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Sourdough discard honey butter rolls Read More »
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]]>As an avid sourdough baker, I’ll usually have some leftover sourdough discard on my hand. I love using the discard to make non-leavened recipes like sourdough biscotti, or sourdough hand pies, but I also love adding sourdough discard into instant yeast recipe for extra tang and flavor. Adding discard into my favorite milk bread recipe creates a super soft and tender crumb, without the need for an extended proof like my fully sourdough-leavened milk bread.
Personally I think these bread rolls are a great addition to any holiday dinner – perfect for pairing with Thanksgiving turkey and stuffing! They’ve been my go-to potluck recipe and have been a big hit.

There are a few reasons why I love adding sourdough discard to any kind of bread recipe! First, it reduces waste and uses up my excess discard. Second, it adds a subtle sourdough flavor. Finally, discard provides some of the same probiotic benefits of natural yeast-leavened bread!
This recipe is leavened using commercial yeast, so the starter does not need to be super active. However, depending on how active the starter is, you may have some varying results in your final product.
For a more mild sourdough flavor, I recommend using starter discard that has been fed recently. For a more sour and tangy flavor, you can use discard that has not been fed for a while. The longer starter goes without feeding, the more acidic it will become.
I would not recommend using starter discard that has not been fed in several weeks and has started developing hooch. At this point, I find that the acidity of the discard can affect the gluten development of the bread and make it more difficult to knead and leaven.

Yes! Because the discard is not responsible for any leavening, discard from your first few feedings of your brand new starter will work great.
These sourdough discard rolls come together much more quickly than traditional sourdough bread!

I brush these rolls with a citrus honey butter to really take them to the next level. The butter is easy to make – simply mix together melted butter, salt, honey, and orange zest. It’s the perfect sweet and salty combination, enhanced by the fragrance from the citrus zest.
For a savory version, you can heat up the butter on the stove and add chopped rosemary or garlic instead of the citrus zest.

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]]>Pumpkin milk bread rolls Read More »
The post Pumpkin milk bread rolls appeared first on Halicopter Away.
]]>Bread rolls are the subtle star of any holiday dinner. The perfect roll is fluffy, soft, and perfect paired with sweet or savory dishes. Bonus points if they look cute and garner you compliments on their charming appearance.
These pumpkin milk bread rolls do all that and more – they’re made with my favorite milk bread recipe, but modified to add pumpkin puree for some extra fall flavor.

This pumpkin milk bread has a number of ingredients that make it super soft and fluffy –

If this is your first time making bread, I recommend reading my guide to enriched bread. Here are tips to help you make some delicious rolls:
This is definitely the most fun part of making pumpkin bread rolls! For this step, you’ll need butcher’s twine, which is an oven-safe string.

A roll is not complete without the perfect side of butter, and this maple cinnamon butter is pure perfection. It comes together very easily – just mix together softened butter, maple syrup, and cinnamon. A couple of notes on the butter recipe:

If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.

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]]>Pumpkin spice latte rolls Read More »
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]]>It’s time for fall baking and there’s nothing that screams “Fall” like these pumpkin spice latte rolls. Inspired by classic cinnamon rolls and the (in)famous Pumpkin Spice Latte, these sweet and fluffy bread rolls combine the warmth of pumpkin, aromatic spices, and a dash of espresso. Top with whipped cream for even more of that latte experience!

The base of these rolls is a soft and fragrant pumpkin milk bread that uses pumpkin puree that create a soft, moist texture and beautiful color. Like my regular milk bread recipe, the base of these rolls also uses tangzhong to make the rolls extra soft.
The milk bread is an enriched bread – that is, it has butter, milk, and egg added. If you’re new to making enriched bread, I recommend reading my guide to enriched bread.
Here are some tips to make the best pumpkin milk bread:

The pumpkin latte filling is made from butter, brown sugar, spices, and instant espresso powder. Make sure your butter is softened and spreadable, then mix with the sugar, cinnamon, all-spice, cloves, ginger, and espresso powder.
If you don’t have cloves, ginger, or all-spice, you can substitute with a tsp of cinnamon. However, the rolls will taste less like pumpkin spice rolls, and more like pumpkin cinnamon rolls.

