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These melt-in-your-mouth dinner rolls, from Claire Saffitz’s cookbook Dessert Person, are even more tender and pillowy than the classic Parker House rolls that inspired this recipe. That’s thanks to the addition of tangzhong, a white roux made from flour and milk cooked to a stiff paste, often used to make Japanese milk bread. The cooked starches in the tangzhong help the dough retain moisture and keeps the rolls super soft and light. The slight onion flavor of chives and tang of sour cream give them oomph. They’re as equally excellent at mopping up gravy as they are at holding the contents of a leftover turkey sandwich. “If food could give you a hug, these rolls definitely would,” says Claire.
Recipe information
Yield
Makes 24
Ingredients
½
5⅓
1½
1
¼
4
3
8
½
Preparation
Step 1
Whisk ½ cup milk, ⅓ cup flour (42 g), and ½ cup water in a small saucepan until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until a very stiff paste forms (it should resemble mashed potatoes), about 2 minutes. Remove from heat; scrape tangzhong into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook.
Step 2
Gently warm remaining 2 Tbsp. milk in same saucepan over low heat until lukewarm. Remove from heat, add yeast, and whisk until dissolved. Let sit until mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.
Step 3
Add sour cream, sugar, kosher salt, 2 eggs, 4 Tbsp. butter, and remaining 5 cups bread flour (625 g) to tangzhong. Scrape in yeast mixture and mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. Increase speed to medium and mix, scraping down sides of bowl occasionally and adding more flour by the tablespoonful if sticky, until dough is smooth and supple, 8–10 minutes.
Step 4
Scrape dough onto a work surface and form into a smooth ball; dust lightly with flour. Place inside a clean large bowl and cover with plastic wrap or a silicone lid. Let sit in a warm, draft-free spot until doubled in size, 1–1½ hours.
Step 5
Meanwhile, coat a 13x9" pan, preferably metal, with 2 Tbsp. butter (it will be a generous layer, which is what you want). Uncover dough and punch down lightly to expel some of the gas.
Step 6
Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and stretch into a square.
Step 7
Roll out, dusting with more flour as needed to prevent sticking, to a 12" square and sprinkle chives evenly over dough.
Step 8
Starting at one end, loosely roll up dough. Flatten with the heel of your hands into a long rectangle. Roll out dough again, dusting with more flour as needed, into a 16x6" rectangle.
Step 9
Using a wheel cutter or bench scraper, cut dough into twenty-four 2"-squarish pieces (an 8x3 grid).
Step 10
Working with 1 piece of dough, gather all the corners and pinch together to form a teardrop shape. Place seam side down on work surface. Cup your hand over dough and drag across surface, moving your hand in a rapid circular motion, to form dough into a tight ball. Do not add flour, as you want friction between the dough and the surface. Place ball in prepared pan and repeat with remaining pieces of dough, spacing to make a 6x4 grid. Cover pan with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm, draft-free spot until rolls are nearly doubled in size, 45–60 minutes.
Step 11
Meanwhile, place a rack in middle of oven; preheat to 375°.
Step 12
Using a fork, whisk remaining egg in a small bowl until no streaks remain. Uncover pan and gently brush tops of rolls with egg, then sprinkle with sea salt and pepper. Bake rolls until tops are deep golden brown, 25–30 minutes.
Step 13
Remove pan from oven and immediately brush tops with remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Let cool in pan 5 minutes. Slide a knife or an offset spatula around sides of pan to loosen rolls, then slide a metal spatula underneath to loosen the bottom. Slide entire grid of rolls out and onto a wire rack. Serve warm or let cool.
Step 14
Do ahead: Rolls can be formed and arranged in pan 1 day ahead; cover and chill. Let rise at room temperature before baking (this can take up to 3 hours). Rolls can be baked 3 days ahead. Let cool; store airtight at room temperature.
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Reviews (263)
Back to Topperfect! can't let thanksgiving go by without them!
Brian R.
Austin, TX
11/28/2023
I broke the cardinal rule of Thanksgiving and made these for the first time the day of the event. Spoiler: they were perfect! I used the weight measurements for the flour, except during mixing when I added Tbsp amounts as instructed. I recommend watching Claire's video on her YouTube channel for some good tips. These rolls are going into my rotation and I'll definitely add them to the annual holiday menu. I think the base recipe is so versatile, too. I can imagine adding flavors, omitting the chives, all kinds of options here. The dough was a dream to work with and the texture of the rolls was perfect.
Katie
Brooklyn, NY
11/24/2023
I made these rolls for Thanksgiving and we loved them! The only issue I had was that the bottoms cooked much quicker than the tops. I used an aluminum pan like Claire suggested in her video, and by the time my rolls were golden the bottoms were DARK. They were lovely otherwise, but I'm not sure what went wrong for me. It may have been my pan or my oven, so I may make them again in glass so I can monitor the bottoms.
Riley
Alanta, GA
11/24/2023
Delicious! Puffy and filled with flavor. I added a pinch of Garlic Powder to the butter while basting at the end.
SingerChef
Fountain Inn, SC
9/22/2023
This is the FIRST bread recipe in which al the amounts of ingredients listed are perfect. I was shocked, I actually used 5 cups of flour. the dough feels extraordinary. I cannot wait until the rolls come out of the oven.
Zina
Washington DC
5/4/2023
I am sorta new to bread-making, and have never attempted dinner rolls before, but I decided to give these a try for Christmas dinner...they turned out AMAZING. They are probably the most delicious dinner roll I've ever had...so rich and tender...everyone loved them!
Scott Weber
Portland, OR
1/11/2023
So far, so good. They smell amazing! They look amazing! Waiting for them yo cool down. Can't wait to dig in! They look exactly like the picture. :-)
KathyD
Mesa, AZ
12/31/2022