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Sea Salt Butter Rolls - the best and softest butter rolls recipe ever. Topped with sea salt, these homemade butter rolls are easy to make and fail-proof. Make them for holidays or every day!
This past summer, I spent a total of seven weeks in Shanghai, China. Little G was attending a Chinese language program.
I got our family an Airbnb which was just a 10 minute walk to little G’s school. There are lots of cafes, bakeries, patisseries and restaurants around.
Every morning, after I dropped him off at school, I would be wandering around–heading to my favorite bakery cafe for a cup of coffee, savoring these hot-off-the-oven pillowy soft, buttery and absolutely delightful Japanese-style Sea Salt Butter Rolls.
My days would always get off to a good start after a couple of the rolls.
Fast forward a few months later, we are now back in California. I miss my daily breakfast routine and decided to make these butter rolls on my own.
Recipe Ingredients
Shopping for the recipe ingredients is not that hard. Here are what goes in the sea salt butter rolls:
- Bread flour
- Instant yeast
- Eggs
- Butter
- Sugar
See the recipe card for full information on ingredients.
Homemade Butter Rolls
How do you make bakery-quality butter rolls at home? I am going to teach you a step-by-step recipe along with pictures below.
Butter rolls are fun to make, and the end results are so worthy of the extra efforts.
These rolls are pillowy soft, with a nice golden sheen. The sea salt adds a nice savory nuance to the rolls, while the butter perfumes the inside with buttery flavor.
With Thanksgiving coming up in a few weeks, this is THE butter roll you need for your family.
Try my Sea Salt Butter Rolls recipe, I am sure you will love it. Happy baking!
Frequently Asked Questions
This recipe is only 420 calories per serving.
What To Serve With Sea Salt Butter Rolls
For a wholesome meal and easy weeknight dinner, I recommend the following recipes.
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Sea Salt Butter Rolls
Ingredients
- 1 cup whole milk, heated
- 1 packet instant yeast
- 5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 4 tablespoons sugar
- 2 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
- 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 stick unsalted butter, cut into 16 cubes, 2 oz./56 g
- 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, for brushing
- 1 tablespoon Maldon sea salt flakes
Instructions
- Add the milk, instant yeast, unsalted butter and egg to the bowl of a stand mixer, follow by sugar, bread flour, all-purpose flour and salt.
- Using the dough hook attachment, mix all the ingredients together until it forms a dough. Turn the speed to 4 and knead for about 10 minutes.
- Once your dough has become smooth, stop kneading and let it proof in a large, greased bowl for 1 hour. After an hour, transfer the dough to a floured surface. Knock out all the air in the dough. Roll the dough to about 16-inch in round shape.
- Use a pizza cutter to cut the dough into 16 triangles. Cut 1/2 stick of cold butter into 16 small cubes. Preheat the oven to 350°F (176°C).
- Add a butter cube to the bottom part of the dough triangle.
- Tug and roll the dough up to form a nice crescent roll shape.
- Pinch the end to make sure it is secured. Transfer each butter roll to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, with the top side facing down. Let it proof for the second time for 1 1/2 hours.
- Gently brush the butter rolls with the melted butter. Sprinkle the top with the sea salt flakes and bake in the oven for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the surface of the butter rolls turn light golden brown.
- Remove from the oven, serve warm with butter or any fruit preserves/jam.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I absolutely love this roll! I had sea salt rolls in Taipei and tried to convince the hotel I was staying to pretty please give me the recipe. They didn’t want to part with it! I was SO happy to use your recipe.. it was perfect but for one thing… the rolls in Taipei had a nice cavern in the dough where the butter was. I learned that if I freeze the butter I can replicate that perfect cave of goodness.
**also,.. this makes amazing cinnamon rolls!
Hi Angela, thanks for the tip!! I will freeze the butter next time. I am so glad this sea salt butter rolls recipe works for you!
Outstanding rolls. I ordered the Maldon salt from Amazon and it is the finishing touch to make the rolls. A substitute would not enhance the flavor. Not an instant roll to make but well worth the time. Makes a great toasted roll as a leftover if done is a toaster oven to go with beef barley soup.
Thank you for sharing your wonderful recipes.
Thanks Phyllis.
Can these be frozen?
You mean the dough? I don’t advice freezing.
Absolutely love this bun too! Grateful if u could provide the ingredients in grams as cups may not be accurate. Thank you in advance!
Hi Grace, as long as you use American cups, the results will be the same.
Hi. 1 packet yeast equal to how many gram and the milk heated for how long? Thanks
Just heat the milk in the microwave until warm. 1/4 oz. or 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast. This is approximately 7 grams.
Hi Bee
Can I use plain flour instead of bread flour and how hot should the milk be?
Thanks
Please follow the instructions and don’t change the ingredients. Just heat up the milk in the microwave or on stove top. It doesn’t matter.
Yummy rolls but most of all I am interested in knowing more About air bob in Shanghai!
What is Air Bob?
In the sea salt crescent rolls you say to use “full milk”. Is that the same as 2% milk?
Cheers
Steve
Whole milk.
Thank you so much for the fantastic recipe look great, but if I don’t have the same mixer like yours, how to start, can I use the simple mixer to get the same results like yours? Looking forward to hear from you
Yours long time fan
Love Grace
Hi Grace, yes, you can use your mixer.
Does the milk need to be heated?
Yes, you can heat the milk.