Kaiser Rolls
Flour, 50 lbs.
Water, 23 to 24 lbs.
Salt, 3/4 lbs.
Sugar, 1½ lb.
Malt, 1½ lb.
Yeast, 5/8 to 3/4 1bs.
Shortening, 34 to 1 lb.
Method Dissolve the yeast and half of the malt extract in about 1/2 qts. of water and place to one side. Put the balance of water and milk (if milk is used), salt, sugar and malt extract in the mixer and stir to dissolve these ingredients. Now add the flour and begin mixing. After the ingredients have been incorporated, add the shortening and continue mixing until the dough is smooth. The dough should be 78 to 80 degrees when mixed.
Fermentation If a 4½ hour fermentation period is employed it may be divided as follows: First rising, 2½ hours; second rising, 1¼ hours; third rising, ½ hour. Allow the dough to rest 15 minutes, when it can be divided.
Sponge Method Many bakers prefer the sponge method in making Kaiser Rolls. When this method is desired the dough may be made as follows:
Sponge Dissolve 1/2 lb. of yeast and half of the malt extract in 1/2 qt. of water and place to one side. Put 30 lbs. of water, the dissolved yeast and 60 lbs. of flour in the mixer and mix until the sponge is smooth. Put the sponge in a trough and allow it to ferment until it comes to the second rising. The sponge should be 78 degrees when mixed.
Doughing Put the balance of water or milk (if milk is used), the salt, sugar and malt extract in the mixer and stir to dissolve these ingredients; now add the sponge and break it up. Add the flour and balance of the yeast which has previously been dissolved and begin mixing. After the ingredients have been incorporated, add the shortening and continue mixing until the dough is smooth. The dough should be 78 to 80 degrees when mixed. Allow the dough to come to one rising, when it will be ready to be divided.
This is a wholesale bakery formula, scaled to a 50 lb sack of flour and written for a trough, a dough mixer and a steam-injected deck oven. To bring it into a home kitchen, work in baker's percentages off the flour weight rather than trying to reduce the pound figures directly.
- Scaling the formulaAgainst 50 lb flour the ingredients run roughly 46-48% water, 1.5% salt, 3% sugar, 1% malt, 1.25-1.5% yeast and 1.5-2% shortening. For a home batch of 1000 g flour that is about 470 g water, 15 g salt, 30 g sugar, 10 g malt, 12-15 g fresh yeast (about one third that in instant dry) and 15-20 g shortening.
- Yeast typeBakery formulas of this era assume compressed (fresh) yeast, which is why it is dissolved in water first. If you substitute instant dry yeast, use about one third the weight and add it with the flour.
- Malt extractMost likely a diastatic malt syrup, used for crust colour and to feed the yeast through a long fermentation; the formula itself says only "malt extract." Non-diastatic malt or barley malt syrup will give colour but not the enzyme activity; if you leave it out entirely expect a paler, less blistered crust.
- A stiff doughUnder 50% hydration this is a firm, almost pasta-like dough, which is what makes a kaiser roll hold a stamped pattern without the cuts closing up. It will look dry in the mixer. Do not correct it with extra water.
- Dough temperatureThe 78-80F finished dough temperature is the control point in the whole formula, and it is worth taking with a probe thermometer. Adjust your water temperature up or down to hit it, since everything in the fermentation schedule assumes it.
- "Rising" means punching downIn trade usage a rising is a full fermentation followed by a punch or turn, not a separate proof. The multi-stage schedule here is developing flavour and strength over a long fermentation.
- Shaping and the stampThe formula stops at dividing because shaping was assumed knowledge. Round the pieces, rest them, then either press with a five-point kaiser stamp or hand-knot the classic pinwheel, and proof seam or pattern side down so the cuts stay defined.
- BakingNo oven setting is given. Kaiser rolls are baked hot and with steam at the start, in the range of 425-450F for roughly 15-18 minutes for standard 2 oz rolls, until the crust is deep golden and crisp.
The kaiser roll is Viennese, and the name is generally traced to the Austrian imperial court, though the story that it was created to honour a particular emperor is traditional rather than documented. What defines it is the crown or star pattern on top, made either with a hand-cut stamp or by folding a rounded piece of dough into five overlapping petals. Central European bakers carried it to American cities in the late nineteenth century, where it became the standard hard roll of the delicatessen counter. Trade publications like this one printed formulas rather than recipes: weights against a 50 lb sack, dough temperatures to the degree, and fermentation schedules a shop foreman could hang on the wall, with shaping and baking left to the journeyman who already knew them.