These rolls are the perfect fall treat! If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.


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]]>Seeded sourdough bread Read More »
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]]>I love a good no-knead sourdough loaf and this seeded sourdough bread is no exception. It’s full of sesame and pumpkin seeds for that perfect, nutty crunch – though you can use any mix of seeds that you’d like!

You can really use any seeds that you like! I personally like a mix of sesame and pumpkin seeds. You could also use sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, or even chia seeds.
When using chia seeds in the past, I have let them soak ahead of time so that they don’t absorb water in the dough.
In general, I don’t like kneading my sourdough since the dough is high hydration and hard to handle. Because of the long, slow rise the gluten will naturally develop over time. To help that process, we’ll use an autolyse period, coil folds, and lamination to develop strength in the dough.

Autolyse is when you mix together the flour and water and let it sit for 20 minutes and up to multiple hours. During this period, the dough becomes stretchier and more elastic, and gluten starts to develop. Traditionally, autolyse leaves out both the yeast and the salt, since salt inhibits the elasticity of the gluten. In this recipe, I mix in the starter along with the water for a “fermetolyse.”
A coil fold is a way of gently stretching and folding the sourdough over itself to help develop the gluten. I do this once every 30 – 45 minutes for a total of 3 times. As you do more coil folds, you notice the dough developing strength, becoming smoother, and holding its shape.
Laminating refers to gently stretching out the dough thinly to help develop the gluten. It’s also a great time to include add-ins, such as seeds since they’ll then become evenly distributed throughout the dough. It’s best to laminate early on in the fermentation process so that you don’t knock out too much air. However, you don’t want to add fillings too early, since it could inhibit the rise. In this recipe, I laminate after the second coil fold.

Day 1
10:00 am – Remove starter from the fridge and feed with 60g all-purpose flour and 60g water
1:00pm – Starter has grown about 2x in size. I start the autolyse by mixing the flour, water, and starter in a large bowl.
1:00pm – 1:30pm – Autolyse
1:30pm – Add salt and a little bit of water, mix in
2:00pm – First set of coil folds
2:30pm – Second set of coil folds
3:00pm – Laminate the dough and add seeds
3:45pm – Last set of coil folds
5:00pm – Shape into a boule and place into a bowl
8:00pm – Place in the fridge for an overnight cold retard
Day 2
10:00am – Pre-heat oven to 500F with uncovered Dutch oven inside.
10:45am – Score & bake for 25 minutes with lid on and then reduce to 450F and bake for 20 – 22 minutes with lid off.
3:00pm – Slice into loaf after it has thoroughly cooled.
If you make this recipe, let me know! You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway or #halicopteraway.

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]]>Sourdough milk bread cinnamon rolls Read More »
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]]>I love sourdough. I love milk bread. I love cinnamon rolls. Therefore, I love these sourdough milk bread cinnamon rolls. They combine the soft fluffiness of milk bread with the subtle tang of sourdough. And the best part? They’re not too sweet but still packed with flavor!
The base of this recipe comes from my popular sourdough Japanese milk bread recipe. If you want to make a non-sourdough version, replace the dough with my regular Japanese milk bread.

Texture is key for cinnamon rolls, and we use two methods to make this a fluffy and no fuss cinnamon roll recipe.
First, the recipe is no-knead. The long fermentation process helps naturally develop the gluten and create a tender crumb. We’ll only perform a few coil folds to help gently develop the gluten.
Second, we use the tangzhong method to create that cotton candy-like fluffy texture. You cook flour, milk, and water together to create a roux. This gelatinizes the starches which contributes to that incomparable texture.

