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

297kcal

5 from 1 vote

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Prep 45 minutes mins

Cook 25 minutes mins

Bulk Proof 1 hour hr

Total 3 hours hrs 10 minutes mins

A Japanese bakery-inspired treat made from a soft dough rolled paper-thin, wrapped around a core of cold butter, and topped with coarse sea salt. Baked with steam, they feature a shattered crispy exterior and a butter-soaked, tender hollow interior.

Servings 12 Rolls

Cuisine Japanese Bakery / Enriched Yeast Bread

Ingredients

1x2x3x

Lean Enriched Dough

• ▢ 520 g Bread flour (100%)
• ▢ 30 g Powdered skim milk (5.7%)
• ▢ 370 g Water (71%)
• ▢ 10 g Baking salt (1.9%)
• ▢ 40 g Sugar (7.7%)
• ▢ 7 g Dry instant yeast (1.3%)
• ▢ 40 g Unsalted butter softened (7.7%)

Butter Core & Topping

• ▢ 150 g Cold butter cut into twelve 12.5g–15g blocks
• ▢ Flaky sea salt 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

Prevent Sleep ModePrevent Sleep Mode

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 speed to medium and mix for 5 additional minutes until elastic, smooth, and pulling away cleanly from the sides.
3. Cover and let proof for 1 hour at 76–78°F (24–26°C).

Shaping & Rolling

1. Divide dough into 12 equal pieces (~80 g each). Shape each piece into a smooth round ball. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
2. Roll each dough ball into a tapered cone/drop shape. Cover and rest for 15 minutes.
3. Hold the wide top of the cone in the air while using a rolling pin to roll the bottom out thin and long until you form a triangle reaching ~20 inches (50 cm) in length.
4. Place a 15g cold butter block at the widest edge and roll up tightly toward the point (croissant-style). Place seam-side down on parchment paper.

Proofing & Steam Bake

1. Proof shaped rolls for 40 to 60 minutes at 76–78°F (24–26°C) until puffy.
2. Preheat oven to 500°F (260°C) with a cast-iron pan on the bottom rack.
3. Generously spray rolls twice with water and sprinkle with flaky sea salt.
4. Slide tray into oven, pour 1 cup of boiling water into the hot cast-iron pan to generate steam, and lower heat to 400°F (204°C). Bake with steam for 5 minutes.
5. Vent remaining steam, lower oven temperature to 375°F (190°C), and bake for 18–20 additional minutes until deep golden brown with extra-crispy bottoms. Cool on a wire rack before serving.

Nutrition

Calories297kcalCarbohydrates36gProtein6gFat14gSaturated Fat9gPolyunsaturated Fat1gMonounsaturated Fat4gTrans Fat1gCholesterol36mgSodium416mgPotassium86mgFiber1gSugar4gVitamin A420IUVitamin C0.2mgCalcium34mgIron0.4mg

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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