to Make Milk Buns

1. When planning ahead for a party or holiday, prepare the dough and shape the buns the night before. Complete all steps up to shaping, cover the baking dish with plastic wrap, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, proceed to the next step. Remember, the buns may take an hour or longer to come to room temperature and warm up before they start to puff and fill the pan. Once ready, bake as usual.
2. These buns are versatile and are great as dinner-sized rolls. For larger buns, divide the dough into 12 or 6 pieces and bake in a rectangular pan.
3. Store any leftover buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. When you’re ready to enjoy them again, reheat the buns in the oven at 150ºC for about 5-7 minutes.
4. Note the difference between instant yeast (also known as instant dried yeast or fast-action dried yeast) and dried yeast (also known as active dry yeast). If unsure about the type of yeast you have, check the packaging for instructions.
   • With instant yeast, add it directly to the flour mixture without activating it first.
   • With dried yeast, activate it first, usually in some warm liquid.

What Can I Eat these Easy Soft and Fluffy Milk Buns with:

Milk Buns are like pillows of softness, perfect for various occasions. You can enjoy them as the star of the dinner table, elevate your soup game, or even build the ultimate burger experience. They’re also delightful when served simply, perhaps with a slather of butter and jam for a comforting breakfast treat. For me, Milk Buns surpass ordinary bread rolls any day.

If you tried this recipe or any other recipe on our blog let us know how liked it by leaving a comment/rating below! Be sure to follow along on Pinterest, Instagram and Facebook for even more amazing recipes!!

Easy Soft and Fluffy Milk Buns

Serves: 16 Buns Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cooking Time: 25 Minutes 25 Minutes

Nutrition facts: 200 calories 20 grams fat

Rating: 5.0/5

( 2 voted )

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Ingredients

Tangzhong

• 3 tbsp water
• 3 tbsp full fat milk 
• 2 tbsp bread flour

Dough

• 4 tbsp unsalted butter
•  ¾ cup full fat milk (gold top)
• 2 ¼ tsp easy/quick bake yeast
• ¼ cup granulated sugar, divided
•  393 grams or 3 cups high protein bread flour
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 large egg, room temperature

Egg Wash

• 1 small egg 
• 1 tbsp milk

method

For the Tangzhong:

• Whisk together the ingredients in a small saucepan.
• Place the saucepan over low heat.
• Keep whisking until the ingredients form a thick paste. The consistency should be thick enough so that as you whisk the mixture, the whisk leaves lines in the mixture which remain.
• Remove the paste to a small bowl, and set it aside to cool down

To Make the Dough:

• • In the same saucepan used to make the tangzhong (no need to wash the pan first), melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the milk, and warm the mixture just until it reaches between 120ºF. Stir in 1 tbsp of sugar  and remove from heat. Let it sit for a few minutes till you start with the rest of the dough.
  • In a bowl of stand mixer, combine all but ½ cup of the flour, with the yeast, remainder of the sugar, salt, the cooled tangzhong, and egg.
  • Mix the ingredients together using a dough hook.
  • Slowly add the warm milk mixture and start to knead until the mixture comes together into a sticky dough.
  • Continue kneading the dough on medium speed for 10-15 minutes until the dough becomes smooth and wraps around the dough hook, and starts to pull away from the sides. Although it may still stick to the bottom of the bowl. The dough will feel somewhat sticky and tacky, mainly due to the high liquid content and butter. Resist the temptation to avoid adding more flour, or the buns will end up dense.
  • Lightly oil a large, clean mixing bowl.
  • Roll the dough into a smooth ball and place it into the mixing bowl.
  • Cover the dough with a clean tea towel or bowl cover, and place it somewhere warm for about 90 minutes to 2 hours, or until it has doubled in size.

Shaping the Dough

1. Gently remove the dough from the bowl. The dough will deflate as you handle it.
2. Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Use a digital scale for even-sized buns.
3. Grease a square 9" baking dish or line with baking paper.
4. Roll each piece of dough into a smooth ball. I do this by pulling the edges of the dough into the centre, and then pinching those edges together while shaping the dough into a smooth ball as you do so. The pinched edges form the bottom of the buns.
5. Repeat the above steps with the remaining pieces of dough.
6. Place the shaped buns into the greased baking dish with the pinched side down.
7. Place the pan somewhere warm, covered with a clean tea towel, for about 30 minutes, or until the buns have almost doubled in size and are touching each other in the pan.

Baking the Japanese Milk Buns

1. Preheat the oven to 180°C/356°F.
2. Position a rack on the middle shelf.
3. Lightly brush the buns with some egg wash.
4. Bake the buns for about 20-25 minutes, or until they are lightly golden. Check the buns at about 10-15 minutes and, if they are browning too quickly, cover the buns with a loose sheet of foil for the remaining baking time.
5. The buns are cooked if an internal thermometer reads 85°C/185°F.
6. Leave the buns in the pan for about 5 minutes, before carefully removing the buns to a wire rack to cool completely.

 

 

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