Brötchen, Classic Breakfast Rolls; & A Cookbook Club Roundup
Hi friends! I just wanted to pop in to quickly share our Cookbook Club Roundup for both August and September. As you might be aware, our August pick – Classic German Baking, all the details here – also became our September pick due to my busy schedule. This allowed me to really dig deep into the book and I gotta tell you: I loved every second! Below is a roundup of everything I baked from the book over the course of the two months, with links to each recipe. My very favourite recipe from the book – Brötchen, Classic Breakfast Rolls – is typed up below with all the info you need to bake them yourselves. Trust me, you’ll be thanking me later.
August & September’s Cookbook Club Roundup
Classic German Baking
I totally loved baking from this book! Every single recipe I made was so easy, with just a few simple and direct instructions. Baking from it was exactly the kind of tonic I needed – very little input for such delicious output! Side note: can we all pretend to be German and embrace their amazing coffee + cake culture on the daily? I think it’s such a lovely tradition!
Linzertorte, Spiced Almond Jam Tart // I was itching to make linzertorte from the first second I got my hands on this book and it didn’t let me down! I omitted the cloves from the recipe and went for a straight up cinnamon spiced version and it was a huge success! If you’d like to watch the video of me making this on Instagram, click here.
Rhubarberkuchen, Simple Rhubarb Cake // admittedly, I made this a few months ago, but I still dream about it. Definitely a keeper.
Franzbrötchen, Cinnamon Sugar Buns // the most technical bake of the bunch. These are a hybrid of sorts between a cinnamon roll and a bread roll – and they are DELICIOUS. I froze our leftovers on the day of baking, and we defrosted and devoured them all within a few short days. They’re buttery, flakey, and caramelized to perfection.
Versunkener Apfelkuchen, Sunken Apple Cake // my second favourite recipe. I LOVED the ease of this cake. It was a breeze to make – a simple one bowl batter with a couple of apples thrown in – and so so delicious! It’s nothing special to look at, but every single person that tried it loved it! Will definitely be baking again.
Brötchen, Classic Breakfast Rolls // my favourite bake, scroll down!
Schwäbischer Prasselkuchen, Swabian Streusel Jam Slices // yum! These were like a really great pie bar, except easier because the filling is just jam. To give you an idea of how much we loved them: we didn’t share a single square with anyone and ate the whole tray ourselves. Delicious!
Brötchen, Classic Breakfast Rolls
Now, down to the goods: Brötchen aka Classic Breakfast Rolls! It was actually quite hard to choose a favourite recipe from this bunch because I ended up loving everything I made. However, these brötchen were the one thing I pulled out of my oven that had me utterly gob-smacked. I couldn’t believe that I was able to achieve the most perfect breakfast rolls in my very old, very gammy oven. Honestly, this recipe is such a keeper.
Let me give you the lowdown:
• you know how in hotels they serve bread baskets with some brown slices and a few white rolls? In my family, we all fight over the rolls – they’re perfect smeared with butter and dunked in soup! These are those rolls!! They have that perfect fluffy cotton interior and wonderfully appetizing crispy crust. They’re insane!
• these require a little bit of forethought and need to be prepped the night before you plan to eat them. It’s actually rather wonderful, because in the morning you just pull them out of the fridge and slide them into the oven. Ideal!
• the perfect crackly crust of these rolls comes from the use of ice in the oven. When you turn the oven on to preheat, you place a roasting tray down the very bottom. At the exact same time when you slide the rolls in, you throw a handful or two of ice into the hot tray at the bottom of the oven. The ice creates steam and gives the rolls the crustiest crust!
• Luisa says you can make these with fresh yeast! Simply sub 10g fresh yeast in place of the dried.
And there we have it: Brötchen, Classic Breakfast Rolls! I just know you’re going to love them – they’re perfect! To watch a quick how-to of me making these rolls on Instagram, click here!
Happy baking!
Brötchen, Classic Breakfast Rolls
INGREDIENTS
- 150 g full fat milk
- 150 g warm tap water
- 1/2 tsp yeast
- 500 g plain flour, plus more for kneading
- 1 1/4 tsp salted
- 2 handfuls of ice, for baking
DIRECTIONS
day one
- Remove 1 tablespoon of milk from the overall weight, and keep it separate in the fridge. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper; set aside.
- In a large bowl, mix together the yeast, milk, water, flour, and salt until a shaggy ball forms. Transfer the dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until it is smooth and no longer sticky – it will be firm/tough. Place back into the bowl, cover with a clean kitchen towel, and leave to rise for 1-hour at room temperature.
- Lightly punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal pieces. Shape the pieces into ovals, approx. 3×5-inches in size, and space them out on the prepared baking sheet. Cover the whole tray with cling film, and leave to chill in the fridge overnight.
day two
- 20-minutes before you plan to bake the rolls, take them out of the fridge. Preheat the oven to 220°C, and place a large tray/roasting pan down the bottom of the oven.
- Brush the rolls with the reserved tablespoon of milk and use a lame/sharp knife to slash each roll lengthwise.
- Working quickly, simultaneously dump the ice into the hot tray at the bottom of the oven at the same time you slide the rolls in and close the door immediately. Bake for 20 to 25-minutes, or until crusty, golden brown, and hollow-sounding when tapped. Leave to cool on a wire rack slightly before serving.
Did you make this recipe? I’d love to know! Please leave a comment & a rating below, or tag me on Instagram @imvcki. Thank you so much for supporting Passionate Baker!