Whisk the warm milk, yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar together in a small bowl and let it sit for 5 minutes until bubbles appear.
1 cup whole milk, 2 ¼ teaspoons dry active yeast, 2 tablespoons white sugar
Pour this mixture into your stand mixer fitted with the hook attachment. Add the other tablespoon of sugar, the egg, egg yolk, butter, salt and flour. Beat on low speed until the dough comes together for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to medium and beat for another 2-3 minutes. The dough will be soft and sticky, if it is too sticky then add another tablespoon of flour.
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1 large egg yolk, 1 ½ teaspoons fine salt, 4 ⅛ cups bread flour
Take the dough out of the bowl, or use another bowl, and grease it with vegetable oil. Place the dough back into the bowl and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let the dough rise until it is double in size, this should take about an hour to an hour and a half.
Grease a 9x13 pan with butter.
Gently deflate the dough with your fist, then take it out of the bowl onto a surface. Use a bench scraper or pizza wheel to divide the dough into 12 pieces. I recommend weighing them! They should be 76 grams each.
Use your hands to form them into a ball (you can see in this video how to do it) and place into the buttered pan. Bring the edges of each dough ball together onto one side, pinching it. Place the dough ball seam side down, and place your hand on top, slightly cupping it. Roll the dough on an unfloured counter until the seams are sealed. It should be a circle with a tight top!
Cover the pan with a clean kitchen towel or cling film and let them rise for 1 hour. Preheat the oven to 350°Fahrenheit/175°Celsius. In a small bowl, whisk an egg with a tablespoon of water. Take the kitchen towel off the rolls, they should now have risen and be touching each other, and brush each one with egg wash.
1 large egg
Bake for 23-28 minutes. While baking, whisk melted butter with salt (and optional garlic/herbs). They should turn a dark golden brown. Once of the oven, brush with melted butter mixture and sprinkle over sea salt.
My recipes have been developed and tested in cups and metric grams. I highly recommend using a weighing scale and measuring out your ingredients the metric way.I make sure that all of my ingredients are at room temperature before I start the recipe, so pull out all of the ingredients before you start baking.Butter: I use European style butter, like Kerry Gold, in my recipes. This will make your bread rolls much creamier and richer.Freezing: Let the rolls cool completely. Place in a freezer bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. To serve, take them out of the freezer the night before and let them defrost in the fridge. The next morning, heat your oven to 350 and bake for about 10 minutes. Make Ahead: You can prepare the recipe ahead of time. Make the bread rolls up until step 6, when you’ve placed them in the dish. Let them rise for just 30 minutes, then place in the fridge overnight. Allow them to come to room temperature the next morning for 1 hour before baking.