Kaiser Broetchen

Submitted by: Twin2

Category: Yeast Bread/Rolls (not sourdough)

Last Updated: 2/8/2009

• * One piece of old dough
• 1 3/4 cups water
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 Tablespoons sugar
• 1 teaspoon yeast
• 4 cups bread flour
These are the German rolls that can be found in small neighborhood bakeries all over Germany. They have a crunchy crust and soft interior and can be topped with sesame or poppy seeds.
By hand:
Mix and knead the dough until smooth (about 10 minutes)
Shape into a ball and let it rise in a covered, oiled bowl until doubled (about 1 1/2 hours)
Punch down, shape into a ball, put back in the bowl and let it double one more time, about 1 hour.
Punch down and let rest about 10 minutes.
Form rolls (10 or 12) and lay on baking sheets, cover and allow to rise until almost doubled. Reserve one piece for old dough.
Score the tops of each with a razor, making five slits from the center toward the outer edge.
(Or shape like a regular Kaiser - roll out to about a 4" disc and fold in toward the center of the roll in fifths, and press down firmly in the center of the roll, cover and let rise.)
Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Glaze the rolls and sprinkle with poppy seeds and/or sesame seeds (if you wish, we like ours plain)
Put in the oven and reduce the temperature after 5 minutes to 400 degrees.
You may want to produce steam during the first 5 minutes of baking. (You can do this with a pan of boiling water on the oven floor, or spritz with cold water)
Bake for about 15 minutes until golden brown.
*"old dough" Before you bake this dough without the old dough for the first time, save one piece of dough, (after shaping, the size of one roll) for the next batch. This can be stored in a zip lock bag in the fridge for about a week or the freezer for a longer period. If you freeze it just thaw it out completely before using.
I made mine in the Zo yesterday on the dough cycle, let rise and shaped as directed. Then I baked them yesterday afternoon, until they were done, but not browned. I put them in a plastic bag overnight (normally heresy) and then put them back in the oven before breakfast to brown them off and crisp them up. They were fantastic, and all the time to let them rise, etc., didn't get me up at 4:00 a.m. We live and learn. Hope you try them.