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The kaiser roll and brotchen are German staples.
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Soft on the inside, with a crisp crust.
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Kaiser & Brotchen are made from the same dough, but shaped differently.
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Kaiser rolls are large round buns with a 5 sided pinwheel design on top, while Brotchen are smaller & oval shaped.
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In Buffalo, NY Kaiser rolls are lightly glazed & sprinkled with course salt and sometimes caraway seeds.
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Called Weck Rolls, they are extremely good for roast-beef sandwiches.
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In a large bowl, soften the yeast in the water.
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Add in shortening, sugar, salt & 3 c. of the flour to the yeast.
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Beat vigorously with dough whisk or possibly heavy-handled spoon for 2 min.
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Fold egg whites into yeast mix.
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Gradually add in more of the remaining flour1/4 c. at a time, till dough forms a mass & begins to pull away from bowl.
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Turn onto a floured surface.
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Knead, adding more flour, a little at a time, as necessary, for 8-10 min, till you have a smooth, elastic dough and blisters begin to develop on the surface.
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Place the dough in oiled bowl.
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Turn to coat the entire ball of dough with oil.
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Cover with a tightly woven kitchen towel.
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Let rise till doubled in size, about 1 hour.
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Punch down, cover & let rise till doubled again in size (about 45 min.)
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Punch down & turn out onto lightly oiled surface.
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(For Kaiser or possibly Week: Divide dough into 18 equal pcs.
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Use rolling pin to flatten each piece into a 7 inch circle.
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Fold left side to center to create a flap.
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Halfway down flap fold again to center to create another flap.
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Repeat all the way around to make overlapping flaps.
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Lift the first flap to ease the last flap underneath.
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Press center to seal the dough.
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This design takes practice, but is easy once you get the hang of it.
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Place rolls upside down on a well-greased baking sheet, 3 inches apart.
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This helps them keep their shape.
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Let rise 30 min, tum right side up, let rise 15 more min.)
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For BROTCHEN: Divide dough into 24 equal pcs.
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Shape each into an oval about3 1/2 inches long.
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Place on well greased baking sheet.
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If your oven won't fit all the brotchen at once, prepare half at this time, keeping the rest covered on the work surface for 15 min.
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Flatten the tops of the rolls slightly.
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Cover with a towel & let rise 45 min.
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About 15 min before the end of rising of the first batch, turn the rolls right side up.
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Then Preheat oven to 425.
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Put a shallow pan on the bottom shelf of the oven.
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Lightly brush the rolls or possibly brotchen with egg wash, taking care not to let it drip onto the pan.
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Sprinkle with seeds or possibly coarse salt ,if you like.
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Place 1 c. of ice cubes in the heated pan on the lower shelf of the oven.
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Immediately put the rolls in and bake 15 to 20 min, or possibly till golden brown ( the internal temp should reach190 F).
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Remove from the baking sheets to cold on racks.
