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The BEST soft and chewy bread roll for hoagies/submarines/grinders. Pillowy soft rolls that are begging to be filled with deliciousness!
*note this post was drastically updated on 1/20/2020 to include more step-by-step instructions and detailed explanations.
Depending on what part of the country, or world, you’re from these things are called various names. I’ve heard “Subs, Submarines, Hoagies, Grinders, Hero, Italian Sandwich, Torpedo, Blimpie, Po’Boy, and Rocket” just to name a few.
Whatever you call it, I’m talking about those luxurious sandwiches full of meats and cheeses then wedged into a chewy, soft bread roll.
Hoagie Roll Ingredient List
- Bread Flour – it must be at least 11-14% protein content
- Yeast – Active Dry or Instant
- Water
- Salt
- Sugar
- Butter
- Items for a bread wash *optional
Can I use All-Purpose Flour?
Normally I’d advise against it because you’ll end up with a different texture and outcome.
However, given the current state of the world and the difficulty people are having finding bread flour, you can BUT there are differences in the outcome.
- You won’t get the same result with US all-purpose flour as you would bread flour. The higher protein in bread flour is what gives the bread its “chew” and rise.
- Plus, AP flour will make the bread denser. You can use it but they won’t be like classic hoagie rolls but they still will taste yummy.
Since bread flour is so hard to find (I’m feeling that pain too), grab some Vital Wheat Gluten and make your bread flour using your AP Flour.
I have the formula on my blog. Check out this post on how to make your own bread flour.
Working with yeast – no fears, you got this!
One of the most comment comments I get when I ask why folks don’t make homemade bread at home is that they are afraid of it. They are afraid to work with yeast or aren’t sure about the techniques. Well, that’s where I’m here to help you.
Baking bread, rolls, and dough is something I honestly find truly cathartic. It’s relaxing albeit using the stand mixer or kneading the dough by hand. Because I use only Red Star Yeasts (99.9% of the time it’s their Platinum), it’s pretty foolproof.
- Store your yeast in a dark, cool area. I tend to store mine in the fridge or the freezer for extended storage.
- When adding it, add it to very warm liquids (120-130F). You don’t want to add it to boiling or super hot water as you will kill the yeast.
- With the Instant Platinum yeast, you don’t even have to let it proof first – like how I added it to this recipe. Proofing yeast is used more for dry active yeast. Because I use the Instant Active Dry yeast, there’s no proofing involved.
- To Proof, Active Dry Yeast, place a portion of the warm liquid in a bowl and add the yeast. Give it a little stir and let it sit for 1-5 minutes or until the yeast is completely dissolved. It should bubble up and “bloom”.
- If, after 5 minutes the yeast isn’t bloomed then your yeast is old (expiration dates matter here!) or the liquid you used is too hot
The Best Hoagie Rolls at Home – yes, you can do it!
Feel good about working with yeast? You should. It’s really easy and just don’t be afraid! You can do this! Baking is a science and when you add ingredients it matters. Plus we need to discuss how humidity can affect how much water you put in.
Active Dry yeast
- If using Active Dry Yeast (not the Instant I use) you have to proof the yeast first. Add the Active Dry Yeast, sugar, and 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoons of warm water in a bowl of a stand mixer. Using a whisk or spoon, mix and set aside for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast has bubbled quite a bit.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (this would be the same bowl your yeast mixture is in) add 2 cups of flour and the remaining cup of water. Start off on low. Mix for 4 minutes.
- Add in the salt and 1 cup at a time of the remaining flour and mix for 5-6 minutes until the dough is slack (See note). At this point, your mixer should be at medium speed. If your dough, after 5-6 minutes is not slack add up to 1/4 more cup of water (taking you up to a full 1 1/2 cups used) but add one Tablespoon at a time. The additional water will fully depend on how humid your room is.
Instant yeast
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add in 2 cups of flour, water, sugar, and Instant Yeast. Start off on low. Mix for 4 minutes.