Unlike working with commercial yeast, there is always a bit of variability when working with sourdough starter. The rise times will vary depending on the strength of your starter. If this is your first time making sourdough, I recommend making just a normal loaf with only water, salt, flour, and starter to get a feel for the process.
Here are tips to help you with these rolls:

Here is a general guide on my baking timeline when making these sourdough cinnamon rolls. You can adjust to whatever works best for your schedule, which I always encourage! Overall, this process spans 2 days though there isn’t too much active time.
Day 1
1:00pm – Mix sourdough starter with milk and flour
5:00pm – Starter has doubled in size. Make the tangzhong. Mix together all ingredients to create the dough.
5:30pm – First set of coil folds to develop gluten
6:15pm – Second set of coil folds
7:00pm – Third set of coil folds
8:00pm – Cover and place in fridge for overnight cold retard. This helps make the dough easier to handle when shaping the next day.
Day 2
11:00am – Roll out the dough and shape. Place in a baking dish
— Long rise time. I’ve had it rise in 5 hours in a very warm and humid environment. I’ve also had it take 10 hours during the winter —
7:00pm – Bake for 30 – 35 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven and slather with cream cheese frosting.

This recipe definitely takes longer than your average cinnamon rolls, but I love the sourdough flavor. If you make this recipe, please let me know! It would bring me so much joy to see your sourdough cinnamon rolls. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.

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]]>Flaky croissant-style scallion pastry rolls Read More »
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]]>This fusion recipe combines different elements of my favorite dishes, from flaky, flavorful scallion pancakes to soft, fluffy milk bread to crispy, layered croissants. You’ll find a lot of different techniques and flavors that have been melded together to create these tasty scallion rolls.
When you bite into these rolls, you’re met with the fragrant crunch of pastry that melts away to soft, fluffy layers of milk bread. Perfect on their own or paired with a bowl of noodle soup!

Scallion pancakes are known for their flaky, crisp texture and I wanted to bring that element into these pastries. The recipe uses a “rough puff” pastry lamination technique.
Pastry lamination is a technique used to create the flaky layers that pastries such as croissants, Danishes, and puff pastries are known for. It involves rolling out dough, then adding a layer of fat (such as butter or shortening), then folding and rolling the dough again. This process is repeated several times to create multiple layers of dough and fat. When the fat melts in the oven, the steam helps puff up the pastry and create a signature texture.
For this recipe, we use a “rough puff” technique, which involves laminating in small pieces of butter rather than an entire sheet. This technique is easier and more forgiving than a “full puff” lamination.

Pastry lamination can be tricky if you’ve never done it before. This recipe is a great introduction though and fairly forgiving! Here are some tips to follow to help you get flaky layers:

The fluffiness of this recipe comes from using a soft, yeasted milk bread dough. The recipe adapts my Japanese milk bread by hand. It uses less liquid so that the dough is stiffer and easier to handle when laminating.
Unlike a traditional pastry recipe, the milk bread dough has tangzhong and egg to give it a fluffier, lighter texture.

To make sure that every bit of the pastry is filled with scallion flavor, each lamination adds a layer of chopped scallions. We then roll the dough with more chopped scallions, cheddar, and sriracha mayo. During baking, the sriracha mayo melts into the dough, infusing it with flavor and making the filling extra soft.
Feel free to adapt the filling to any flavors that you would like! Any savory filling would pair well with the scallion – I know I’ll be experimenting with flavors such as miso, gochujang, and kimchi!

Everytime I make these rolls, they are devoured immediately!If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.

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]]>Cute bunny melon pan Read More »
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]]>January 22, 2023 welcomes the year of the rabbit, and there’s no cuter way to celebrate than with these bunny-shaped melon pan! They’re as delicious as they are cute and are sure to make you and your loved ones smile.

Melon pan is a sweet enriched bread from Japan that is known for its signature cross-hatched cookie crust. This cookie crust is where it gets its name, because it looks like a cantaloupe!
There are many similar breads to melon pan, such as pineapple buns from Hong Kong, soboro bread from Korea, Rotiboys from Malaysia, and conchas from Mexico. All are sweet bread featuring a yummy cookie crust.

We start by making my favorite Japanese milk bread recipe. If you’ve never made an enriched bread before, I recommend you check out my guide to making enriched bread.
While the dough is proofing, we make the cookie crust which is a mixture of butter, sugar, egg, flour, corn starch, and baking powder. It has a similar texture to a shortbread cookie, but the egg prevents it from crumbling.
Shaping the melon pan is trickiest part of this bake! Here are tips to get super cute bunnies
These bunnies came out so cute and delicious – I hope you’ll give them a try!

