Brötchen!

Ever since we got married, Annamaria and I would often crave Brötchen and lament how hard it is to find genuine German hard rolls at the grocery store. We fantasized about being able to make real, honest-to-goodness Brötchen, but oddly, we never actually looked for a recipe on the Internet. Until now! Turns out, the only real trick to Brötchen is to add a little egg white to your standard bread dough, brush the rolls with more egg white, and cook them at a fairly high temperature. Adding a pan with water to create steam is the final touch to getting the delicious crackly crust just right. We tried the following recipe tonight, actually following the recipe for once, and it came out just right!

Ingredients:
6 1/2 cups white flour
1 1/2 Tablespoons salt
1 1/2 Tablespoons yeast
4 eggs
lukewarm water

Directions

• Mix flour, salt, and yeast thoroughly
• Separate 3 egg whites and put in measuring cup
• Add lukewarm water to egg whites to make 3 cups total liquid
• Combine liquid and dry ingredients and stir
• Let rise 2-6 hours, until double in size
• Separate dough into balls the size of a small peach and form into ovals
• Place on greased pan or parchment paper
• Let rise 20-60 minutes, until double in size
• While dough rises, place baking stone (optional) on top shelf of oven and a broiler pan or other old pan (not optional) on bottom shelf, preheat thoroughly to 450
• Separate last egg white and brush on rolls (some recipes mix egg white with a Tablespoon of milk)
• Using a serrated knife (floured if necessary), swiftly cut each oval roll slightly in the lengthwise direction
• Place rolls in oven, either directly on baking stone or with the pan sitting on the stone
• Pour about 1 cup water in the broiler pan under the rolls and quickly close the oven door to keep the steam in
• Bake at 450 for 20-30 minutes, until very brown and crisp
• Serve warm with butter and jam or cold cuts and Munster cheese and peppermint tea

Original recipe courtesy artisanbreadinfive.com