Kaisersemml
Kaiser Rolls
Recipe paraphrased from "The Village Baker", by Joe Ortiz
The Sponge
1 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp malt extract or honey
1/2 cup milk, scalded and allowed to cool to warm
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cool water
Proof the yeast in the warm water; dissolve the sugar and malt extract in
the warm milk. Mix yeast mixture, milk mixture and flour and cool water
together until smooth. Set covered in warm place for 2 hours.
The Dough
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup all purpose flour + extra flour as required
all of the sponge
poppy seeds or other toppings
Mix salt with flour and add to the sponge by handfuls while mixing. Hold
back 1/4 cup flour for kneading. Mix for 10 minutes; then knead on a board
with remaining flour until soft and satiny in texture. It may take up to 1/2
cup more flour to get proper texture. (It has been my experience that
without the extra flour the dough is too wet to be shaped later.) Cover and
let rise in a warm place until doubled.
Divide dough into 6 pieces, roll each piece into a tight ball and let rest,
covered, for 15 minutes. One at time, flatten each ball into a disk and
fold into the classic "petal" or "pinwheel" pattern. Hold the disk in the
center with one thumb, grab the outer edge between the thumb and index
fingers of the other hand and pull outward slightly, then fold over the disk
to the middle and hold the folded piece down with the thumb. Seal the fold
with heel of the free hand. Rotate the disk 90F and stretch and fold
again, capturing the fold under the thumb. Keep going around 4 or 5 times
total until the top of the roll looks like a pinwheel.
Place each folded roll on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Leave
plenty of room for rolls to expand in diameter. Brush with vegetable oil
and cover with another sheet of parchment paper, then another cookie sheet,
then a cast iron skillet. Let rise (actually expand in diameter) for 35 to
40 minutes. Preheat oven to 450F.
Remove skillet and top layer of parchment paper and spray rolls with water;
then sprinkle on toppings. Use water spray in oven before and during baking
(or uses whatever steam method you use to create crusty breads). Bake for
20 minutes.
(I've tried this recipe several times and each time the rolls come out
dense, almost bagel-like. NY Hard Rolls should be light in texture with a
chewy crust and should pull apart in sections formed by the petals. Even
with relatively stiff dough the folded detail is lost during final rise
under the weight._
Werner