The Ultimate Mashup: Salt Bread (Shio Pan) Bagels
If you’re a fan of the pillowy, buttery magic that is Korean Shio Pan (Salt Bread), but you also live for the chewy, satisfying bite of a New York-style bagel, I have a life-changing discovery for you.
Recently, I decided to experiment with my go-to salt bread recipe. Instead of the traditional crescent rolls, I used a new shaping technique and a quick boiling step to turn them into Salt Bread Bagels. The result? A golden, pretzel-like exterior with a molten, buttery interior that will make your kitchen smell like a dream.
Why the Tangzhong Method?
This recipe uses a Tangzhong starter—a simple roux of flour, milk, and water. While it takes an extra five minutes, it’s the secret to that “cloud-like” texture. It allows the dough to hold more moisture, keeping these bagels soft for days (though, let’s be real, they won’t last that long).
What Exactly Is a Salt Bread Bagel?
At its heart, this is a love letter to butter. I took my tried-and-true Shio Pan recipe—complete with a silky Tangzhongstarter for that signature “cloud-like” interior—and gave it a massive glow-up.
Instead of the usual crescent shape, I went full bagel mode. But here’s the kicker: inside that doughy ring isn’t just air… it’s a molten core of salted butter.
To get that authentic bagel soul, you can’t just bake them. You have to give them a bath!
I dropped these buttery beauties into a boiling pot of baking soda water. This step gelatinizes the starch on the outside, creating that iconic shiny, chewy crust we love in a bagel.
The Golden Rule: Keep the boil quick! 15 seconds per side is the “Goldilocks” zone. Any longer and you risk the butter leaking out before it ever hits the oven.
Why You’ll Be Obsessed
- The “Fried” Bottom: As these bake, a little bit of that interior butter leaks out onto the pan, essentially “shallow-frying” the bottom of the bagel. It’s crunchy, salty, and dangerously addictive.
- The Texture Contrast: You get the tough, pretzel-like exterior of a bagel, but once you bite through, it’s as soft as a brioche roll.
- The Melted Finish: Pro-tip? Brush that excess melted butter from the baking sheet right back onto the tops when they come out. It’s a butter cycle of life.
How to Eat Them
Honestly? These are a meal on their own. But if you want to go wild:
- The Sweet & Salty: Slice one open and add a dollop of honey or strawberry jam. OMG DROOL!!
- The Savory: Use it for a breakfast sandwich with a soft-scrambled egg. The butter is already built-in!
Ready to bake?
If you’re looking for a weekend project that makes your entire house smell like a professional patisserie, this is it. It’s a little bit of science (shoutout to the Tangzhong), a little bit of technique, and a whole lot of butter.
Salt Bread Bagels
Created by Sue Mun
Makes 8
Ingredients:
For the Tangzhong Starter:
- 22 g bread flour
- 60g water
- 60g milk
For the Dough:
- 7 g active dry yeast
- 120g milk (warmed up to 110F)
- 10g sugar (for feeding the yeast)
- 1 egg
- the entire cooled down tangzhong starter from above
- 375g bread flour, plus more for kneading if needed
- 40g sugar
- 1 tsp salt
- 60 g unsalted butter, softened
For the Butter Filling:
- about 2 sticks (1 cup) salted butter, cut into 25 grams for each salt bread bagel (cut the 25 grams into tiny chunks)
For the Dipping:
- 1 pot of boiling water (about 5-6 cups)
- 1 tbsp baking soda
For the Topping:
- Pretzel salt
Instructions:
Make Tangzhong Starter
- In a small sauce pot, add flour, milk, water and whisk until lump free.
- Turn heat to medium-low and cook for 2-3 minutes while whisking constantly. Once it becomes thick like slime, you are finished.
- Dump the mixture to a bowl and cover and allow it to cool off in the fridge completely before using. This can be prepped up to 3 days in advance as well.
Make Dough
- Warm up milk in a pot or in the microwave – until it feels like very warm bath water (110° F/43° C).
- In a mixing bowl attached with a dough hook, mix together the warm milk, dry yeast, and the 10g sugar together. Let it sit for 5 minutes to allow the yeast to bloom.
- Add in the cooled down tangzhong mixture and egg and mix until combined.
- Add in the flour, remaining sugar, and salt.
- Knead for 3 minutes until the dough comes together and is tacky.
- Add in the soft butter and knead on a floured working surface and work the dough for 10 minutes. Adding in a little bit more flour if needed. The dough should be smooth and elastic and passes the window pane test.
- Shape the dough into a ball and placed the dough in a large greased bowl. Cover with a plastic wrap or with a kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm location for 60 minutes or until it has doubled in siz
Shape the Salt Bread Bagels
- Once proofed, divide the dough into 95-100 grams each.
- Roll into tight balls and cover and rest for 15 minutes.
- Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into 8 by 5 inch rectangle. There is no need to use any flour on your work surface. The dough shouldn’t be sticky after being proofed.
- Place the chilled 25 grams butter pieces on the top edge of the rolled dough. See my TikTok video tutorial if you need guidance. Link is HERE.
- Then tightly roll it over and gently seal. Then roll it over completely and seal at the seam.
- Open on side and roll the gap open.
- Then curl it over into a bagel shape and seal at the end to seal completely.
- Spray each salt bread with some water using a spray bottle. This is just to prevent its from drying out while proofing. Proof in a warm spot like your oven with boiling water underneath. Proof for 30 minutes.
Bake the Salt Bread Bagels
- Preheat the oven at 400F.
- Bring a pot of water to a boil. Add 1 heaping tablespoon of baking soda.
- Drop your bagels in the boiling water and cook for 15 seconds on each side. The longer you boil the salt bread, the chewier the exterior. But do not boil over 30 seconds on each side or else the butter filling might leak out.
- Remove the bagels and transfer onto a baking tray.
- Generously spray each salt bread with water and lightly sprinkle with pretzel salt on top.
- Bake at 400F for 15 minutes and then lower the temperature down to 350F and bake for another 10 minutes until golden brown all around and on the bottom.
- Take out of the oven and brush with the excess butter than has melted on the pan.
- Serve warm!
