| Level: | Intermediate |
| Total: | 2 hr 40 min |
| Active: | 40 min |
| Yield: | 12 rolls |
Ingredients
- 1 1/3 cups whole milk
- 8 tablespoons (1 stick) salted butter
- 1/3 cup dark-brown sugar
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 envelope active dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- Nonstick cooking spray, for the baking sheet
- Sea salt, for sprinkling
- 1/2 cup baking soda
Instructions
- For the dough: Combine the milk and 6 tablespoons of the butter in a pot. Stir in the sugar. Scald the milk mixture slightly by heating it almost to a boil. Turn off the heat and let cool until just warm to the touch, about 10 minutes.
- Add the flour, yeast, baking soda and salt to the milk mixture in the pot and stir until well combined. Cover the pot with a dish towel and place in a warm spot in the kitchen. Let the dough rise for an hour or so. It should roughly double in size.
- Divide the dough into 12 equal parts and roll each into a neat ball. Place the balls on a baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray. Cover with a dish towel and set aside in a warm place to rise for another 20 minutes.
- For the water bath: While the dough is rising, bring a pot with 10 cups of water to a boil. Stir in the baking soda.
- Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Melt the remaining 2 tablespoons butter in a small pot or in the microwave.
- Working in 3 batches of 4 rolls each, drop the dough balls into the water and boil for 30 seconds. Transfer the boiled balls to a baking sheet lined with paper towels to drain.
- To bake the rolls: Transfer the rolls to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Using a sharp knife, make a small “x” in the top of each roll. Brush the tops with the melted butter and sprinkle with sea salt. Bake until deep brown, about 15 minutes.
Nutrition Facts
| Serving Size | 1 of 12 servings |
| Calories | 224 |
| Total Fat | 10 g |
| Saturated Fat | 5 g |
| Carbohydrates | 30 g |
| Dietary Fiber | 1 g |
| Sugar | 5 g |
| Protein | 4 g |
| Cholesterol | 23 mg |
| Sodium | 2697 mg |
Reviews
would it be possible to make these with frozen/thawed dough?
I made this for the first time last weekend and I had to make them again today. Delicious. This time they turned out better. The first time I let the milk cool too much and they didn’t rise as well and were denser. Still good. This time I took the temperature of the milk and only let it cool to 115 and then mixed everything. They have the same flavor but a slightly lighter texture. Just delicious. I want to visit Rees boarding house so badly. I keep looking! My husband agreed to go and we’re planning a visit but it’s booked solid.
Delicious! Everyone that try’s them wants the recipe!
You are amazing person.
I’m not a novice at bread, and I know there’s different ways to make it. I followed the recipe exactly. Initially, the dough seemed too loose, like there’s not enough flour. But I kept with it. My next issue came with the boiling part. They were so sorts still and hard to transfer. There was no way to cut an X into the buns as it was too gooey. Not at all like bread should be. The final product was tasty…but flat. I may try again but use at least 1/2 cup more flour.
Pretty good! Did have to knead after the first rising, even though it didn’t say in recipe. Also, needed more like 20-30 minutes to cool enough so it wouldn’t kill the yeast. Tasted delicious though!
I must say, after reading the reviews I was not going to try this recipe. But, I am super glad I did! They are delicious! I most definitely make them again. I watched he video many times to ensure I was doing everything exact. I had everything measured out ahead of preparing them, I find that to be most helpful. I did use a food scale to ensure they were all the same size, 62ish grams seemed to be right. Hope you do try this recipe, for me it was worth the time involved. Thank you for reading and enjoy!
I really liked this recipe. I’ve done it 3 times now and it has worked every time. I enjoy the flavor and the texture. It’s a hearty roll and good as a side with soup. As a bonus my picky eater 6 yr old loves them. Prior experience working with yeast helpful.
I love most of Ree’s recipes. However, sometimes I come across a recipe of hers that I can’t get to work for me. These rolls are one of those things. I have tried to make them twice. The first time was my fault. The recipe said to let the milk mixture cool for 10 minutes, but I think it was still too hot. I killed the yeast. The second time everything was going great, but the dough was very loose. When I shaped the rolls, they rose out instead of up. When I tried to boil them, they pretty much disintegrated. It never said to knead the dough, and I wonder if this made the structure too weak to hold up. Maybe using bread flour and kneading it would create some gluten to hold the rolls together. I don’t know, but I’m not really willing to find out.
They were pretty good. I would make them again but not all the time. It was kind of like roll meets pretzel. They smelled amazing when cooking.