Look at how tall these rolls rose up in our 12-inch camp Dutch oven! They are over 3-inches tall and are so light and flaky with a crumb that almost melts in your mouth.
I adapted this recipe from Julia Moskin’s recipe posted on the New York Time’s Cooking website and love the results in our camp Dutch oven. I shaped the rolls based on the way the loaf is shaped and on photos I found from a Google search of images. 
I wanted the rolls to have a similar shape as the loaf with its high even humps. I love the way they turned out and hope you do as well.
These tall, soft rolls come from Japan and use a technique that is new to me. Tangzhong is a thick, warm paste made from milk and flour and water that magically makes a delicate crumb that is beautifully flaky. In this recipe, I explain how I shaped the rolls but there are countless other ways to shape them. I found this method successful and insured the rolls were tall and proud.
| Servings | Prep Time |
| 20 hungry friends | 30 minuets |
| Cook Time | Passive Time |
| 20 minutes | 2 1/2 hours |
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These tall, soft rolls come from Japan and use a technique that is new to me. Tangzhong is a thick, warm paste made from milk and flour and water that magically makes a delicate crumb that is beautifully flaky. In this recipe, I explain how I shaped the rolls but there are countless other ways to shape them. I found this method successful and insured the rolls were tall and proud.
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Ingredients
Tangzhong
- 1/3 cup flour
- 1/2 cup whole milk
- 1/2 cup water
Dough
- 1 cup whole milk
- 2 eggs room temperature
- 5 1/2 cups bread flour
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 4 teaspoons active dry yeast
- 2 teaspoons salt
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter very soft
Egg Wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon whole milk
- Kosher salt
Servings: hungry friends
Instructions
- Make the tangzhong. Add flour, milk and water to a 6-inch camp Dutch oven. Whisk briskly to break up any clumps of flour. Place Dutch oven over 2 or 3 hot charcoals and stir constantly. After about 2 minutes, the mixture will quickly transition from very fluid liquid to a thicker consistency. Remove the Dutch oven from the heat and continue to stir until the mixture is very thick and doesn't fall back down after you drag your spoon or spatula through it. If it doesn't thicken up, put the Dutch oven back over the charcoal briefly until it thickens up. Remove from heat and let cool (below 110 degrees Fahrenheit) before adding it to the dough.
- Make the dough. In a small bowl, whisk together 2 eggs and with milk until creamy yellow and egg whites have disappeared. Pour into a small camp Dutch oven and place over 2-3 hot charcoals. Stir constantly and monitor temperature closely. Remove from heat when milk and eggs are around 110 degrees Fahrenheit. Set aside.
- Measure out 5 cups of bread flour in a large mixing bowl. Save the 1/2 cup of flour to add if needed during the kneading process. Add sugar, salt, yeast and stir until ingredients are evenly dispersed. Pour warm milk and egg mixture into flour mixture and stir, then add tangzhong and work it in until dough ball begins to form. Dump dough and any dry bits onto a clean work area and start to knead the dough. I used a bench scrapper to help get the sticky wet bits up off of the working surface.
- The dough will be sticky at the beginning of the kneading process, but eventually it will come together. Add softened butter and knead until a smooth. Add more flour in small amounts, one or two teaspoons at a time, only if the dough is sticking to your hands. Do not add too much flour. Dough should come together in a smooth round shape that is slightly tacky to touch after about 5-8 minutes of kneading.
- Rub a pat of butter around the inside of a bowl that is twice the size of the dough or a dough bucket. Add dough and cover tightly with plastic wrap or lid and place in a warm, draft-free area for 1 to 2 hours or until dough doubles in size.
- Shape the dough into rolls. Remove dough and place on a large working surface that is at least 18 inches long and wide. Gently deflate the dough by rolling it out with a rolling pin until the dough is about 16-inches long and wide and about a half an inch thick.
- Divide the dough into 16 equal size pieces that are about 4-inches wide and long.
- To shape a roll, take one 4x4 piece of dough and roll it out until it is about 8 inches long and about 6 inches wide. Cut it in half to make two rectangles that are about 3 inches by 4 inches.
- Take one rectangle and turn it so the short side is facing you. Using a rolling pin roll the dough out into about a 3 to 4 inches wide by about 7 inches in length.
- Fold the short end of the top third of the dough towards the center.
- Fold the short end of the bottom third on top of the other fold. The little package should be about 3 to 4 inches long and about 2 inches wide.
- Here is a side view of the folds.
- Pick up the tidy package of dough in the middle and fold it in half so that the short ends come together underneath. It will look like a horseshoe standing up on its ends.
- Prepare a camp Dutch oven by spraying with oil or smearing butter around the bottom and up the sides. I used a 12-inch camp Dutch oven and had about a dozen rolls left over. You can use a larger oven to bake more rolls. Place shaped rolls in the prepared Dutch oven fairly closely together, with just a small space between each roll (maybe 1/4 of an inch).
- Cover with lid and place in a warm, draft-free area and let the rolls rise again until nearly doubled in size (about 40 minutes).
- Prepare egg wash by whisking together one egg and a splash of milk until it is a creamy yellow color and no egg whites are visible. Using a pastry brush, gently paint each roll with the egg wash being careful not to smash the light and fluffy dough. Sprinkle Kosher salt (optional but we love the sparkle of salt that catches our eye and the extra zip of salt on the tongue).
- Bake rolls at 350 degrees Fahrenheit by placing Dutch oven over a ring of 9 hot charcoals. Place 15-16 hot charcoals around the outer edge of the lid. Wrap with protective screen if it is windy or cold. Bake for 15 minutes. Rotate lid clockwise and oven counter-clockwise. Lift lid quickly to check the color of the tops. When the tops turn golden brown, insert an instant read thermometer. Bread is done when internal temp is around 200 degrees Fahrenheit. If you don't have an instant read thermometer, a toothpick should come out cleanly with just a few crumbs attached.
Recipe Notes
Note: This recipe will make 36 rolls. I only baked 20 which is the maximum that will fit comfortably in a 12-inch camp Dutch oven. You can bake more rolls in larger ovens. If you cut this recipe in half, try baking them in a 10-inch deep camp Dutch oven. You will need the deep to allow room for the tall rolls to bake without burning them on the lid. If you cut the recipe in half, do not cut the ingredients for the tangzhong in half. Prepare it according to the directions but only use 1/2 a cup in the dough and throw the remaining tangzhong away.
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