If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.

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]]>Cozonac (sweet walnut roll bread) Read More »
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]]>I recently had a comment on my panettone video requesting that I try Romanian Cozonac. Up until that point, the only time I had heard of Cozonac was on the Great British Baking Show. When I saw it’s beautiful swirls and fluffy texture, I knew I had to give it a try!

Cozonac is a sweet enriched bread made with butter, milk, and eggs and leavened with yeast. It is often flavored with citrus and filled with a sweet walnut chocolate paste for a super fragrant and delicious treat. The walnut paste is swirled in between the dough to create beautiful spirals when the loaf is sliced. Some versions also contain dried fruit, but I decided to try the walnut version.
The top of the bread is sprinkled with coarse sugar or poppy seeds for decoration and taste.
Cozonac is traditionally eaten in Romania, Bulgaria, and other southeastern European countries. In Romania, the bread is eaten around Christmas and Easter.

First, we’ll mix together bread flour, yeast, salt, lemon zest, and orange zest.
We’ll then heat up milk, sugar, and butter on the stove until the butter is almost all melted. Remove and let cool before adding to the dough.
To make the dough, combine the milk mixture with the flour mixture and then add in the eggs, rum or orange liquor, and vanilla extract. Knead until the dough forms a window pane, then set aside to rise for 2 hours.
While the dough rises, make the walnut paste, which is a combination of crushed walnuts, milk, sugar, cocoa powder, orange liquor, and orange zest.
You’ll then divide the dough in half and roll each piece out into a rectangle. Spread evenly with walnut paste and then roll up to create a swirl. Twist the two pieces of bread together and place in a loaf tin to rise for 2 – 3 hours.
Before baking, brush with egg wash for a beautiful shine and sprinkle coarse sugar on top. You’ll bake for 45 – 60 minutes and then let the loaf cool completely!

Cozonac is an enriched bread that is almost cake-like in texture. I recommend reading my guide to enriched bread if you’ve never made enriched bread before. Luckily, the dough is not too wet and is fairly easy to handle.
Here are my tips to get a beautiful loaf:
I loved learning about this traditional bread and I hope you enjoy the recipe! The recipe was adapted from this version by She Loves Biscotti so that it would work for only one loaf.

Sources:

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]]>Creme brûlée milk bread Read More »
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]]>I love fusion desserts and these creme brulee milk bread buns absolutely deliver on that promise! I use my favorite Japanese milk bread recipe as the base, and then fill each bun with rich and creamy pastry cream and top with caramelized sugar to bring in that creme brulee inspired twist!
If you haven’t made bread before, I recommend reading my master guide to bread baking. This recipe uses the tangzhong method to achieve a very light and soft crumb – perfect for pairing with sweet cream!

If you are pressed on time, you can also make these creme brulee buns using store-bought bread rolls. Of course, I always think homemade bread will give you better results but sometimes we just don’t have the time and energy needed to make your own bread!
If you’re using store-bought buns, I recommend something very soft, buttery, and lightly sweetened, such as brioche.
After the dough has finished proofing, divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. If you’re being really precise, each piece should weight about 62g. To get very smooth tops, gently stretch the dough between your hands and tuck in the excess pieces of dough. Roll along your kitchen counter to create surface tension.
Pastry cream is made with simple ingredients that come together to create a rich and delicious filling.
For the pastry cream, we’ll use the following ingredients:
Milk – Milk is the base of this recipe and you should use either 2% or whole milk to ensure that there is enough fat to create a creamy texture.
Vanilla bean – Because vanilla is the star of the show, I think it’s worth it to use real vanilla bean to flavor these buns. However, if you don’t have vanilla beans on hand, you can use vanilla bean paste or extract instead.
Sugar – Granulated white sugar adds sweetness
Egg yolks – Egg yolks are a requirement for any custard and add important fats. You can save the whites to use for other recipes, such as macarons!
Corn starch – Corn starch acts as a thickening agent
Salt – Salt helps cut through the sweetness and adds additional flavor
Butter – unsalted butter adds richness and is added last to the hot cream

Before filling the buns, we’ll lighten the pastry cream by folding in whipped cream to create an airier texture.
You’ll need a piping bag fitted with a 1/4 inch round piping tip. Before filling the buns, you need to poke a hole in the bottom of the bun and use your finger or a butter knife to poke the inside of the bun to create space for the filling. This is very important – otherwise, you won’t be able to pipe in any cream.
When filling the bun, you want to insert the piping tip and squeeze gently. As the bun fills, you will feel it becoming heavier. Pipe in as much cream as can fit to ensure that there is delicious filling in every bite!