- Add in the salt and 1 cup at a time of the remaining flour and mix for 5-6 minutes until the dough is slack (See note). At this point, your mixer should be at medium speed. If your dough, after 5-6 minutes is not slack add up to 1/4 more cup of water (taking you up to a full 1 1/2 cups used) but add one Tablespoon at a time. The additional water will fully depend on how humid your room is.
Now, depending on the temp in the kitchen or how humid it is, you can add anywhere from 3 1/2 – 4 cups of flour. Just go slow. The worst thing you can do is add too much flour because you’re impatient. At this point, your dough should start to look and feel “Slack”
What is Slack Dough?
Think of a blob. It’s kind of fluid but it’s not liquidy. It’s the point where if you were to dump the dough out onto a board and try to form it into a shape, it would just blob back out and not hold a shape.
That’s what Slack Dough is. Slack dough means when the dough cannot hold a shape; it has no elasticity or spring back at all. It’s a wet dough but not too wet. It’s “billowy”. The dough is super, super soft, and smooth.
Below is what Slack dough looks like
How Humidity affects dough and bread baking
If your bread dough never turns slack there can be 2 reasons for this
- You didn’t mix it enough. Give it another minute or two. If it still doesn’t turn slack, add a tablespoon of water at a time until it forms slack.
- Your house is super dry – add a bit more water.
The rule of thumb is if your area is hot & humid then reduce the liquid by 10%.
Now, back to making the dough.
- Once all the flour is added and the dough is slack, add in the butter one tablespoon at a time. Just like the flour, you’ll add it in slowly allowing it to incorporate into the dough. Don’t panic if it doesn’t go in all at once or the dough looks to break down. Just be patient, it’ll combine again. Patience – that’s the key.
Cold Butter or Softened Butter?
I was raised using cold butter in this recipe though you may use room temp or equal amounts of olive oil. When using cold butter, even though you ‘meld it into the flour’, you’re helping with gluten formation and the development of dough structure. I’ve made it with room-temperature butter and it works just as well. You can use either folks.
- Once it’s mostly all in, turn the mixer up to medium and mix the dough until it pulls completely away from the side and is smooth and shiny.
- Transfer the dough to a large, lightly sprayed bowl.
- Cover with plastic wrap or use what I use – Disposable plastic clear shower caps. They have a stretchy-band that snaps around the bowl and remained ballooned to allow the dough to proof without sticking to it.
- Once it’s doubled in size, it’s time to shape the hoagie rolls.
How to shape hoagie bread rolls
- Punch the dough down and place on a very lightly floured board. I would advise using as little flour as possible when shaping these. The more flour you add, the tougher the hoagies will be.
- Divide into 4-8 pieces and shape. *See below on how to shape!
- Once shaped, transfer to a parchment-lined tray and cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap. Allow to rise again until almost doubled. ~30-45 minutes. Do NOT overproof them otherwise they will fall flat.
What does Overproof mean?
In simple terms it means the was let to rise too long, It will almost “super balloon” in size. You’ll know you’ve over-proofed dough if, when you poke it for 2 seconds, remove your finger and see if it springs back. If your dough does not spring back, it’s over-proofed.
But that doesn’t mean all is lost. Simply remove the dough from where it was rising, degas it (meaning press down firmly on the dough to get rid of the gas), then re-shape. Place it back on your pan and repeat the second proofing.
Watch your dough – things like ambient temperature, humidity, etc will cause your dough to rise slower or faster. The 30-45 minutes is fairly standard time but you need to use your judgement in the kitchen.
Chef’s Tips on shaping hoagie rolls
Shaping does take practice but that’s the fun of baking, right?!
- When you divide the dough, with your fingers, gently pat it into a rectangle where the dough is about 1/4″ thick.
- Next, fold up the bottom third to the center and then fold the upper quarter (like an envelope) towards the center and press gently to seal.
