Burẹ́dì Ágẹ̀gẹ (Soft Pull-Apart Rolls)

Name: Burẹ́dì Ágẹ̀gẹ (Soft Pull-Apart Rolls)
Prep time: 10 min
Cook time: 5 h
Total time: 5 h 10 min
Yield: 12 to 16 servings
Cuisine: Nigerian
Ingredients: 1 cup/240 grams lukewarm water or milk (98 to 105 degrees); 1 tablespoon/14 grams active dry yeast; ⅓ cup/67 grams sugar; 4 cups/515 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling; ¾ cup/58 grams nonfat dry milk powder; ½ teaspoon ground allspice; 2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal); 1 large egg, whisked; 6 tablespoons/84 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons for greasing pan and brushing rolls; Large-flake sea salt or honey, optional, for sprinkling and drizzling

By Yewande Komolafe

Published March 16, 2026

Kelly Marshall for The New York Times. Food Stylist: Roscoe Betsill. Prop Stylist: Paige Hicks.

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Ready In: 5 hr 10 min
: (2½ hr, plus 2½ hr rising)
Rating: (0)
Comments: Read comments

Slightly sweet, plush and tender, this yeast-risen bread is often dipped and dragged through saucy dishes, used as a vessel to deliver food to the mouth. In Lagos, Nigeria, it is known as ágẹ̀gẹ bread, named for the large industrial bakery that relocated to the city of Ágẹ̀gẹ in the 1960s to sell hot loaves to eager commuters. Here, the buns provide a smaller, portable version of the loaf. The dense yet cloudlike bread is dipped in milk tea, sandwiched with akara (fried bean fritters) or served alongside any soup or stew. For this recipe, protein-rich milk powder, along with eggs and cold butter, provide the structure and fat that creates the bread’s signature richness. Kneading, either by hand or using a stand mixer, is also essential for its structure. Any shape pan (round, square or rectangular) that’s 8 to 10 inches in diameter or length can be used here. After the final brushing of softened butter, you can top the warm rolls with flakes of sea salt or a drizzle of honey.

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Ingredients

Yield:12 to 16 servings

1 cup/240 grams lukewarm water or milk (98 to 105 degrees)
1 tablespoon/14 grams active dry yeast
⅓ cup/67 grams sugar
4 cups/515 grams all-purpose flour, plus more for sprinkling
¾ cup/58 grams nonfat dry milk powder
½ teaspoon ground allspice
2 teaspoons kosher salt (such as Diamond Crystal)
1 large egg, whisked
6 tablespoons/84 grams unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus 1 to 2 tablespoons for greasing pan and brushing rolls
Large-flake sea salt or honey, optional, for sprinkling and drizzling

Ingredient Substitution Guide

Preparation

1. Step 1
  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the warm water, yeast and sugar. Whisk together to dissolve the sugar and let sit undisturbed until foamy (yeast granules will expand, forming a cap that will resemble a cappuccino’s foam), about 10 minutes.
2. Step 2
  In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, milk powder, allspice and salt.
3. Step 3
  Once the yeast is foamy, stir the egg into the yeast mixture and, using a silicone spatula, add in the flour mixture all at once and mix until combined. Add the butter and stir using a wooden spoon until the dough is shaggy (damp and surrounded by pockets of flour), 2 to 3 minutes.
4. Step 4
  Transfer the bowl to the stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and set to low speed. Knead the dough, intermittently stopping the mixer to scrape down the hook and sides and gather the dough back in the center of the bowl, until smooth and tacky but not too sticky to handle, 13 to 14 minutes. (Kneading develops gluten strands, giving the dough a springiness and a chewy mochi-like result).
5. Step 5
  Remove the hook, and use your hands to shape the dough into a smooth ball. Move dough to a large clean metal bowl and cover with a kitchen towel. Let stand undisturbed until doubled in size, 1 ½ to 2 hours. (Dough can be left to rise, covered and refrigerated, for 9 hours and up to 2 days. Once ready to bake, remove dough from the refrigerator, proceed with the steps below.)
6. Step 6
  Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9-by-13-inch baking pan and set aside. Punch the dough to deflate and transfer to a clean work surface sprinkled with flour to prevent sticking. Use a sharp knife to cut the dough into 24 even-size pieces (about 40 to 45 grams/1.6 ounces each). It's OK if you end up with fewer or more here. Use your thumb to create a dimple in the center of each piece of dough and cover the dough balls with a kitchen towel to rest for about 10 minutes.
7. Step 7
  Shape each piece by placing it on the floured work surface, dimple side up. Stretch any corners over and up toward the center. Flip dough so that the folded edges lay seam side down on your work surface. Keep the other pieces of dough covered as you work.
8. Step 8
  Cup your palm on top of the dough portion, and move the dough in a circular motion while pressing down slightly. Keep your hand cupped and your thumb steady around the edge of your palm to control the movement. You should have a tight ball with the seam side tucked and sealed. Transfer each ball, seam side down, onto the buttered baking pan, about ½ inch apart. Repeat this rolling step until all the dough pieces have been rolled and placed in the pan.
9. Step 9
  Cover the pan with a clean dish towel and allow the dough to rise again until it's just slightly above the edge of the pan, 45 minutes to 1 hour, depending on your kitchen temperature.
10. Step 10
  Heat the oven to 325 degrees. Place racks in the center and bottom of your oven. Slide a rimmed baking sheet on the bottom rack of the oven, and pour a cup of water in it to create some steam. Transfer the 9-by-13-inch baking dish to the center rack of the oven.
11. Step 11
  Bake until the top of the rolls are pale toward the center and brown at the edges, 15 to 20 minutes. Rotate the baking pan, add another 1 cup water to the steam pan, if necessary, and continue to bake until the rolls begin to sound hollow when the surface is tapped, 15 to 20 minutes more. The rolls will pull away slightly from the pan, and an instant-read thermometer inserted in the center should read 185 to 200 degrees.
12. Step 12
  Remove the rolls from the oven and allow the bread to cool slightly in the pan, 8 to 10 minutes. While still warm, brush the surface with softened butter and, if you like, sprinkle with flaky salt or drizzle with honey. Serve immediately or at room temperature, alongside milk tea, sandwiched with akara (fried bean fritters) or paired with any stew or soup.