Do you remember those soft milk buns filled with salami, ham, provola, and more at children’s parties? I’ve always loved them, and along with the mini pizzas, I ate tons of them.
Now! I’ve found a way to replicate them at home, unfortunately, even better than the originals, and I’ve realized that they’re actually super easy.
Every week, I make a half-kilo batch, and about 15 buns of 2.5 to 3 oz. come out. Then I freeze them in a freezer bag and take them out when needed.
They thaw in about half an hour and always stay as fluffy as clouds.

Difficulty: Easy
Cost: Affordable
Rest time: 2 Hours
Preparation time: 20 Minutes
Portions: 15
Cooking methods: Oven
Cuisine: Italian

Ingredients

1.5 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup bread flour
1 1/4 cups milk (lactose-free option available)
3 tbsp sugar
1 egg
3.5 tbsp lard (or butter)
2 tsp salt
2 tsp fresh yeast
1 egg
1 tsp water (or milk)
1 pinch salt

Tools

1 Stand Mixer
1 Baking Tray
1 Parchment Paper

Dough Preparation

Let’s start by preparing the ingredients and all the measurements.
I always knead with a stand mixer, but of course, you can knead by hand in a bowl.
Dissolve the fresh yeast in milk at room temperature.
Then, pour it into the stand mixer with the sugar and egg and knead them quickly.
Add all the flours together and start kneading until they are perfectly incorporated and the dough is well combined.
What does it mean? It means our dough should have formed a good gluten network, detach from the walls, and it will take about 10 minutes.
At this point, add the lard and finally the salt and wait for them to be absorbed by the mixture.
When it is smooth and shiny and detaches from the walls of the stand mixer again, it will be ready.
Remove it from the machine and place it on a lightly floured table.
Fold it over itself, forming a nice smooth ball and let it rise for at least one hour in a closed container.
When it has doubled in volume, it may take 2/3 hours, you can form balls of about 2.5 to 3 oz or even smaller.
The technique is to open the dough with your hands and then close it on itself, joining all the edges to form smooth balls with the closure at the bottom.
Arrange the balls on a baking tray with parchment paper, well-spaced if you don’t want them to stick together while baking.
Let them rise on the tray, covered with plastic wrap, for about half an hour.
Then, preheat the oven to around 340 degrees Fahrenheit.
Before baking, brush the buns with beaten egg and a drop of water or milk and a pinch of salt.
Bake for 15 minutes.