Pull-Apart Sour Cream and Chive Rolls

Is there anything better than fresh bread straight out of the oven served with a slab of butter? 

When I came across the recipe for Pull-Apart Sour Cream and Chive Rolls, I had to see if this recipe was a level up from my regular bread roll recipe. 

Was it?

Oh, yes. And, I would make this recipe again and again.  

The rolls start with tangzhong, in this case a mix of water, milk and flour whisked at medium-low heat until it’s thickened into this beautiful creamy paste. It’s a similar texture to a roux, but the difference is there is no butter in the mix. You take the tangzhong off of the heat immediately after it thickens and then let it cool. Tangzhong creates the softest base texture, and it is a common ingredient in Japanese milk bread. 

Sour cream and eggs enrich this dough and give it a brioche-like depth as well as a slight chew and a tang. The dough is yeasted, and goes through a classic 2-rise process. Once it has completed its first rise, you roll it out like you would a classic cinnamon bun dough. But, this is a savoury recipe, so instead of butter, cinnamon and sugar this dough gets sprinkled with beautiful fresh chives or green onion. Then, it’s folded up gently and cut into pieces. The result is a layering of herbs, much in the same way you’d get layers of butter in pastry.

An important tip is to ensure that the herb of choice is completely dry when you cut, otherwise you get clumping. Slicing up herbs is a great opportunity to practice knife skills. However, I have to be honest, sometimes I love using a pair of kitchen scissors. (If you haven’t used scissors in the kitchen, trust me, it can be a very useful tool.)

These buns are basted in a little butter (yum!) when they come out of the oven and then, it’s time. I find pull-apart rolls so satisfying. The nerdy baker in me loves to examine how the yeast has done its work. But, honestly it’s just fun to pull off a roll, or two. Or three.

With the holiday season approaching, I am definitely going to be using this recipe! 

Note: As an extra step, you could cut and weigh out the rolls, making adjustments so that each is the same weight. This helps all of the buns bake evenly, and you don’t get any that are overdone or underdone.