We’re going to use a dry caramel method in order to make the sugar crust, which means we’ll add white sugar directly to a pan without adding any water. The dry caramel method helps create a caramel more quickly.
No, you don’t need a blow torch! This recipe calls for you to cook the sugar over the stove instead of melting it with a blow torch. This will help give the buns a beautiful and shiny sugar coating.
These buns are an absolutely delectable treat, and are so fun to make!
If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.

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]]>Super soft tangzhong brioche bread Read More »
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]]>This tangzhong brioche bread combines two of my favorite breads – buttery, traditional French brioche and soft Japanese milk bread. It takes the gorgeous, golden, buttery texture of brioche and combines it with that perfect fluffiness achieved through the tangzhong method.
The texture of this bread is absolutely gorgeous – a cloud-like, cottony crumb that’s perfect for spreading with lemon curd or hazelnut cream. It takes some time to make, but I promise the result is worth it!

Brioche is a very rich, buttery French bread that has a high fat content. It’s known for it’s beautiful golden yellow color and can be used in sweet or savory recipes.
Because it has added fats, brioche is an enriched bread. I recommend reading my guide to baking enriched breads if this is your first time baking brioche!
No! This brioche recipe uses all purpose flour. No need to use bread flour here.
Traditional brioche does not use the tangzhong method, but to be honest I’ve always found traditional brioche to be a little dry. All that extra butter can lead to the bread easily drying up after just a day or two. By adding tangzhong, we help create and sustain that perfect cloud-like texture.
Tangzhong is a method often used in Chinese baking where liquid and flour are cooked together on the stove and then added to the dough. This gelatinizes the gluten strands, which helps create a softer and more delicious bread.
Making tangzhong is very easy – you simply whisk together flour and milk on the stove over medium heat until it forms a thick paste. Set it aside to cool slightly before adding it to your dough!
The tangzhong will be the only liquid that is used in this recipe!

Along with a super soft texture, we want our brioche to be full of delicious buttery flavor. We’ll achieve this in two ways:
Brioche is a very soft and supple dough, so it can be difficult to knead by hand. If you have a stand mixer, I recommend using it to spare your arms a workout. When using a stand mixer, I always use the paddle attachment instead of the dough hook attachment to avoid ripping the gluten strands. When kneading using my machine, it takes me about 15 – 20 minutes on medium-high speed.
If you’re kneading by hand, I recommend checking out my Japanese milk bread recipe for tips on how to manage very wet and sticky doughs by hand.
You want the dough to have very developed gluten to help create the final fluffy crumb. Use the window pane test to determine if you have kneaded long enough. The dough should easily be able to create a very thin and see-through sheet when you stretch it between your fingers.
I’ve tested this recipe with both an 8×4 inch pan and a 9 x 5 inch pan. Both work well, but you will get a slightly taller loaf using the 8×4 inch pan.
To help give the brioche a beautiful golden brown color, we will brush with egg wash twice – once right after shaping and then again right before putting the loaf in the oven.
We want to get a beautiful oven spring, so first we will bake for 10 minutes and 400°F, then reduce the temperature to 350°F and bake for another 20 minutes. The higher initial temperature encourages yeast activity to create a beautiful final rise.

The brioche will be a beautiful deep golden brown and will make a hollow sound when tapped with a back of the spoon. If you have an oven thermometer, I also recommend taking the internal temperature of the bread which should be 190°F.
Brioche can seem intimidating, but the most important ingredient here is time! Just let your dough sit, and time will do most of the work for you.
If you make this recipe, please let me know! I always love to see what my readers are baking. You can comment below or tag me on Instagram @halicopteraway.

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