- Rotate the dough 180 degrees (so the last fold faces away from you) and repeat the above folding step then using your hand to seal the dough seams as you fold it. What you’re doing is folding the dough into itself.
- At this point, your dough is almost shaped like a log/snake. Gently cup your hand over the center of the dough and, without applying pressure/pressing down, gently roll the dough back and forth to reinforce the seal and roll it out into a log. If necessary, gently pinch the seam closed.
- I then grab the ends, lightly, and carefully pull them outwards to help stretch out dough (just an inch or so – again dependent on how long you want your rolls).
- To help round out the ends, cup each hand at the end of the roll and move them in opposite directions with a back and forth motion to roll the ends and then tuck underneath the roll.
- At this point, they are ready for the next rise.
Adding Slashes/Slits
While completely not necessary, you can add slashes/slits to the rolls before they bake to give them a prettier look. Cutting them adds zero taste value; it just pretties them up.
However, it does help with the texture. Did you ever make or buy bread that has a huge bubble or has a blowout? The bread “ruptures” in a sense. By scoring the bread, you can help control where the gas can escape without destroying how the bread looks.
I use a Lame to do mine.
A lame is a handle that has a very thin razor blade on the end of it specifically used for bread slashing. In a quick motion, make a slash (or multiple slashes) down the center of the bread but not go in deep. You’re going in maybe a 1/4″ at best.
Can I use a sharp knife instead?
Personally, I would say no as the blade isn’t thin enough and the knife may not be super, SUPER sharp. You could risk tearing the bread instead of a quick, pretty slash.
Coating your rolls before baking
You do not have to coat these if you do not want to. They will bake up beautifully and taste amazing BUT they won’t really have that deep color, crust, or shine like the ones most pizzerias have. Again, not a bad thing. Go with what you like.
When it comes to these rolls, depending on the application you use to coat, you’ll end up with different results. For my hoagie rolls, I use an egg white mixed with just a Tablespoon of milk
- Whole egg: this will give your bread a sheen and color
- Egg Yolk: this will give your bread color and will help brown it
- Egg White: Will give you a firmer crust
- Milk: will give your crust color
- Butter: will make your crust softer and richer
- Egg White with Milk: will give you a firmer crust and deeper crust color
Cutting your hoagie rolls
At first cut, the bread insides are so soft and billowy. It’s as if it’s held together by pockets of air and strands of sweet dough.
While it’s hard to resist, I HIGHLY recommend waiting about 10 minutes before trying to slice into these hoagie rolls. If you don’t, you risk tearing the bread (even with the best bread knives) because it’s simply too hot and too soft inside.
Trust me on this, it’s worth the wait!
I would HIGHLY recommend using a quality bread knife to slice these as the rolls are soft and chewy and nothing is worse when cutting into them with a crappy knife! You’ll love this knife! Sani-Safe S162-8SC-PCP 8″ Scalloped Bread Knife with Polypropylene Handle Pan is a great knife that’s affordable!
How to use The Best Hoagie Bread Roll Recipe
There’s no limit to how you can use these hoagie rolls or what you can put in or on them.
- Italian Rocket Hoagie or any favorite hoagie topping such as steak, meatball, cheese, pizza… you get the idea!)
- Meatball Hoagie like the pics below – use any of my meatball recipes, top with sauce of choice, cheese, and bake at 400F for 10-15 minutes or until the cheese is melted
- French Bread Pizza – split in half, top each side with cheese and pizza toppings. Bake at 400F until the cheese is melted
- Stuffed Breakfast Boats – these were such a HUGE seller at our pizzeria (even though they were on the ‘secret’ menu
- Make them smaller as dinner rolls and, while still warm, top with honey cinnamon butter right before serving
How to store your Best Soft and Chewy Hoagie Rolls
Store them uncut. When you’re storing overnight, you’ll want to store in a paper bag OR, wrapped tightly in plastic wrap and then in a plastic bag. Air is your enemy here.
Freezing
These rolls can be frozen either before they are baked or after.
