There’s a tasty place to eat in Davidson, North Carolina called the Kindred Restaurant. Although the entire menu is delicious, there’s a special kind of milk bread served as an appetizer at every table. This is the real reason people keep coming back to the restaurant. Here, you’ll learn how to bake this dough in just a few steps. It’s a functional and tasty recipe that has uses far beyond bread. You can make toast, doughnuts, burger buns, sandwich bread, and more.
Preparation Time: 2′ 30″
Cooking Time: 1′
Makes: 12 buns or 6 rolls
Grocery List:
- A few cups of flour to be used in the bread and for rolling the dough
- 3 tbsp of nonfat milk powder
- 1/3 cup of wild honey
- 1 cup of heavy cream
- 2 tbsp of dry yeast
- 3 large divided eggs
- 2 tbsp of kosher salt
- 4 tbsp or half-a-stick of unsalted butter (store at room temperature and cut into pieces)
- Flaky sea salt
- Vegetable oil spray
Directions
Put 1 cup of water and 1/3 cup of flour into a small saucepan and place over a range with medium heat. Whisk the mixture until it becomes a thick paste. You should be aiming for the consistency of a roux but a tiny bit looser. This should only take you around 5 minutes. Next, add the honey and cream to the mixture. Continue to whisk until the honey dissolves.
Pour this mixture from the saucepan into the bowl of a mixer. Be sure your mixer has a dough hook. Throw in the remaining cups of flour, 2 eggs, kosher salt, yeast, and milk powder. Use a medium speed setting to knead the dough until its smooth. This should only take around 5 minutes. Next, add the butter slices individually. Be sure each piece is thoroughly mixed into the dough before you add the next piece. In the end, the dough should be elastic, shiny, and smooth.
After coating a big bowl with the nonstick spray, move the dough. Make sure to turn the dough over and over to coat all sides. Place some plastic wrap over the bowl and let it sit for about an hour.
Grab a 6-cup muffin pan and coat it with nonstick spray if you’re making rolls. Lay some flour onto a smooth surface and begin rolling out the dough. Divide the dough into 6 pieces, and then each of these into 4 pieces. You should have 24 in the end. Set 4 of these pieces next to each other in every muffin cup.
For those making loaves, start by covering two loaf pans entirely with nonstick spray. Place some flour onto a smooth surface and start rolling the dough. This time, you’ll need 12 individual pieces. Set these cuts next to each other and create 2 different rows. Each should be roughly the length of the pan.
If you’re making split-top buns, use 9 x 13-inch baking dishes and split the dough into 12 different pieces that are each around 4-inches long.
Preheat your oven to 375-degrees Fahrenheit. Beat the remaining egg in 1 tsp of water. Rub this water/egg mixture over the dough and place the sea salt on top (optional). Bake the confection until it’s golden brown throughout. Be sure to rotate it halfway through. This should take around 30 minutes for the rolls, 55 minutes for the loaf, and 35 minutes for the buns.
If you’re preparing buns, be sure to cut each bun in the middle. Allow the milk bread to cool on a wire rack.
