Ingredients

Tangzhong

• 43g or ⅓ cup bread flour
• 65g or ½ cup whole milk
• 65g or ½ cup water

Sour Cream Dough

• 120g or ½ cup warm water
• 2 teaspoons instant yeast or active dry
• 512g or 4 cups bread flour
• 100g or ½ cup granulated sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 50g or ¼ cup canola oil
• 1-2 teaspoons vanilla
• 100g or scant ½ cup full fat sour cream

Filling

• 113g or ½ cup unsalted butter at a warm room temperature, or overly soft (if you are browning the butter, cold is fine)
• 130g or ⅔ cup dark brown sugar
• ½ teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1 tablespoon all purpose flour
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg or freshly grated

Cream Cheese Frosting

• 6 ounces brick cream cheese at room temperature
• 4 tablespoons butter at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1-1.5 cups powdered sugar
• 3 tablespoons milk

Instructions

• Make the tangzhong: in a small pot, whisk together the bread flour, water and milk. Cook on medium whisking frequently until the mix turns into a thick paste, about 5 minutes.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the 1/2 cup warm water (microwave 30 seconds) and sprinkle the yeast over it. Whisk or stir gently to dissolve then let set for about 5 minutes, until it starts to foam.
• Over the yeast add the flour, sugar, sour cream, salt, vanilla, oil, and the flour paste (tangzhong). Knead on medium speed until the dough starts to clean the bowl and come around the dough hook, this can take up to 15 minutes. When it’s done it won’t have a smooth surface but won’t be overly sticky. Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Set it to rise on the counter for a couple of hours until it has doubled in size.
• Grease a 13×9 cake pan.
• Option to brown the butter: place the butter in a frying pan and cook on medium heat. It will melt, then sizzle and sputter. Once it goes quiet transfer it to a heatproof bowl making sure to scrape in the brown specks let cool until it reaches a solid but creamy state.
• Mix the softened butter with the brown sugar, vanilla, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg. If it looks like it will be difficult to spread, warm it briefly in the microwave.
• Roll out the dough onto a well floured surface to about a half inch thickness. Spread the filling onto the dough and roll it up into a log from the shorter side. Using unwaxed dental floss or dough scraped, slice the log into 12 rolls and arrange them in the prepared pan – if you are running out of space, bake the extra rolls in a cupcake pan. Cover the pan with a tea towel and let them rise until they are puffy and when you press them, the dough doesn’t immediately spring back (about an hour, more if your kitchen is cold).
• Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake the rolls for 30 minutes, until they are slightly browned.
• For cream cheese frosting use a hand mixer to mix the butter and cream cheese, add the vanilla and powdered sugar. Add the milk a tablespoon at a time until it is at the consistency you would like. You can use 4 ounces of cream cheese or 6 if you want extra frosting.
• When the rolls are cooled for 7-10 minutes frost with cream cheese frosting.