Post-baking
- I personally prefer to freeze these after they are baked. Simply wrap each cooled loaf in plastic wrap, twice and place it in a freezer-safe bag for up to 3 months.
Pre-baking
- If you do this add a little more yeast (about a teaspoon more) to the recipe. This ensures that the post-freeze rise will give you a stunning result.
- Allow the dough to proof and then shape it on a parchment-lined pan.
- Wrap the pan with plastic wrap. Once each loaf is frozen stiff, wrap each roll twice in plastic wrap. Store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 6 months.
- To use frozen dough rolls, remove a loaf from the freezer the night before you want to bake it. Keep the loaf wrapped in plastic and let it thaw overnight in the refrigerator.
- Place the thawed dough in a greased bread pan, cover it, and let it rise in a warm, dry place. Bake the bread per the recipe below.
Chef Tips About Bread Baking
- As mentioned above, humidity and heat in your kitchen will drastically affect the dough texture (too wet/too dry while mixing) as well as proofing.
- If your kitchen is warmer, your bread will rise faster. Think of bread dough like a toddler. You really can’t let it be unsupervised for very long. Use the times as a guideline but your eyes will be your best judge.
- If you overproof your dough it will fall flat when it bakes. The gluten structure will be too weak to hold the gas production.
- USE GENTLE HANDS when shaping your dough.
- Make sure your yeast is FRESH!
- Watch your oven as it bakes. If your oven thermostat is on the fritz this can affect your bread either baking too fast leading to burnt bread on the outside and raw on the inside.
- Just relax. If you don’t get it perfect the first time, try again. Ask questions if you’re not sure what went wrong. The biggest things are:
- Not mixing your dough enough before the first proof
- Too rough on shaping it and you lost the gas in it
- Over proofed the 2nd shape and the bread went flat upon baking
- Your oven thermostat is on the fritz
- PATIENCE – BE PATIENT and keep dumping in more flour or water. Rome wasn’t built in a day, just as the dough won’t come together in a minute or two.
Subbing Sourdough Starter
I get asked this question a lot. I never use sourdough starter in this recipe as I love it as-is however you can sub in sourdough starter with some recipe modifications.
- 8 ounces of ripened sourdough starter
- Reduce the total flour to 334-339 grams
- Reduce the total water to 177-237 grams
Using Whole Wheat Flour
So the answer is yes, but you have to modify it and play with the texture to get it right. Let me explain.
- You only use 3/4 cup of whole wheat for every 1 cup of flour substituted. AND,
- I’ve YET to go full whole wheat and end up loving the flavor. I, right now, ONLY recommend subbing in 50% whole wheat and the rest flour (again you need to use the measurements in step 1). AND,
- You’ll need to add another 2 Tablespoons of water for every 3/4 cup of whole wheat flour added.
- And don’t forget to factor in humidity too with this.
I personally have yet to have an OMG YUM moment when making the recipe with a 100% whole wheat swap. It’s still too dense for my liking. Then again, 100% wheat bread tends to be dense in general (at least in my experience).
I’m still working on it though I believe I can nail it and get the results I want and love.
PrintThe Best Super Soft and Chewy Hoagie Rolls
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 25 minutes
- Total Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
- Category: bread
- Method: oven
- Cuisine: baking
The BEST soft and chewy bread roll for hoagies/submarine/grinders. Pillowy soft rolls that are begging to be filled with deliciousness!
Ingredients
- 3 1/2 – 4 cups bread flour/448-512 grams *see note
- 1 1/4 cups plus 2 tablespoon – 1 1/2 cups warm water (110-115F degrees) / 308-355 grams *see note
- 2 Tablespoons / 25 grams of sugar
- 1 packet instant yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon of RedStar Platinum Yeast) / 7 grams
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt / 6 grams
- 4 Tablespoons / 56 grams cold unsalted butter, cubed *see note
Instructions
Using Active Dry Yeast? Start here
- If using Active Dry Yeast (not the Instant I use) you have to proof the yeast first. Add the Active Dry Yeast, sugar, and 1/4 cup plus 2 Tablespoon of warm water in a bowl of a stand mixer.
