Brötchen (German Bread Rolls)
My Crusty German Bread Rolls AKA Brötchen are crusty on the outside and so soft on the inside. Perfect for breakfast with butter and jam or filled with your favourite sandwich filling.
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Servings: 9
Calories: 243kcal
Equipment
- stand mixer - I use my KitchenAid or knead by hand.
- Mixing Bowl
- Water spray bottle
- large baking tray / sheet lined with parchment paper
- Shallow baking tin DO NOT USE GLASS, even if it says it is ovenproof. The shock of adding boiling water is likely to shatter the glass.
Ingredients
Poolish or sponge starter
- 150 g strong white bread flour
- 150 ml water at room temperature
- ½ tsp instant yeast - I use Dove’s Farm
Final Dough
- All of the Poolish
- 225 ml tepid water
- 500 g strong white bread flour
- 1 ½ tsp fine sea salt / kosher salt
- 2 tsp diastatic barley malt powder or soft brown sugar
- 15 g softened unsalted butter cut into small pieces
- ⅛ tsp instant yeast
Instructions
Make the Poolish starter
- The night before you’ll be baking the Brötchen, use a fork to mix the Poolish ingredients together. Use a large bowl, I used my KitchenAid bowl, and make sure there aren't any pockets of dry flour.
- Cover the bowl with cling film and let it sit and ferment overnight.
Make the dough
- By hand: Add the water to the bowl of Poolish to loosen it, followed by the rest of the final dough ingredients.
- Mix thoroughly until you have formed a ball of dough.
- Transfer dough to a floured surface and knead for 10 to 12 minutes.
- Check your dough is ready by using the windowpane test.
- KitchenAid: Add the water to the bowl of Poolish to loosen it, before adding the rest of the final dough ingredients. Attach your bowl to your stand mixer and mix with a dough hook for 1 to 2 minutes on slow speed number 1.
- Increase mixer speed to number 2 and mix for a further 6 to 8 minutes.
- Check your dough is ready by using the windowpane test.
First prove
- Place your dough in a large greased bowl and cover.
- Leave to rest in a warm place until doubled in size: about one and a half hours.
Shape Your Dough
- Transfer the dough to an oiled work surface and stretch out into a log shape. Divide into 9 equal pieces, approximately 112g each.
- Work each dough piece into a ball, pinching it together to seal. Then roll the dough between the cup of your hand and the work surface to produce a smooth ball.
- Place each dough ball on a baking tray lined with baking parchment or a silicone mat. Cover and leave to rise in a warm place for around 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 240°C / 220°C fan / 475 °F / 425 °F fan with a shallow baking tin placed in the bottom of the oven.
Baking Instructions
- Carefully score each roll with a lame or sharp knife.
- Apply a light mist to your rolls using a water spray bottle.
- Place your baking tray of bread rolls in the oven and then quickly pour a cup of recently boiled water into the pre-heated baking tin. Gently close the oven door.
- Bake for 10 minutes at 240°C / 220°C fan / 475 °F / 425 °F fan.
- Reduce oven temperature to 220°C / 200°C fan / 425 °F / 400 °F fan and continue baking for a further 10 minutes.
- Tip your rolls onto a cooling rack. Tap the base of the bread to check it is cooked; it should sound hollow.
Notes
- Makes 9 large rolls.
- For best results, rather than using measuring cups, weigh your flour using scales.
If you prefer to use a cup, gently spoon flour into it and then sweep off any excess. Do not pack down. - Diastatic malt powder - you can use soft brown sugar as a substitute. This will give you a brown crust but you will lose out on texture and rise.
- Don’t be tempted to add too much water to the baking tin. One cupful is enough to create steam at the beginning of baking which is all you need. Too much steam throughout baking and you can end up with a tough thick crust.
- Like most homemade bread, fresh is best but Brötchen (German Bread Rolls) will keep for a couple of days.
- These crusty bread rolls freeze well. Make sure your rolls are fully cooled and place in a freezer bag before freezing for up to three months.
- To keep the bread rolls crusty after freezing I would recommend baking from frozen for 5 minutes at 200°C / 180°C fan / 400°F / 350 °F fan.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Calories: 243kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 8g | Fat: 2g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.4g | Monounsaturated Fat: 0.5g | Trans Fat: 0.1g | Cholesterol: 4mg | Sodium: 402mg | Potassium: 88mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 0.2g | Vitamin A: 42IU | Vitamin C: 0.01mg | Calcium: 13mg | Iron: 3mg