Tangzhong Cinnamon Rolls (Milk Bread)

Cinnamon rolls made with Japanese inspired milk bread (Tangzhong, Chinese Name) and Cream cheese frosting

Ingredients

⅔ cup (151 grams) cold whole milk
2 ½ cups (300 grams) bread flour
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
2 tablespoons (25 grams) sugar
2 ¼ teaspoons (7 grams) active dry or instant yeast (one packet)
4 tablespoons (56 grams) cultured, salted butter (such as Kerrygold), at room temperature

To make the tangzhong, place the milk and flour into a small pot and whisk until perfectly smooth.
Set over medium heat and cook, stirring constantly, until thickened to a paste-like consistency that doesn’t fill back in when you drag your spatula across the bottom of the pot.
- This only takes a couple of minutes, and the transition from liquid to paste happens very quickly.

Right away, add the tangzhong to a large mixing bowl of the bowl of a stand mixer.
- The heat of the tangzhong helps warm the rest of the ingredients.
Add the milk, and then the flour, salt, sugar, yeast, and butter.
Mix on low using the dough hook in a stand mixer, or by hand, until the ingredients come together.
Knead on Speed 2 or by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic — 10 minutes in the stand mixer, or up to 15 minutes by hand.
Shape dough into a ball and place it back into the bowl.
Cover tightly and let rise until very puffy, 60 to 90 minutes.
- The dough will not necessarily double in size.

To make the filling, use a fork to mash together the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon in a medium bowl until well-combined.

Lightly oil your work surface with a neutral-tasting oil.
Turn the dough out onto the work surface and use your fingers to pat into a rectangle that’s 13.5 inches long and 10 inches wide, with one of the long sides facing you.
Spread the filling evenly over the entire surface of the dough except for a strip about 1/2-inch wide on the long side farther away from you.
Starting with the side closest to you, roll dough into a log. Use your fingers to seal the seam along the entire length of the log by pinching the loose flap of dough together with the log.
Using dental floss or a very sharp knife, cut into nine 1 1/2-inch rolls.
Grease an 8”x8” glass baking dish or a deep-dish 9” pie plate or round cake pan. Arrange rolls evenly in pan.
Cover tightly and let rise again for 30-60 minutes, until they’re puffy and don’t spring back right away if you press your finger gently into the dough. (Alternatively, you can pop the covered pan into the fridge and let them slow-rise overnight, then bring to room temperature before proceeding.)

While the rolls rise, preheat your oven to 350°F with a rack in the center.
Remove cover from pan and bake for about 22 minutes, until very lightly browned and just cooked through (internal temperature 188°F on an instant-read thermometer). Once baked, the pan will be very full. I have never experienced drips, but you may want to put a baking sheet on a rack below your pan just in case.

To make the frosting, sift the powdered sugar into the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl.
Add the butter.
With the paddle or electric beaters, beat on low until incorporated and then on medium-high until smooth.
Add vanilla, cream cheese, and heavy cream and beat on medium speed until perfectly smooth and creamy.
Spread frosting over the whole batch or onto individual rolls on serving plates.