- Using a whisk or spoon, mix and set aside for 5-10 minutes or until the yeast has bubbled quite a bit.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook (this would be the same bowl your yeast mixture is in) add 2 cups of flour and the remaining cup of water. Start off on low. Mix for 4 minutes.
- Go to Step 1 of Recipe Continuation and follow the rest of the recipe
Using Instant Yeast? Start here
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook add in 2 cups of flour, water, sugar, and Instant Yeast. Start off on low. Mix for 4 minutes.
- Go to Step 1 of Recipe Continuation and follow the rest of the recipe.
Recipe Continuation
- Add in the salt and 1 cup at a time of the remaining flour and mix for 5-6 minutes until the dough is slack (See note). At this point, your mixer should be at medium speed. If your dough, after 5-6 minutes is not slack add up to 1/4 more cup of water (taking you up to a full 1 1/2 cups used) but add one Tablespoon at a time. The additional water will fully depend on how humid your room is.
- Add in the butter 1 Tablespoon at a time and mix until almost fully melded in before adding the next Tablespoon. In total, mix for 1-3 minutes or until the dough comes back together and the dough until it pulls completely away from the side and is smooth and shiny. Remove from bowl and transfer to a greased, covered bowl until doubled in size. ~1 hour.
- Punch the dough down and place it on a very lightly floured board. Divide into 4-8 pieces and shape. I would advise using as little flour as possible when shaping these. The more flour you add, the tougher the hoagies will be. Transfer to a parchment-lined tray and cover with lightly sprayed plastic wrap. Allow to rise again until almost doubled. ~30-45 minutes. Do NOT overproof them otherwise they will fall flat.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F. If you want to slash your bread, using a lame, make your slashes. If desired, brush with a coating of choice and bake for 16-23 minutes or until golden brown. To ensure doneness, test the internal bread temp. It should be at 200F.
- Allow to cool before cutting with a quality bread knife ( Sani-Safe S162-8SC-PCP 8″ Scalloped Bread Knife with Polypropylene Handle Pan )
Notes
Flour & Water
Depending on the type of bread flour as well as how humid your kitchen is you may need to increase the water to 1 1/2 cups (which is only another 2 tablespoons more than the original). At times I’ve had to actually go up to 1 3/4 cups total but that was due to how humid my house was at the time.
Cold Butter
I was raised using cold butter in this recipe though you may use softened or equal amounts of olive oil. When using cold butter, even though you ‘meld it into the flour’, you’re helping with gluten formation and the development of dough structure.
Slack Dough
Slack dough means when the dough cannot hold a shape; it has no elasticity or spring back at all. It’s a wet dough but not too wet. It’s “billowy”. The dough is super, super soft, and smooth.
Equipment
I would HIGHLY recommend using a quality bread knife to slice these as the rolls are soft and chewy and nothing is worse when cutting into them with a crappy knife! You’ll love this knife! Sani-Safe S162-8SC-PCP 8″ Scalloped Bread Knife with Polypropylene Handle Pan
Coating your bread
- Whole egg: this will give your bread a sheen and color
- Egg Yolk: this will give your bread color and will help brown it
- Egg White: Will give you a firmer crust
- Milk: will give your crust color
- Butter: will make your crust softer and richer
Candace Caldwell says
I was just curious, how often do you make this bread? Have you ever had any problems with your mixer breaking? Do you ever double the recipe, how does your mixer handle that?
TKWAdmin says
Hi Candace!
I make this at least 2-3 times a month. I’ve made it as a single batch in my counter top Kitchen aid mixer with no problems. I also have a commercial mixer to use when I make triple and quadruple batches with no problems.
