Wasn't someone looking for a kimelweck recipe a few months ago? I found
this at kichenlink.com or maybe was it kitchenlinks.com
The Tarheel Baker
What exactly is a Kimelweck Roll? It's a hard roll, more specifically a
crusty kaiser roll, sprinkled with caraway and coarse salt instead of
the more familiar poppy seed topping. Shape the dough into a loaf to
bake Vienna bread or shape it into thin ropes for salt and pepper
sticks, a great snack in lieu or pretzels.
I still remember my first taste of "beef on weck." It was lunchtime in a
very crowded Buffalo, New York, tavern. As instructed by a local, I
ordered the specialty of the house: a stein of beer on tap and beef on
weck with hot horseradish. I watched the carver shave fine slices of
rare roasted beef from an enormous steamship round, pile it onto the
bottom of a kimelweck roll, and spoon with beef juices that soaked into
the soft insides of the roll. At the table, I applied horseradish and
covered my sandwich with the top of the hard-crusted roll, which was
amply sprinkled with coarse salt and caraway seeds. It was love at first
bite. Kaufman's is the biggest of the bakeries in Buffalo that still
make kimelweck rolls. The owner, Jay Freedman, can personally recall at
least forty years of baking "wecks" for the hardy beef on weck lunch so
favored by generations of the town's German and Polish communities. It's
never faded as a lunchtime tradition.
Yield: 8 sandwich rolls
2 1/2 teaspoons (1 envelope) active dry yeast
1 cup lukewarm water (95 to 110 F)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon barley malt syrup or honey
2 large egg whites
3 to 3 1/4 cups bread flour (preferably high-gluten)
1 tablespoon water
Coarse sea salt crystals for sprinkling
Caraway seeds, for sprinkling
Sprinkle the yeast over 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water in a small bowl. Set
aside to proof until bubbly, about 5 minutes. Combine the remaining 3/4 cup
lukewarm water, the oil, sugar, salt, barley malt syrup or honey, and 1 egg
white in a large mixing bowl. Stir to dissolve the sugar. Add 1 1/2 cups of
the flour and mix until smooth. Add the yeast solution and slowly stir in
an additional 1 1/2 cups of the flour.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Knead the dough for
5 to 7 minutes, until smooth and elastic but still slightly tacky to the
touch, adding only as much additional flour as necessary to keep the dough
from sticking. Transfer to a large greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap,
and set aside at room temperature to rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
Punch the dough down, cover the bowl again, and let the dough rise a second
time, for about 30 minutes.
Return the dough to the work surface and divide it into 8 equal pieces.
Shape each piece into a smooth round, then flatten the rounds slightly.
Place on a parchment-lined or greased baking sheet, well spaced to allow
spreading. Cover loosely with a towel and set aside at room temperature for
30 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 425 F.
Combine the remaining egg white and the 1 tablespoon water in a small dish
and blend.
Brush the rolls lightly with the egg white wash. Using the tip of a sharp
knife or a razor, cut 4 crescent-shaped slits into each roll, radiating out
from the center. Sprinkle the rolls with the coarse salt and caraway seeds
and spritz, with water. Bake for 5 minutes. Quickly open the oven door,
spritz the rolls again with water, and close the oven. Bake the rolls for
about 20 minutes more, until browned and crisp. Cool the rolls on wire racks.