Milk Bread Rolls

Soft and pillowy Milk Bread Rolls are everything you want from a dinner roll! Crispy top and pull-apart sides, they’re buttery and delicious

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Here’s my criteria for a bread basket – I need that bread to be fresh, and I want it warm! Extra points for a pull apart situation. 

For this recipe, I teamed up with my friends at Kerrygold US to bring you the most delicious, soft, fluffy dinner rolls. It all starts with rich whole milk, and grass fed golden butter that has a higher fat content, which makes the rolls super soft and tender.

To enrich the dough even further, I’m using 1 farm fresh egg, and a little bit of sweetened condensed milk. The subtle background sweetness pairs perfectly with the saltiness of the rich dough. They’re truly irresistible, and I can’t wait for you to try them!

Milk Bread Roll Ingredients

whole milk – for these rolls, we’re making an enriched dough. The milk is a key ingredient and should be full fat whole milk…extra points if it’s raw whole milk!

bread flour – bread flour is my choice for these Milk Bread Rolls – the higher protein content in bread flour allows for great gluten development, and a nice stretchy dough. If you really want to make them, but don’t have bread flour, just use King Arthur Unbleached All purpose flour. It has more protein than most other flour brands, and always delivers consistent professional results. 

Kerrygold butter – at this point, it should come as no surprise to you that Kerrygold is my butter of choice. The grass fed Irish butter has a higher fat content than others, and adds so much richness and flavor to your baked goods. Not to mention, it is absolutely heavenly slathered on a hot milk bread roll. If you can’t source the butter with the olive oil, regulated salted Kerrygold butter will work just fine.

sweetened condensed milk – a little unexpected, but the condensed milk adds sweetness while making the crumb of these rolls extremely soft and tender.

farm fresh egg – always always always use pasture raised organic eggs. They are much more nutrient dense and packed with richness and flavor. The difference in flavor is incredible, and worth the extra couple of dollars. 

How to make Milk Bread Rolls

• In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the warm milk, sugar, and dry active yeast. Use a handheld whisk to incorporate the yeast and sugar into the warm milk. Let the mixture rest for 3-5 minutes to activate the yeast.
• Add the bread flour, salt, melted butter, condensed milk, and beaten egg to the bowl of the stand mixer.
• With the mixer on low speed, begin to combine the ingredients until a very shaggy dough forms and there are no dry pockets of flour. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
• Remove the towel, and mix the dough on low speed for 2 minutes. Gradually increase the speed, and mix the dough for 10 minutes on medium/high speed. The dough should be very stretchy, and a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a clean shower cap, and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour until it has doubled in size.
• Meanwhile, spray a 9” x 9” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.

How to Shape Homemade Milk Bread Dinner Rolls

Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Pour the risen dough out onto the floured work surface. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces. Each piece should weigh about 70 g.

Roll each piece of dough into a tight ball. Begin by bringing the corners of the dough into the center and pinching. Then, seam side down, roll the dough on the counter top under one hand, pushing it and pulling it away, creating tension.

Place the balls of dough into the prepared baking pan, very lightly dust the tops of the dough with flour, and cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 40-45 minutes until they are puffy.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the rolls have risen, combine the 2 tablespoons of milk with the additional egg yolk, and whisk to combine. Lightly brush the tops of the rolls with the milk and egg mixture. Bake for 25 minutes until the rolls are very golden brown. Allow them to cool slightly, then serve warm with butter, flaky salt, and jam.

Pro Baking tips

1. The dough for these Milk Bread Rolls should be very stretchy, super soft, and can get a bit sticky. Make sure to flour your hands and the work surface well.
2. If the dough is difficult to work with, pop the whole bowl into the fridge for about 15 minutes. Cold dough is much easier to handle.
3. Use a kitchen scale to weigh out each ball of dough. When the rolls bake up beautifully in the square pan, they look very impressive! Take the extra step to make sure they’re all the same size, so that they proof and bake up evenly.
4. Brush the tops of the rolls with a bit more whole milk, and an egg yolk. The mix of the two will give that mahogany, burnished top. Remember, caramelization (browning) equals flavor, so bake these rolls up well!
5. You knew this was coming…serve them warm! Allow the rolls to cool for about 10 minutes, then serve them right away with plenty of softened butter and flaky salt.