To double in a regular stand mixer you need to look at a few things – your bowl/cup size and the amps of your motor. While you bowl may fit 14 cups your mixer motor may be low. Read your instructions manual on your mixer for their recommendations.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Masterchef says
Hello all,
Just wanted to take a minute and let you know these turned out wonderfully. They were so light, extremely soft, & oh so chewy. I can understand where some people may have issues when it comes to having ‘slack’ dough; maybe saying ‘relaxed dough’ would be easier for them to get.
I cut a loaf in half and made some homemeade garlic bread out of the halfs to serve with spaghetti.
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much for your feedback! That’s a good suggestion about the ‘slack’ reference. Thanks a bunch!
Oh that sounds awesome as garlic bread! My husband would love that!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Joe says
Thanks for the recipe! Can’t wait to try it! What do you mean by freeze beautifully? After they are done and cooled? How to revive from freezer?
Thanks!
TKWAdmin says
Yes once baked and cooled I wrap each in plastic wrap and then place in a freezer safe bag. To use I just thaw and reheat for a few if I want fresh from the oven warm or just slice for a cold sub.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Joe says
Thanks for the tips!
Joe says
This is the best recipe for hoagie rolls ever! Basic ingredients, soft on the inside, holds up well on the outside, great flavor, and easy! I am a lazy cook so I put everything in the bowl except for the butter at the same time without warming the water even and it came out great! I wonder if it would make a difference if I followed the instructions exactly?? I also let it rise in the fridge overnight. Anyways thanks for ending my search!
TKWAdmin says
Thank you so much Joe! That really means a lot to me. The warmed water only helps in the rising of the dough – helps speed it up if you will. Letting them slow rise in the fridge is a great way for awesome bread.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Bob says
Hey Joe!
I was chatting with a guy at a local bakery whose bread and rolls are exceptional and he told me that they leave the dough refrigerated overnight as well. I tried this recipe twice; the second time better than the first but still not up to my expectations. I am going to add a teaspoon of gluten to the bread flour and refrigerate overnight then proceed. Will let you all know how it turns out.
Thanks for the tip!
TKWAdmin says
Hi Bob!
Your local guy is right, proofing the dough overnight in the fridge is always the best method as it allows the gluten to relax AND rise slowly. Dough rises slower in cold temperatures, but it DOES rise. The long, slow rise will help develop more flavor. I’d suggest using plastic wrap to cover the loaf. A refrigerator is a dry environment (due to the frost-free feature), if you use a cloth to cover the dough, moisture can be lost, or a “skin” develop on the dough surface from dehydration, and you won’t get as much oven-spring when that happens.
Let me know how yours turns out Bob!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Ryann B says
Trying this out today, I don’t have a mixer so I did all the mixing by hand. Have them separated and covered for the second rise right now. I think next time I’ll use my bread machine for the mixing, didn’t think about it till it was to late, oh well not time ;-). Will check back once they are all done!
TKWAdmin says
You know what Ryann I still love kneading bread by hand. It’s one of the best ways to get those frustrations out! Let me know how it turned out for you!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Ryann B says
They came out OK, they were hard and crusty on the outside but soft and Chewy on the inside. Even with your warnings I still think I used to much flour, but you never reach perfection without a little trial and error!!! I have this recipe saved and I will definitely be using it again!!!
Sasha says
Hi there! Awesome and informative website. Have a couple questions: First, I live at high altitude (8000 ft) are there any suggestions, I know the proofing time usually takes longer. I have constant troubles with bread falling in the oven. I don’t have bread flour, but I have AP and VWG, so I’ll use the recipe you posted for that. Second, I have no mixer and the lid is broken for my food processor so it won’t lock, rendering it useless. I was hoping for one of those for christmas, but got a le creuset set instead. Can’t complain about that one. I have a hand mixer and a bread machine, do you recommend one over the other?
Thanks in advance!!
Sasha
TKWAdmin says
Hi Sasha!
