High-gluten flour: 1000g
Salt: 10g
Milk powder: 50g
Fresh yeast: 35g Unsalted butter: 75g Salted butter: 3-5g per piece ‼️ Except for butter, add all ingredients listed above directly into the mixing bowl and start kneading. To prevent flour from flying everywhere, mix at low speed initially. Although the mixture may appear watery, it will eventually form a dough. After mixing evenly, knead at high speed until a dough forms. When the dough adheres less to the bowl, stop to check. Once it reaches an 70-80% gluten development stage, add the butter.After adding butter, mix slowly until incorporated, then beat quickly.
Beat quickly. When the bowl walls become increasingly clean, it is time to check the windowpane stage. At approximately this stage, continue kneading for a moment longer. Finally, it should look like this. The windowpane shows no, though a slight is acceptable. It is non-sticky. This is a 5-liter rice cooker; begin fermentation. I rarely poke a hole in the dough during fermentation; it is ready when it fills the basin. Once fermented, pour the dough out directly. Since the fermentation chamber is broken, ferment at room temperature.Divide and round the dough into 55g portions. Refrigerate for 30 minutes to relax or chill overnight, then shape the next day. Take out and roll into long strips. The shape does not need to be precise; it will naturally crack during baking. Roll out the dough lengthwise, flip it over, and ensure to brush both sides with butter. Place salted butter on top and roll up. The shaping process can be done casually. Proof until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 200°C for 10 minutes. Bake at 180°C for 18 minutes. If the bottom is not yet browned, continue baking as needed (oven temperatures vary; adjust according to your own practice). No egg wash applied.
Reading the Windowpane Test
The method stops kneading when the windowpane shows a slight blur rather than a perfectly clear film, and that is deliberate. This dough carries eggs, milk, and a generous amount of sugar, all of which soften gluten; chasing a flawless windowpane risks over-kneading it into rolls that bake up tight instead of soft. A stretchy patch that lets light through with some cloudiness, from dough that no longer clings to the bowl, is the target.
Rolling and Shaping Notes
- After the 30-minute chill, the 55g portions roll out cleanly; at warm room temperature the butter inside the dough smears and fights the pin.
- Brushing both sides of the rolled strip with butter before adding the salted piece, as written, is what lets the layers separate and the top crack open naturally in the oven.
- The cracks need no correcting; an uneven split across each roll is part of the look.
Baking and Doneness
The recipe preheats to 200°C (392°F) and bakes at 180°C (356°F) for 18 minutes. Start checking at 15: the tops should be deep golden, and the bases firm and lightly browned when you lift a roll. If colour arrives early but the base is still pale, give them 3-4 more minutes on a lower rack. No egg wash is needed; the butter already does that work.
Keeping the Rolls Fresh
Because the dough is enriched with egg and butter, these rolls stay soft for about two days in a sealed bag at room temperature. A short reheat at 160°C (320°F) for 3-4 minutes re-melts the butter and brings back the just-baked texture. For anything longer, freeze the cooled rolls and warm them from frozen at 180°C (356°F) for around 8 minutes.
