Crispy Salt Butter Rolls

Crispy salt butter rolls are a delightful bakery treat made from a soft dough that is rolled out thin, filled with a butter block, and then sprinkled with coarse salt on top. These rolls are baked with steam, creating a flavorful roll with a crisp exterior and a tender interior, perfect for enjoying as a savory snack or alongside a meal. 

It’s a great alternative to pretzel rolls.

Ingredients 

Dough

• 520g bread flour 
• 30g powdered skim milk
• 370g water 
• 10g baking salt
• 40g Sugar 
• 7g dry instant yeast 
• 40g unsalted butter 

Filling 

• 150g cold butter cut into 15g blocks

Topping 

• Salt flakes 

Directions 

• Place all the ingredients, in a mixer bowl and mix for 5 minutes at slow speed.
• Increase the speed to medium and continue mixing for 5 more minutes.
• Dough has to become elastic and come together.

• Let the dough proof for 1 hour at 76-78F
• Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces ( about 80g each)
• Round each piece of dough into the ball. Let rest 15 min covered.
• Roll each dough ball creating a shape of a  drop. Cover let rest 15 min.

• Start rolling each dough drop, hold the top part, lifted in the air, and start to roll the bottom part longwise, as long as possible. Then hold the bottom part, lifted in the air and roll the top part as thin and long as possible, creating long triangles ( the length of the dough triangles should reach about 50 cm long.
• Divide cold butter into 15g blocks.
• Place butter block on wider part of the triangle .Roll butter inside, creating croissant shaped roll. Repeat the same process with the rest of the dough drops. Place butter rolls into a parchment paper.

• Let butter rolls proof for 40 min to 1 hour at 76-78F, until puffy and bigger.
• Generously spray rolls with water twice, then sprinkle with salt flakes on top.
• Preheat oven to 500F, insert the tray with rolls inside the oven, lower temperature to 400F bake rolls for 5 min with steam( I used cast iron pan on the bottom of the oven filled with hot boiling water). After 5 min of baking with steam, release the steam, lower temperature to 375F and continue baking for 18-20 min more until golden brown with golden brown and crispy bottoms.( the time and temperature might varying depending on your oven. Also in the middle of the baking you can rotate the tray, for even browning.
• Remove Crispy Salt Butter Rolls from the oven, let them cool down.

Enjoy!

Crispy Salt Butter Rolls

169kcal

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Prep 45 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Total 3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

A delightful Japanese-bakery inspired treat featuring a soft, lean dough rolled out paper-thin, wrapped around a rich core of cold salted butter, and finished with a crunchy shower of sea salt flakes. Baked with heavy steam, they emerge with an incredibly shattered, crispy shell and a hollow, butter-soaked, tender interior.

Servings 12 Rolls

Ingredients

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The Dough

• ▢ 520 g Bread Flour
• ▢ 30 g Powdered Skim Milk
• ▢ 370 g Water
• ▢ 10 g Baking Salt
• ▢ 40 g Sugar
• ▢ 7 g Dry Instant Yeast
• ▢ 40 g Unsalted butter (softened)

The Filling & Topping

• ▢ 180 g Cold butter (cut into twelve 15g blocks)
• ▢ Coarse Salt Flakes (such as Maldon, for topping)

Equipment

• ▢
  Stand Mixer (with dough hook attachment)
• ▢
  Cast Iron Pan (placed at the bottom of the oven for creating steam)
• ▢
  Baking Sheet
• ▢
  Parchment Paper
• ▢
  Rolling Pin
• ▢
  Spray Bottle (for spraying water/steam)

Method

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Dough Development

1. Place all dough ingredients into a stand mixer bowl. Mix for 5 minutes on low speed until a shaggy dough forms.
2. Increase the speed to medium and mix for 5 additional minutes. The dough must become highly elastic, smooth, and pull away completely from the sides of the bowl.
3. Cover and let the dough proof for 1 hour at 76–78°F (24–26°C).

Shaping & Rolling

1. Divide the bulk dough into 12 equal pieces (roughly 80g each). Shape each piece into a smooth round ball. Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
2. Roll each rested dough ball slightly to create a tapered drop or cone shape. Cover and let rest for another 15 minutes to relax the gluten.
3. Take a dough cone. Lift the tapered bottom part up in the air with one hand while using a rolling pin with your other hand to flatten it lengthwise. Then, reverse it: hold the wide top part up and roll the bottom out until you have a long, thin triangle reaching roughly 20 inches (50cm) in length.
4. Place a 15g cold butter block onto the widest edge of the dough triangle. Roll the dough up tightly over the butter toward the point, shaping it like a tight croissant. Place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Let the rolls proof for 40 to 60 minutes at 76–78°F (24–26°C) until puffy, soft, and visibly larger.

Steam Baking

1. Preheat your oven to 500°F (260°C). Place an empty cast iron pan on the bottom rack of the oven.
2. Generously spray the proofed rolls twice with water from a spray bottle, then immediately sprinkle the tops with salt flakes.
3. Slide the tray of rolls into the oven and carefully pour a cup of boiling water into the hot cast iron pan below to create a burst of steam. Immediately lower the oven temperature to 400°F (204°C). Bake with steam for 5 minutes.
4. After 5 minutes, safely vent the remaining steam from the oven. Lower the temperature to 375°F (190°C) and continue baking for 18–20 minutes until deep golden brown with extra-crispy, buttery bottoms. Let cool on a wire rack before serving.

Nutrition

Calories169kcalCarbohydrates35gProtein5gFat1gSaturated Fat0.1gPolyunsaturated Fat0.3gMonounsaturated Fat0.1gSodium2mgPotassium43mgFiber1gSugar3gVitamin A1IUCalcium7mgIron0.4mg

Notes

• Converting to Sourdough: To make a natural sourdough version of these rolls, omit the 7g of commercial instant yeast. Instead, build a sweet or standard levain using 100g of flour and 100g of water from the main recipe pool (representing a 20% levain build). Keep in mind that your bulk proof and final shaping proof times will extend significantly (roughly 3–4 hours each depending on ambient temperature).
• Freezing for Later: You can absolutely freeze these rolls to bake fresh later! Follow all instructions up through step 7 (shaping the rolls around the cold butter). Place the shaped, unproofed rolls on a tray in the freezer until solid, then transfer them to an airtight bag for up to 1 month. To bake, place the frozen rolls onto parchment paper, cover loosely, let them thaw and proof at room temperature for 2–3 hours until puffy, then bake as directed.
• The “Hollow” Center Phenomenon: Do not be alarmed if your baked rolls have a large hollow pocket in the middle! This is the signature style of a Shio Pan roll. The cold block of butter melts rapidly during the high-heat steam stage, frying the inside of the dough casing and leaving behind a rich, butter-soaked cavern.

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