Understanding Milk Bread
Milk bread, a white bread enriched with milk, egg, and butter, creates a tender crumb with a rich buttery flavor. Its satisfying texture and ease of preparation make it the preferred dough for crafting these delightful cloverleaf rolls.
Ingredients for Cloverleaf Rolls
- Water – start with warm filtered water (110-115˚F) to activate your yeast
- Active dry yeast – you’ll need 1 packet or 2 1/4 tsp of yeast
- Milk – use warm low fat milk (whole milk will also work)
- Butter – either melted and cooled or very soft butter
- Granulated sugar – feeds the yeast to make the rolls rise beautifully
- Egg – use a large, room temperature egg
- Salt – we use fine sea salt
- Bread Flour – has a higher protein content to produce a softer bread. Also, make sure to measure flour correctly.
Common Questions
Can I substitute for instant yeast?
This recipe works best with active dry yeast and that is the yeast we recommend. Instant yeast will work, but it will speed up the rising process and the texture won’t be quite the same.
Can I freeze dinner rolls?
Yes, dinner rolls are freezer friendly and if you freeze them the day they are baked, they will taste fresher when they are thawed. See instructions for freezing in the “make-ahead” section below.
Can I use all-purpose flour?
It’s best to use bread flour because of its higher protein content which helps to develop the gluten in the dough, resulting in a softer dinner roll.
