Life by Chocolate: Filet Mignon Dinner: Step 1 My Kaiser Roll Recipe

I am making another one of my comfort food dishes for tonight. It's the bacon wrapped filet with asparagus and baked potato with Bernaise. I know. It sounds pedestrian but it's very good and it is comforting. These rolls make it perfect.

Preheat the over with a pan in it to 400F.

33 oz AP flour
1 oz Carnation Malted Milk Powder (optional)
12 oz hot water, I like to microware the water for 1 minute
0.5 oz smoked sea salt. I like hickory or alder wood. See Savory Spice Shop.com to buy it.
1 packet of yeast. (I used approximately 1 packet though I buy my yeast in bulk and weigh it. I thought this would be easier for everyone.)
1 oz olive oil
0.5 oz of sugar
2 eggs slightly beaten

Since I have a huge mixer, 20 quart, I just put the above into the mixer and let the dough hook mix all of it together. And add the two eggs as it mixes. Add the eggs in slowly. If you want to do this by hand, then you have to mix all the dry ingredients together and create a well in the flour and pour the hot water and olive oil into the well and stir the eggs in one at a time and then need.

Kneed for 10 minutes or until the ball of dough is smooth using a dough hook.

Let rise for 1 hour. Punch down and then let rise for 30 minutes. Punch down again and roll out just as you would do for the bao.

Next cut and weigh, adjusting. I like to cut the rolls into 3 oz and 4 oz portions.

The 3 oz portions I use white poppy seeds for and the 4 oz portions, I use blue poppy seeds. The blue poppy seeds make this look like a New York hard roll. Traditionally, I understand, Kaiser rolls are smaller than what I've instructed you to make here.

Next you must take the cut pieces, roll them into round balls, I like using the knuckle approach for this. Make your hand into a fist and then use your first finger knuckle to shape into a ball.

Next flatten with the palm of your hand. Then fold the bread inward into the center, about 1/3 of the way, and then creating 5 corners, fold each of the five corners into the center, punching down each time. Finally, on the last fold, having folded all the dough into the middle, punch down again hard, just like in the filled bao. NB: I have steal tables and done need to flour the surface. You may flour if you wish.

Put these face down onto a sheet pan with the correct poppy seed and let rise for about 30 mins. What I like to do is flip them 5 minutes before they are done rising and let them rest. This way, if the deflate a little, the roll will have time to recover. Be very careful when you flip them.

Five minutes before you put the rolls into the oven, pour a cup of water into the pan. Cook for 10 minutes. I rotate them in my oven and cook for another 5 to 10 minutes depending on the size of the roll and where they are in the oven. Take out when evenly browned.