Tim Chin is a professional cook and writer who has contributed to Serious Eats and America’s Test Kitchen. A graduate of The International Culinary Center, Tim has cooked at restaurants in New York and Boston, working at Rouge Tomate, Northern Spy, and BiSq.

Tim Chin

What do you get when a crispy croissant and a fluffy dinner roll have a bread baby? Shio pan.Japanese shio pan, or salt bread, is a masterclass in maximizing textural contrast: a crispy, glassy, crackly, almost-deep-fried crust giving way to a fluffy, light-as-air interior. It’s sort of like a <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/the-secret-to-mastering-croissants-at-home">croissant</a>, but without all the intimidating lamination—it’s even easier to make than our <a href="https://www.chefsteps.com/activities/croissants-for-beginners-getting-started-with-lamination">croissants “for beginners”!</a>These crescent-shaped, golden-brown buns owe much of their allure to the knob of butter that’s embedded in every roll and melts out during baking, effectively frying the bottom. And while the bottom stays crispy, the major challenge is getting the top and sides of the bun to follow suit and stay crispy for the long haul. With some careful tweaks to the baking formula and a few pastry tricks to control moisture behavior at the surface, we can keep that TikTok-famous crust crispy long enough for you to film and edit a video for your feed before chowing down.

Ultra-Crispy Shio Pan (Salt Bread)