Gino Fabbri’s Milk Rolls: Soft Italian Bread Rolls

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mall homemade Italian milk rolls, soft and lightly golden, made from Gino Fabbri’s recipe.

Today I'm sharing a recipe for soft milk rolls from one of the great names in Italian pastry-making: Gino Fabbri.

Born in Castenaso, just outside Bologna, Fabbri is one of Italy's best-known master pastry chefs. His career began in a small pastry shop in his hometown, and in 1982 he opened his own pastry shop in Bologna together with his wife Morena: Gino Fabbri Pasticcere. Over the years, he has become an important figure in Italian pastry-making, receiving several prestigious awards and leading the Italian team to victory at the 2015 Coupe du Monde de la Pâtisserie.

The recipe is his, and I have only changed the way the rolls are shaped and their size, simply for convenience.

One ingredient worth mentioning is milk powder. I recommend dissolving it thoroughly in the milk before adding it to the dough, especially if yours comes in small flakes rather than a very fine powder. This will help it blend evenly into the mixture.

The result is a batch of soft, delicate milk rolls, perfect for breakfast, a snack or a buffet. Their small size makes them particularly handy to fill with sweet or savoury ingredients.

Gino Fabbri’s Milk Rolls

Recipe 

Yield: Approximately 25 small, bite sized rolls
Preparation time: 30 minutes
Resting time: 12 hours in the refrigerator
Proofing time: Until doubled in size
Cooking time: 5–6 minutes
Total time: Approximately 13 hours, plus proofing and cooling

Ingredients

  • 670 g strong bread flour

  • 360 g milk

  • 66 g milk powder

  • 130 g butter

  • 33 g caster sugar

  • 33 g fresh yeast

  • 13 g fine salt

  • 1 egg, beaten, for brushing

Method

  1. Dissolve the fresh yeast in 100 g of the milk and leave it to stand for about 3 minutes. Dissolve the milk powder in the remaining milk, stirring until smooth.

  2. Add the flour and the milk mixture to the yeast. Gradually incorporate all the other ingredients, adding the sugar, butter and finally the salt.

  3. Knead until you have an elastic, smooth dough.

  4. Transfer the dough to a covered bowl and leave it to rest in the refrigerator for 12 hours.

  5. Remove the dough from the refrigerator. Roll it out with a rolling pin, fold it over itself and roll it out again to a thickness of approximately 6.5 mm.

  6. Cut out discs about 5 cm in diameter and arrange them on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Alternatively, as I do, shape the dough into small rolls weighing approximately 12 g each.

  7. Leave the rolls to rise until doubled in size. Brush gently with beaten egg.

  8. Bake in a preheated oven at 200°C for 5–6 minutes, until lightly golden.

Leave to cool before serving.

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