AUSTRIA: Often called hard rolls in the U.S., these “emperor’s rolls” are mostly eaten for breakfast in Austria, with butter and jam. I couldn’t really master the “fold and tuck” method of shaping the dough, so tied them in knots instead — no easy feat either! These are a sturdier alternative to Week 10’s Burger Buns which are made with a brioche type dough, so definitely something to add to your repertoire!

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Since the video is in Bavarian (or German? I have no idea!), I’ve listed the ingredients below. Get them all measured out ahead of time, then follow the video instructions below.

• 400 g AP flour
• 8 g salt
• 10 g malted barley flour (most AP flour in the U.S. has malted barley flour already added in, so you can ignore this)
• 5 g sugar
• 15 g soft butter
• 7 g yeast
• 50 ml milk
• 190 ml lukewarm water (72 degrees)
• milk and sesame seeds for topping

Instructions (make sure you watch the video – don’t just go by this loose translation!)

1. Knead on #2 for 3 minutes, scraping down sides to help fully incorporate the dry flour into the dough, then on #4 for 3 minutes, scrape sides, then finish off on #2 for 3 minutes.
2. First rise is 20 minutes
3. He makes 9 rolls, but I make 8, each dough ball weighing about 85 grams
4. Press hard when you are flattening and rolling the balls into buns
5. He dusts the balls with a “dusting flour” which is 50% rye and 50% cornstartch. I did not do this step because I wanted to coat them with sesame seeds and I figured the flour would interfere with that. But, if you are going to shape them as he does, do the 2nd dusting.
6. Rest 15 minutes, then shape
7. After you shape them, they rest for 30 minutes. Preheat the oven to 450 during this rest.
8. You want a steamy environment, put hot water in a pan on the lowest rack. See the Tips page for more info on that.
9. Just before baking, I brushed them with milk and added the sesame seeds. So, I did not spray them with water as he does in the video.
10. Bake for about 18 minutes.

Here’s how to make knots if you would rather go that route. I found it much easier:

YOu could also use an apple cutter, but it doesn’t work as well.