With regards to high altitude baking look at what I have listed here for pointers, tips and tricks (http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/2011/12/05/livin-in-the-clouds-high-altitude-baking/)
No the hand mixer isn’t powerful enough for the dough. In the comments above many have used their bread machine to make the dough for them. Most comments when using a bread machine for the dough are “I used my bread machine….I just followed all of the steps as outlined above…just did steps 1-6 in the bread machine…dough cycle…and steps 7-11 exactly as described above…” and their bread turned out perfect.
Let me know how it turns out for you and what tweaks you had to make for high altitude baking.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
Sasha says
Thank you for the link and your response!
First batch fail. I added an additional 4 tbs flour + 1 xtra tbs of VWG. I also increased the water. Although some advice online indicates to raise the temperature, our local rule is actually drop the temp 10 or so degrees and bake longer. I ended up with a beige on top brown on bottom brick, although the inside was nice. I may freeze the dough and roll it out as a flatbread and maybe grill pizzas or something.
Second batch is in the machine now. This time I followed your recipe with slight modifications: Added now a total of 10 tbs of additional water. Reduced yeast by about 1/8 of tbs. I may do an egg wash with this batch to assist with color.
I will let you know how batch 2 turns out. Cross fingers for me!!
Sasha says
SUCCESS!!!
Second batch is perfection. Your recipe is by far the best I have experimented with and it is incredibly versatile. The adjustments for me were as follows, hopefully this can help someone else at altitude. I started off with an additional 4 tbs of water, then added 6 more tbs by tbs as needed into the bread machine. Reduced yeast by 1/8 tbs. Baked at 350 then about halfway through raised the temp to 365. I wanted to see if I could nail down the truth about the higher vs. lower temp for altitude, so with the last three loaves I baked at 375 and sure enough they were slightly to hard and heavy. So definitely low temp (but not necessarily longer) baking time. Bread bakes up quick here.
I made 6 rolls, so I had some extra dough left to play with. I made 3 little rounds, sprinkled garlic powder, parmesan, italian seasoning and brushed with butter and egg wash. Amazing!!! I took pictures, if you would like them let me know.
Thanks so much and keep up the great work!!!
TKWAdmin says
Sasha,
First off THANK YOU for sharing how you were able to perfect this in high altitude baking! I will definitely share this! And second, thank you so much for the compliments! That really means a lot to me!
Yes please send pics! You can share them on our Facebook wall (http://www.facebook.com/thekitchenwhisperer) or email them to me at tkwadmin@thekitchenwhisperer.net and I will share them on our wall with your info on how you perfected them for your altitude!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
SlobbyRolf says
Thanks a lot for your measurement conversions chart – never seen such a comprehensive listing before! This will really be helpful for the future since I love to cook (or bake) American recipes once in a while.
Yes, the yeast I used was bubbling, and the dough was proofing very well the first time in the bowl, only after having shaped them the rolls didn’t rise again as much as I expected. But they were really tasty, soft and chewy though.
I will divide the dough into 6 pcs. next time for 20 or 25 cm hoagies (how many inches? 😉 as you recommended above.
Best Regards,
Rolf
TKWAdmin says
Rolf,
You are most welcome! That conversion chart was time consuming but I felt it was necessary as the TKW Family is global (you’re proof of that).
I’m thinking the reason why they didn’t rise as much the 2nd time was because of the excessive butter you used. As for the length, you can make them any size you want.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
SlobbyRolf says
Oops, I used more than double the amount of butter. Next time I will weigh it for sure, 1.5 oz equals 42,5 grams. In Germany butter is sold in 500 gram pieces, I used almost a quarter of it, measuring it “by eye”.
As I recall I should also have used a little more yeast (which was fresh though, and bubbling and typically smelling after 5 minutes, having added warm water and sugar). The required tablespoon was not filled to the top as I did only use 1 pckg. Here in Germany the yeast is being sold as “dry yeast” in 7 gram packets (they call it “dry yeast” only, not “active dry yeast” or “instant dry yeast”, you only get one sort), but basically it should be the same. As I just learned 1 TBL dry yeast would have equaled 8.5 grams, that is 20 % more.
