Japanese Milk Bread Rolls

"Hokkaido, or tangzhong milk rolls are the fantastically soft, fluffy and sweetish bread that is the favourite with the Japanese. Come to think about it, I could have figured they would have some excellent breads, seeing as they make the best breadcrumbs in the world - Panko. These little things are incredible – like bits of cloud encapsulated in a baker’s crust. They owe the softness and moistness to the peculiar technique that involves making a flour and milk roux, almost as if setting off to make a béchamel. The roux, or tangzhong, is then mixed with the rest of more ordinary ingredients; proved, shaped and baked in rolls or loaves, whose heel, incidentally, is made into panko."

Preparation Time1 hr

Cooking Time25 min