Love these dinner rolls? Check out more homemade bread recipes!

Sourdough Dinner Rolls

Easy Sourdough Ciabatta Rolls

How to store Milk Bread Rolls

We’re breaking the bread rules here just a bit. I usually tell you to allow bread to cool COMPLETELY before eating or slicing, but not today, my friends. These delicious homemade Milk Bread Rolls are best enjoyed warm from the oven. 

In the highly unlikely even that you have leftover rolls, simply store them in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days. To reheat, slice them in half and toast them in the toaster oven for a few minutes. Or, place them in a 350 degree oven for 5-7 minutes, and they will taste like they’re freshly baked.

Basic Bread Baking Tools you actually need

Here’s the master list of essential baking tools that I’ve curated for you!

For this recipe, I use the KitchenAid Stand Mixer, bench scraper, and pastry brush.

If you loved these incredible Milk Bread Rolls, I would LOOOVE it so much if you would give a star review! Also, be sure to snap a picture of your finished dish and share it with me on Instagram @lions.bread. It always makes my day seeing your creations!

For more delicious Lion’s Bread recipes, be sure to follow us on Pinterest, and Instagram.

make these rolls! impossibly fluffy and tender

The Recipe

Print

Milk Bread Rolls

Soft and pillowy Milk Bread Rolls are everything you want from a dinner roll! Crispy top and pull-apart sides, they're buttery and delicious

Course Appetizer, bread

Cuisine European

Keyword bread rolls, dinner rolls, holiday recipes, milk bread

Prep Time 2 hours 30 minutes

Servings 9 rolls

Author LeAnne Yaakubov

Ingredients

• ½ cup whole milk warmed to 95 degrees F (140 g)
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 7 g
• 2 tablespoons sugar 30 g
• 2 ½ cups bread flour 300 g
• 2 teaspoons kosher salt or pink salt 7 g
• 4 tablespoons Kerrygold Butter with olive oil melted
• ¼ cup sweetened condensed milk 80 g
• 1 egg beaten

For brushing on top:

• 2 tablespoons whole milk
• 1 egg yolk

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine the warm milk, sugar, and dry active yeast. Use a handheld whisk to incorporate the yeast and sugar into the warm milk. Let the mixture rest for 3-5 minutes to activate the yeast.
2. Add the bread flour, salt, melted butter, condensed milk, and beaten egg to the bowl of the stand mixer.
3. With the mixer on low speed, begin to combine the ingredients until a very shaggy dough forms and there are no dry pockets of flour. Cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel, and let the mixture rest for 15 minutes at room temperature.
4. Remove the towel, and mix the dough on low speed for 2 minutes. Gradually increase the speed, and mix the dough for 10 minutes on medium/high speed. The dough should be very stretchy, and a bit sticky. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, or a clean shower cap, and let the dough rest at room temperature for 1 hour until it has doubled in size.
5. Meanwhile, spray a 9” x 9” baking pan with nonstick cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
6. Lightly dust the work surface with flour. Pour the risen dough out onto the floured work surface. Divide the dough into 9 equal pieces. Each piece should weigh about 70 g.
7. Roll each piece of dough into a tight ball. Begin by bringing the corners of the dough into the center and pinching. Then, seam side down, roll the dough on the counter top under one hand, pushing it and pulling it away, creating tension.
8. Place the balls of dough into the prepared baking pan, very lightly dust the tops of the dough with flour, and cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise at room temperature for 40-45 minutes until they are puffy.
9. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Once the rolls have risen, combine the 2 tablespoons of milk with the additional egg yolk, and whisk to combine. Lightly brush the tops of the rolls with the milk and egg mixture. Bake for 25 minutes until the rolls are very golden brown. Allow them to cool slightly, then serve warm with butter, flaky salt, and jam.

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