The water was exactly 42° C though, which equals 107,6° F., that should be o.k.
I will give it another try as I love to improve my cooking (an baking) skills.
Best Regards,
Rolf
TKWAdmin says
Rolf,
In the future if you’re unsure about recipe conversions, go here: http://www.thekitchenwhisperer.net/recipe-conversions/ I have it set up for you to those that do not use USA measurements can easily convert them to their unit of measure.
Yes, the excessive butter/fat really helped weigh the dough down but I bet it was rich in flavor! Did the yeast bubble and proof for you in under 10 minutes? If it didn’t then you had a bad batch. That will also contributing to it not rising. Keep your yeast, even if it’s sold in packets in the refrigerator or freezer to help prolong its shelf life.
Best Kitchen Wishes!
SlobbyRolf says
Hi,
finally made the rolls on Sunday morning to have them – still fresh – for the Philly Cheese Steaks in the evening.
What can I say: they were really great! The rolls were soft and chewy, not sweet at all and almost perfect. Although I can’t compare them to the ones you may buy at a store or bakery in the US (you don’t find them in stores here), I think they could come close.
I did measure all ingredients EXACTLY as mentioned in the recipe (having all sizes of US measuring cups + spoons from my last trip to New England) and mixed two types of flour (550 + 1050) equally to get a good bread flour.
My only “guess” was how to measure the 3 TBL butter, cubed. I have the feeling I measured a little to much which might be the reason why the rolls did not rise as much as they seem to have in your photo. But still, they were great.
Baked them at two different times, different baking sheets and different oven settings: the first time at 375 degrees top and bottom heat, on a large sheet for 21 min., the second time at 375 with convection in a smaller sheet for 16 min. which was the better choice as they now became golden brown.
Made 2 photos which I would like to share if you like.
I will definitly try them again, this time with a little less fat. Thanks a lot for this recipe.
Best Regards,
TurtleRolf
TKWAdmin says
I’m thrilled that you loved them! 3 Tbl of butter, when measured (it’s chilled remember) is 1.5 ounces. If you used too much it may have put too much fat in but the rise is purely yeast. How fresh was your yeast and the temp of your water?
Please post your pictures on our facebook wall (http://www.facebook.com/thekitchenwhisperer) or you can tweet me @tkwhisperer
Best Kitchen Wishes!
SlobbyRolf says
Hi there. I would love to try your recipe for using these rolls for Philly Cheese Steak sandwiches (which I had for the first and last time about 10 years ago, at a place which was like a truck stop along a highway and quite “German black forest” looking, somewhere on my way from NYC to Niagara Falls. Can’t really tell where this was, but I remember them being very delicious).
Before I start making the dough I have a question: is the temperature of the butter important to the dough, e.g. should the butter be icecold, right out of the fridge? How “small” should the cubes be?
Thanks for your kind reply.
TKWAdmin says
Morning! You want the butter to be slightly cold but not frozen. You should be able to cut it easily with a knife. You don’t want it too soft. The butter will blend into the dough as it mixes but it’s ok if you have some small pieces that haven’t,
As for size I’d go with the size of a diced cube.
Let me know how this turns out for you!
Best Kitchen Wishes!
SlobbyRolf says
Good morning to you from Germany (its about 4.00 p.m. here). I really appreciate your quick response and I can’t wait to try your recipe on this weekend.
As I was clicking around I learned on the following website (http://www.germanfoodguide.com/flours.cfm) that the bread flour your use in the US contains a certain amount of gluten. This is equivalent is our type 812 which I havn’t seen in any store around so far. But I will try to get this tomorrow (today – May 1st – all shops are closed in Germany). Or I try to get some pure gluten to mix into all purpose flour (Type 550). Just to make sure I have the right ingredients from the beginning.
I will come back to you with my results.
Best Regards to you