Sourdough Milk Buns
These ultra-soft sourdough milk buns are a must-try. Eat them as dinner rolls or just on their own. They have a very mild sourdough flavor and are enriched with cream cheese and a little bit of butter, which creates the most amazing flavor and texture.
Equipment
- Digital kitchen scale
- Stand mixer
- Brød & Taylor proofer box (optional, but recommended)
- 9x9-inch baking pan
Ingredients
Sweet Levain
- 40 g active sourdough starter
- 40 g whole milk cold
- 40 g bread flour
- 10 g sugar
Tangzhong
- 100 g whole milk
- 20 g bread flour
Main Dough
- 310 g bread flour
- 20 g sugar
- 50 g whole milk cold
- 70 g eggs 1 egg + 1 egg yolk
- 50 g cream cheese full fat
- all the sweet levain
- all the tangzhong
- 8 g salt
- 25 g unsalted butter
Instructions
Sweet Levain
- In a bowl, mix active sourdough starter, flour, sugar, and cold milk. Cover and rise in a warm spot (ideally at 78°F) for 4 hours, or until doubled in size. You want the levain to be active but not overly sour and liquid.40 g active sourdough starter, 40 g whole milk, 40 g bread flour, 10 g sugar
Tangzhong
- Mix flour and milk in a small pot. Heat up over medium heat. Stir until the mixture thickens and reaches a temperature of 150°F/65°C.
- Transfer to a clean bowl. Cover with plastic wrap that touches the entire surface of the tangzhong. Cool to room temperature.100 g whole milk, 20 g bread flour
Main Dough
- Add all ingredients, except salt and butter, to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix until the dough comes together. Cover, and autolyse for 30 minutes.310 g bread flour, 20 g sugar, 50 g whole milk, 70 g eggs, 50 g cream cheese, all the sweet levain, all the tangzhong
- Add the salt, and knead at medium speed for 10 minutes. At this point, the dough should be tacky but not stick to the fingers.8 g salt
- Slowly add in cubed, softened butter. Continue kneading at medium speed for 15-25 minutes until your dough passes the window-pane test.25 g unsalted butter
- Transfer the dough to a clean, lightly oiled bowl, cover, and place in a warm spot (ideally at 78°F/26°C.) Proof for 3 hours.
- After 3 hours, transfer the bowl with dough to the fridge for an overnight rest (8-15 hours.)
Shape
- Transfer the dough to a floured work surface and divide it into 9 equal pieces (around 80g each.) Roll into seamless rounds, and place in a lined 9x9 baking pan.
- Proof at 78°F/26°C until the buns have doubled in size. This usually takes 5-8 hours.
Bake
- Preheat your oven to 300°F/150°C.
- Use a fine-mesh sieve to sprinkle a thin layer of flour over the buns.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until internal temperature is at 90°C.
- Transfer to a cooling rack and let the buns cool for at least 15 minutes before serving.