Checkerboard Tangzhong Rolls

These Checkerboard Tangzhong Rolls are so soft and fluffy. When you separate them, the crumb just pulls apart into deliciously thin ethereal sheets of goodness.

Tangzhong you ask? It is a starter made of flour and water, and sometimes milk, that is cooked to exactly 149 degrees F (well maybe not exactly in my case), cooled, and added to the dough. The resulting bread is amazingly soft. It's the kind of bread that is so good with just salted butter.


See what I mean?

Today my opinionated seven year old grandson came to visit and he accepted an offer of a roll for a snack. He promptly ate two.

Me: "I made these myself!"
Grandson: "You make everything yourself!"

Awwww.

These rolls are also great for sandwiches and sliders.

This month the #TwelveLoaves bread baking group is baking with seeds! I love the checkerboard pattern that these rolls make in the pan. I used sesame and poppy seeds interspersed with some plain rolls to create this pattern. You could also use flax seeds, or, if you don't like seeds, bran and oats to coat the tops of the rolls. Have fun!

For more fun with Tangzhong, check out this Hokkaido Milk Bread and this Tangzhong Whole Wheat and Rye Bread.

For more breads using seeds, check out the links from the other #TwelveLoaves members after the recipe.

Checkerboard Tangzhong Rolls

Ingredients

Tangzhong

90 grams (6 T) water

18 grams (2 T) bread flour

Final Dough

345 grams bread flour

30 grams sugar

7 grams instant yeast
15 grams milk powder (optional, I used King Arthur Flour's Special Dry Milk)

All of the tangzhong

75 to 90 grams whole milk

30 grams heavy whipping cream
1 egg

30 grams unsalted butter at room temperature

5 grams salt

Topping

Milk

Poppy seeds, sesame seeds, bran, or other seed or topping of your choice

Instructions

To make the tangzhong:

1. Whisk the water and flour together in a small saucepan until blended. 
2. Cook the mixture over low heat, stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens reaches 149 degrees F, or if you don't have a thermometer, until your spoon forms lines in the mixture. Do not walk away as this happens really fast.
3. Immediately scrape the mixture into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap, pressing the wrap onto the mixture and let it cool to room temperature.

To make the final dough:

1. Add the dry ingredients except the salt to the bowl of a stand mixer. 
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the tangzhong with the the milk, cream, and egg. 
3. Add the mixture to the dry ingredients and mix on low with the dough hook. Add the salt. 
4. Add the butter, a little bit at a time, continuing to mix on low. If the dough gets too slippery, switch to the paddle for a minute or two to incorporate the ingredients.
5. Once the butter is incorporated, knead with the dough hook for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic. 
6. Transfer the dough to an oiled boil, cover, and let rise for one to two hours, until doubled. You can also let it rise in the refrigerator overnight, up to 24 hours. 
7. Line a 9 inch by 9 inch cake pan with parchment and spray with spray oil. 
8. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape the pieces into rolls. 
9. Dip each roll into milk and then into the seeds of your choice. Or, for better seed placement than I got, sprinkle the seeds over the top of the milk dipped roll. Arrange the rolls in the pan in a pattern of your choice. 
10. Cover and let rise 1 to 2 hours, until doubled.
11. Preheat the oven to 355 degrees F.
12. Bake the rolls for about 20 minutes, until golden. Lift the parchment out of the pan and place the rolls on a wire rack. Remove the parchment and let cool a bit before serving. 
13. Store extras in a plastic bag. 

Adapted from a recipe contributed by Dave W, a member of the Facebook group, Artisan Bread Bakers.

• Anadama Bread from Cake Duchess
• Dusle Pull Apart Rolls with Chia, Flax and Sesame Seeds from Cheap Ethnic Eatz
• Five-Seed Loaves from blackberry eating in late september
• Molasses Multi-Seed Bread from A Baker's House
• Poppy Seed Strudel from The Bread She Bakes