Salt Bread (Sogeum-ppang - Korean Bakery Butter Roll)
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.
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Instructions
- 1
Mix milk, yeast, and sugar in a bowl, rest for 5 minutes, then add bread flour and salt to form a rough dough.
- 2
Knead in room-temperature butter for about 10 minutes until smooth and elastic, then proof for 60 minutes.
- 3
Divide into 8 pieces, round and rest for 10 minutes, roll into triangles, add filling butter, and roll like croissants.
- 4
Place on a tray, proof again for 35 minutes, brush lightly with egg wash, and sprinkle flaky sea salt on top.
- 5
Bake in a 190°C preheated oven for 16-18 minutes, then cool on a rack for 10 minutes to set the buttery aroma.
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Nutrition (per serving)
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