Butterflake Rolls
Buttery flaky dinner rolls made from a potato flour enriched dough laminated with butter. A cross between a croissant and a dinner roll, these have layers upon layers of incredibly soft bread.
Servings 9 large rolls
Ingredients
- 240g or 1 cup whole milk warmed to touch
- 1 ½ teaspoon active dry yeast
- 2 tablespoon fine granulated sugar
- 325g or 2 ½ cups all purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
- ¼ cup potato flour
- 57g or ¼ cup butter unsalted and softened (or partially melted)
- 1-2 tablespoons Water as needed
- 113g or ½ cup salted or unsalted butter softened (for the butter block)
- 1 egg yolk for the egg wash
- 1 tablespoon milk for the egg wash
Instructions
- Make the dough: add the warmed milk to the bowl of a stand mixer and whisk in the yeast. Leave it for a few minutes to bloom. Add the sugar, flour, salt, and potato flour to the bowl and affix the dough hook attachment. Knead the dough on low until it starts to come together around the dough hook, then add the butter and keep kneading. If the dough looks a bit dry, add a tablespoon or two of water. Continue kneading until the dough once again comes around the dough hook and is tacky. Set the dough on a countertop and knead by hand until smooth, just a minute or two.Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and leave to rise at room temperature for about an hour, then transfer to the fridge for an overnight rest.
- Prep the butter block: use a half sheet of parchment paper (9x13 inches) folded in half. Slice the butter horizontally into three pieces so you have three long rectangles and arrange them into the bottom half of the parchment paper. Fold the top half of the paper over the butter and use a rolling pin to press and roll the butter to (mostly) fill the parchment. Set in the fridge to chill and firm.
- Laminate: After a long rest and chill, the dough should be very pliable. Take the butter block out of the fridge for 5 minutes, just to warm very slightly. Flour the counter well and turn the dough onto it. Flour the top as well (this is a sticky, thin dough). Roll out the dough so it’s just over twice the size of the butter block. Set the butter on the bottom half of the dough and fold the top half of the dough over it. Press the edges of the dough where it wasn't folded (three sides) to seal in the butter.
- Roll the dough out to twice its size and fold it in half. Turn the dough so the shorter side is now facing you and roll it out again, this time into a very long rectangle - flour the dough well as you do and avoid pushing the dough so far that it starts to resist. As you roll, sprinkle flour as often as needed so the dough doesn't stick to the rolling pin or countertop. Aim for about 30 inches long and 10-12 inches wide. Do a letter fold: fold the bottom third up then the top third over. Sprinkle with flour and roll the dough out again so you can perform one more, slightly smaller, letter fold. The dough will start to resist now so it’s time for it to rest: wrap it in plastic wrap and set in the fridge for about 2 hours.
- Shape the rolls: rub a square, 9x9 inch metal cake pan with oil. Let the dough sit at room temperature for 10 minutes. Roll out the rested dough on a well floured countertop, so it’s roughly 14 inches long and 11 inches wide. Use a pastry wheel to slice the dough into 9 strips from the longer side; I like to trim off the edges on the top and bottom. Each of these strips will be coiled: one at a time roll them like you would a cinnamon roll then place the dough in the pan, arranging them so there are three in each row. Cover with a damp tea towel and leave to rise at room temperature.
- Bake the rolls: When you can press the side of the dough and it does not immediately spring back, they are ready to bake. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Whisk the egg yolk and tablespoon of milk or heavy cream together and use a pastry brush to brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. Bake the rolls until they are deeply golden all over, for about 30 minutes.
- The rolls keep well in an airtight container.