This recipe came a multitude of reasons. The first being me accidentally buying 8 sticks of salted butter and needing to use them somehow, the second being that I was craving homemade bread with oxtail stew, and the third being I miss Japanese-styled bakeries, and those fluffy milk rolls they’d always sell. So after doing some research on what goes int and recipe testing, I came up with a bread recipe of my very own. In this recipe, I use mochiko and cake flour to yield a softer texture in the final product. Additionally, what makes this bread special is that it is meant to be eaten warm. Mochiko, when used in anything, created a soft, chewy texture whenever things it’s used in are warmed, but it becomes firm and hard when chilled (mochi is an obvious reference point to this). These milk rolls are similar in that when warm, they are soft, fluffy, and light, but when cold, they become dense and almost rock-like. So I recommend when you’re making this bread, store it in the refrigerator in a sealed, airtight container, but when you want to eat it, heat the rolls, either in the oven, on a pan, just until the bread feels warm. The moment the exterior of the roll is warm, the interior will have that etherial texture you really want in this kind of bread.

2 1/3 cups all purpose flour
2/3 cups mochiko
2/3 cups cake flour
3/4 cups milk
2 tablespoons malted milk powder
1 stick butter (melted into milk)
A pinch of salt* (omit if using salted butter)
1 egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
Starter*

Starter
1 packet active-dry yeast
1/4 cup 110 degree F water
1 tablespoon sugar

Glaze:
1 egg
1 tablespoon milk

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Combine milk and butter and heat on a stove in a pot until melted. Cool down to room temperature. Mix in the egg and sugar. Make a well in a bowl with the flours. Pour in the starter and the butter mixture. Mix into a dough and pour into a lightly floured sugar. Knead for 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic enough to spring back up when you press down on it. Place in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Proof dough in a warm room for 1 hour. Roll into individual buns, place on a baking tray, and proof again for 1 more hour. Before baking, brush with the glaze. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bake rolls for 25-30 minutes.

For starter: 1/4 cup 110 degree F water 1 packet active dry yeast 1 tablespoon sugar To make starter, mix ingredients and allow to sit in a warm but not hot room for 10 minutes or until mixture is foamy.