Another weekend of staying inside to prevent infecting anyone with Covid. This meant plenty of time to tend to proofing dough for delicious recipes. I found this pull apart rolls recipe in my copy of “Dessert Person” by Claire Saffitz. I modified the recipe slightly by going overboard with the chives and also adjusting the sour cream. Mostly because I didn’t have a full cup and wasn’t about to leave to pick up a single ingredient. They turned out pretty delicious but the proofing times were definitely longer. Anyway, on to the recipe.
Recipe Notes
So these pull apart rolls have several steps to prep the dough before it can be proofed. The total prep time before you can bake them is considerable. If you’re trying to make these as part of a fancy dinner, like say Thanksgiving, I’d almost recommend making them the night before then chucking them in the fridge for the second proof to make your life easier.
Anyway, the first step is to prepare a tangzhong, which helps the dough hold onto moisture so the rolls end up super soft and pull apart so easily. Whisk the milk, flour, and water in a sauce pan until smooth. Heat the mixture over medium-low heat, whisking constantly until it thickens into a paste that looks like mashed potatoes.
Transfer the mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer. Next, add the remaining milk to the sauce pan. The residual heat in the pan should bring the milk up to 105 degrees but you can check with an instant-read thermometer if you like. Whisk the yeast into the milk and set aside until foamy, around 5 minutes.
Dough Notes & Substitutions
In the bowl if your stand mixture with the tangzhong mixture, add the sour cream, sugar, kosher salt, 2 eggs, 57 grams of butter (4 tbsp), and bread flour. If you’re short on sour cream like I was, cottage cheese will also work. I’d recommend blending it before adding to get rid of any curds. I did a half cup of sour cream and half a cup of cottage cheese and they turned out fine, not sure if it’ll still work if you substitute all of the sour cream for cottage cheese. I found my proofing times were much longer and think the cottage cheese may have had something to do with this, so just a heads up.
Add the yeast mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer and mix on low until a shaggy dough forms. Once the dough forms, increase the mixer speed and mix until the dough is very smooth and the gluten is well developed, around 8-10 minutes. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball. Place the ball of dough in a large clean bowl and cover with cling film. Set in a warm place to proof until doubled in size, around 90 minutes. Mine took around 150 minutes, not sure if that was because of the cottage cheese or my yeast is just starting to get old. It also helps to take a picture of your dough at the start of the first proof so you know what its original size was when you’re wondering if its “doubled” in size yet.
Pull Apart Rolls Shaping Notes
Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down to remove some of the air and turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Stretch the dough into a square and roll out to roughly 12″. Add more flour underneath the dough as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking. Once the dough is rolled out and not sticky, add the chopped chives to the top of the dough. Loosely roll the dough into a roll and using the palm of your hand, press the dough down into a rectangle. Next, roll the dough into a 16″x6″ rectangle. Using your bench scraper, cut the dough into an 8×3 grid.
Take one piece of dough and press the edges together to make a teardrop shape. Place the dough seam side down on your work surface. Without adding any flour, roll the dough into a ball and place in the prepared pan. Repeat with the other 23 pieces. Cover the pan in cling film and let proof for another hour or until the rolls have doubled in size.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and set one of your oven racks in the middle while the rolls are in their second proof. If you’re using a glass pan, reduce your oven temperature by 25 degrees Fahrenheit.
Baking and Final Notes for your Pull Apart Rolls
Once the rolls have doubled in size, beat an egg with a fork until smooth and no streaks remain. Brush the tops of the rolls with the egg. Next add flaky salt and ground black pepper. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the rolls are a deep golden brown. Once the rolls are done, remove from the oven and brush the tops with the last 28 grams (2 tbsp) of butter and let cool in the pan for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, cut around the edges of the rolls and using a spatula, lift the rolls out of the pan and let cool on a wire rack. They’re best served warm but can also be eaten at room temperature.
Chive & Sour Cream Pull Apart Rolls
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- 13×9 baking pan preferably metal
- Bench scraper
- Pastry Brush
- Instant-read thermometer optional
- Rolling pin (wine bottle works in a pinch)
Ingredients
Tangzhong Ingredients
- 113 grams Milk
- 43 grams Bread Flour
- 113 grams Water
Dough Ingredients
- 30 grams Milk (2 tbsp)
- 5 grams Dry Yeast
- 232 grams sour cream (1 cup)
- 50 grams granulated sugar
- 12 grams Kosher Salt
- 2 Eggs
- 57 grams Unsalted Butter, softened (4 tbsp)
- 650 grams Bread Flour
Fillings
- 20 grams Chives, finely chopped 1/2 cup worth
- Flaky salt & fresh ground black pepper
- 1 Egg
Instructions
Dough Preparation
- Add 113 grams of milk, 32 grams of bread flour, and 113 grams of water to a small sauce pan and whisk until smooth.
- Set over medium-low heat and cook, whisking constantly, until you have a thick paste that resembles mashed potatoes. Remove from the heat and transfer mixture to the bowl of your stand mixer and attach the dough hook.
- In the same sauce pan, add the 30 grams of milk and the yeast. The milk should be warm, around 105 degrees Fahrenheit. Use your instant-read thermometer if you want but its not strictly necessary. Whisk the yeast until dissolved and set aside until foamy.
- In the bowl of the stand mixer with the paste mixture, add the sour cream, sugar, kosher salt, 2 eggs, 57 grams of butter (4 tbsp), and the bread flour. Add the yeast mixture and mix on low until a shaggy dough forms
- Increase mixer speed to medium and mix for another 8-10 minutes or until the dough is very smooth. Add more flour if the dough is very sticky.
- Scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto a clean work surface dusted with flour. Shape the dough into a ball and place into a large clean bowl and cover with cling film. Set in a warm place to proof until doubled in size, around 1½ hours.
Baking Prep and Dough Shaping
- While the dough is proofing, take 28 grams of butter (2 tbsp) and generously coat the bottom and sides of your 13×9 pan.
- Wash the chives and finely chop. Set aside
- When the dough has doubled in size, punch it down a bit then turn out onto a floured work surface and stretch it into a square.
- Roll the dough out into a 12 inch square and sprinkle the chopped chives evenly over the top. Loosely roll the dough up, enclosing the chives. Press the roll down into a rectangle using your hands.
- Roll the dough out again into a 16×6 rectangle. Using a bench scraper, cut the rectangle into 24 pieces by making two cuts long-ways and seven cuts short-ways to make an 8×3 grid. See photos above for a step by step of this process.
- Take one piece of dough and pinch the edges together to form a teardrop shape. Place the dough seam side down on your work surface, do not add flour to your work surface, you want the dough to stick a bit to help form it into a ball.
- Holding your hand like a claw, use the palm of your hand to press into the dough and move in a circular motion to form the dough into a ball shape. Place the prepared dough ball into the prepared pan. Repeat with the other 23 pieces of dough, arranging the dough in a 4×6 grid. Move quickly so the dough can rise evenly for its second proof.
- Cover the pan with cling film and proof for another hour or until the dough has doubled in size. While the dough is proofing, preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and place a rack in the center of the oven.
- When rolls are ready, beat remaining egg and brush on top of the rolls. Sprinkle the tops of the rolls with flaky salt and ground black pepper.
- Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the tops of the rolls are a deep golden brown.
- Once rolls are done, brush the tops of the rolls with the remaining 28 grams (2 tbsp) of butter and add any additional salt you want. Let the rolls cool in the pan for 15 minutes.
- Cut around the edges of the pan and then use a spatula to remove the rolls from the pan and place on a wire rack to cool. Serve warm.
