Kaiser sandwich rolls

[pigskins]

I am making these rolls today:

Kaiser Rolls: King Arthur Flour

It says the dough "should be quite stiff, but not at all gnarly" -- what exactly is gnarly as it pertains to dough? Should it come out like a smooth ball of dough or should there be lumps and cracks?

I wish they had posted pictures!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

I am making these rolls today:

Kaiser Rolls: King Arthur Flour

It says the dough "should be quite stiff, but not at all gnarly" -- what exactly is gnarly as it pertains to dough? Should it come out like a smooth ball of dough or should there be lumps and cracks?

I wish they had posted pictures!

Nice and smooth.

 

[pigskins]

Nice and smooth.

Thanks for your reply, I didn't see it until after the dough was done. It was not as smooth as I guess it should have been but the rolls turned out very good just the same!! I love having burgers on homemade rolls!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Thanks for your reply, I didn't see it until after the dough was done. It was not as smooth as I guess it should have been but the rolls turned out very good just the same!! I love having burgers on homemade rolls!

The end product is what counts. Although I'm trying to decide why someone would use "gnarly" in a recipe description...silly!

 

[pigskins]

The end product is what counts. Although I'm trying to decide why someone would use "gnarly" in a recipe description...silly!

Right! The rolls were more round than sandwich shape but big enough to hold a burger. I need more practice at rolling the dough into smooth balls, I fold the dough into itself over and over but I end up with a ball with a bottom that looks like it's had plastic surgery!

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Right! The rolls were more round than sandwich shape but big enough to hold a burger. I need more practice at rolling the dough into smooth balls, I fold the dough into itself over and over but I end up with a ball with a bottom that looks like it's had plastic surgery!

Did you make the impression in them? If you don't have a kaiser stamp, I would just form a plus shape with the back of your chef's knife. This will help smash it down to more of a bun shape. I don't know about the allowing to raise cut side down and then turning over to dip and sprinkle. Never saw this. Cut side up is fine, then all you need to do is brush on the egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Leaves out a tedious step.

 

[pigskins]

Did you make the impression in them? If you don't have a kaiser stamp, I would just form a plus shape with the back of your chef's knife. This will help smash it down to more of a bun shape. I don't know about the allowing to raise cut side down and then turning over to dip and sprinkle. Never saw this. Cut side up is fine, then all you need to do is brush on the egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Leaves out a tedious step.

No! Haha! Maybe that explains it...

 

[PrincessFiona60]

No! Haha! Maybe that explains it...

I've seen kaiser rolls that didn't get stamped...we ate those with butter.

 

[pigskins]

I've seen kaiser rolls that didn't get stamped...we ate those with butter.

too funny!!!

 

[bakechef]

proofing them upside down helps keep the impression from the stamp intact, less likely to stretch out and fade away. Working in retail bakeries, we would always thaw our kaiser roll dough upside down and it made for a prettier roll.

 

[PrincessFiona60]

proofing them upside down helps keep the impression from the stamp intact, less likely to stretch out and fade away. Working in retail bakeries, we would always thaw our kaiser roll dough upside down and it made for a prettier roll.

I've only worked in scratch bakeries, never baked with frozen product at the retail level.

 

[msmofet]

Here is a website that shows how to shape a Kaiser Roll WITHOUT using a stamp.

How to make Kaiser Rolls (Click)

 

[PrincessFiona60]

Here is a website that shows how to shape a Kaiser Roll WITHOUT using a stamp.

How to make Kaiser Rolls (Click)

Quite clever, but I can see why a retail bakery would use a stamp. A couple of dozen as described, easy...more than that, time consuming.