Salt Bread (Sogeum-ppang - Korean Bakery Butter Roll)
Quick answer
Salt bread is a Korean bakery favorite built on a simple premise: yeasted dough enriched with milk is wrapped around a plug of cold butter, shaped into a tapered roll, an...
What makes this special
- Cold butter tucked into the roll before baking melts through Sogeum-ppang to produce its salty, rich crumb.
- Thorough kneading builds the tight crumb that gives shio-pan its characteristic chew
- Wrapping a piece of butter inside before rolling lets it melt in during baking to keep the inside moist
Key ingredients
Core cooking flow
- 1 Stir 4 g instant yeast and 20 g sugar into 180 ml milk, then let it stand for 5 minutes.
- 2 When the dough comes together, knead in 25 g unsalted butter for about 10 minutes.
- 3 Press the proofed dough gently to release gas, divide it into 8 pieces, and round each one.
Salt bread is a Korean bakery favorite built on a simple premise: yeasted dough enriched with milk is wrapped around a plug of cold butter, shaped into a tapered roll, and baked at high heat. The butter melts during baking and saturates the crumb from the inside out, while the exterior develops a thin, crackling crust. Coarse salt sprinkled on top before the oven amplifies the butter's richness and adds sharp, crystalline bites that punctuate each mouthful. A full second proof is essential - underproofed dough bakes dense and heavy - and a hot oven ensures the outside crisps before the interior dries out. Eaten warm, when the melted butter is still pooled inside the crumb, the bread delivers its full impact: salty, buttery, and gone in four bites.
Instructions
Read the steps as a cooking flow: prep, heat, seasoning, doneness control, and finish.
- 1Season
Stir 4 g instant yeast and 20 g sugar into 180 ml milk, then let it stand for 5 minutes.
When a few bubbles appear, add 300 g bread flour and 5 g salt and mix into a shaggy dough.
- 2Season
When the dough comes together, knead in 25 g unsalted butter for about 10 minutes.
Stop when the surface is smooth and the dough stretches thinly, then proof for 60 minutes at 24-26°C until noticeably puffy.
- 3Control
Press the proofed dough gently to release gas, divide it into 8 pieces, and round each one.
Cover so the surface does not dry, rest for 10 minutes, and keep the 40 g filling butter cut into 8 cold pieces.
- 4Step
Roll each dough piece into a long triangle and place a cold butter piece on the wide end.
Enclose the butter at the start so it cannot leak out, then roll to the tip without leaving loose gaps.
- 5Season
Place the rolls seam side down on a tray and proof for 35 minutes.
When a gentle finger press springs back slowly, brush on a thin layer of beaten egg and sprinkle 4 g flaky sea salt over the tops.
- 6Finish
Bake in a 190°C preheated oven for 16-18 minutes.
Remove when the tops are deep golden and buttery aroma is clear, then cool on a rack for 10 minutes and serve while still warm inside.
After the steps
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