The Quest for Kaiser Rolls

​Growing up in New York, the quintessential breakfast on the go was either a BEC (bacon, egg, and cheese) on a Kaiser roll, or just a Kaiser roll with a schmear of butter. The crunchy flaky messiness of it was awesome.  And with practice, you could eat it on the train without getting it all over your clothes. Ultimately, they are as quintessential to New York to me as is the bagel.  And for some reason they have become incredibly hard to find.  On my last trip back, I tried to find some to bring home to the family – but I failed! And when my husband went back recently, he struggled to find some as well.  So I knew what this meant:  I would have to make them on my own.
 


Kaiser Rolls are called Kaiser Semmeln or Kaiser Brötchen in Germany. Kaiser means Emperor, and the pattern on the top of the rolls is compared to a royal crown.
It is sometimes claimed that kaiser rolls were named to honor Emperor (Kaiser) Frans Joseph I of Austria who was born in 1830, but the term appears as early as 1825. There is also a theory that the name stems at least in part from a baker family called Kayzer in Opatów in Galicia which had been occupied by the Austrian monarchy when they occupied Poland. Another claim is that the name Kaisersemmel came into general use after the bakers' guild sent a delegation in 1789 to Emperor Joseph II and persuaded him to deregulate the price of bread rolls.
 
After reviewing numerous recipes online for Kaiser Rolls, I found the one that recreated the most credible version from Barbara and her website MyGermanRecipes.com. According to Barbara, the secret ingredient is the Malt. The malt is important for two things: The taste of the kaiser rolls and their color. The more malt you are using, the darker will be the color of your rolls. This recipe is using 10g of barley malt and gives the rolls a very nice, reddish-brown color. Based on her recommendation, I was able to get the same malt that she uses from Amazon. 
 
Deborah says that Germans love these rolls for breakfast. Depending on the individual taste or region, they will eat them with something sweet like jam or honey or they’ll put some cold cuts or a slice of cheese on it. Her favorite way to eat Kaiser Rolls is the way she could get them at the bakery on my way to school: it is a Kaiser Semmel with poppy seeds on top, cut open and with a thick layer of cold butter on both halves. Then we take a “Schaumkuss” (a German chocolate with marshmallow inside) and put it between the buns and squish it.
  
These rolls are best eaten fresh the day they are made.  If you want to eat one on Day 2, you'll want to run it under the faucet then heat it up in a 350 degree F oven for a few minutes. And be advised – while the final product is absolutely worth it, this process takes two hours from start to finish.

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​German Kaiser Rolls

INGREDIENTS:
·     400g or 3.2 cups organic all-purpose flour
·     10g or 2 tsp barley malt  
·     8g or 1 ½ tsp salt
·     5g or 1 tsp sugar
·     15g ot 1 Tbsp soft butter
·     7g or 0.25 ounces dry yeast (usually 1 pouch)
·     50ml or 3 ½ Tbsp milk
·     190m or l6.4 fl oz of water at 22°C / 74°F about room temperature
·     some dusting of flour made from 50% flour + 50% corn starch

PREPARATION:
1.  Put the flour, sugar, salt, butter, malt, milk, yeast and water into a large mixing bowl.  

2.  Mix on the slowest speed for 3 minutes, then increase the speed and knead for 9 to 10
minutes.
 
3.  After the kneading, leave the dough in the bowl but dust it with some dusting flour and
then cover the bowl with a clean kitchen towel and let rest for 20 minutes.
 
4.  Divide the dough into 9 portions of about 75g each.
 
5.  Shape each dough portion into a sphere, using the method shown in the video. This is
important to create tension in the dough.
 
6.  Dust each sphere in dusting flour and cover them with a towel or linen.
 
7.  Let rest for 15 minutes.
 
8.  Use your palm to flatten each sphere, then use the method shown in the video to shape
the dough into kaiser rolls.
 
9.  Put the kaiser rolls "face down" onto a linen or kitchen towel and cover them with a towel
or linen.
10. Let rest for 30 minutes.
 
11. Preheat the oven to 220°C / 428°F (convection oven) or 230°C / 445°F (traditional oven).
 
12. Place the rolls face up onto a baking sheet.
 
13. Use a spray bottle with water to spray all rolls until they are very wet on the outside.
Optional sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds on top of the rolls. (note: I used Everything but the Bagel)
 
14. Place the baking sheet with the rolls on the middle rack of the oven. Then create some
steam by either spraying water to the walls of the oven or by using a baking pan with hot
rocks on the bottom of the oven and pouring 50 ml of water in the stones.
 
15. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes but open the oven 2 minutes before they are done to release
the steam.
 
16. Let the kaiser rolls cool completely, then eat them fresh.