Easy Kaiser Rolls Recipes

Steps:

• Make the dough: In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk flour and salt to combine. Attach bowl to mixer fitted with a dough hook. In a glass measuring cup, whisk together water, yeast, and honey; let stand 5 minutes. Add eggs and whisk to combine. Add to flour mixture and knead on low speed until it forms a soft, stretchy dough, 6 to 8 minutes. If necessary, add more water, a tablespoon at a time. Add butter, 1 tablespoon at a time, until thoroughly incorporated, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a buttered bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Punch down dough and remove from bowl. On a lightly floured surface, pat dough into a 14-by-12-inch rectangle. Fold dough into thirds like a business letter. Rotate dough 90 degrees on work surface and fold into thirds once more. Return dough to bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Divide dough into 12 equal pieces and cover lightly with plastic wrap. On a lightly floured work surface, pat one piece of dough at a time into a 5-by-3-inch rectangle. With a long side facing you, fold dough into thirds as you would a business letter. With the edge of your hand, pat dough along length of seam to seal. Using your hands, roll dough into a 12-inch rope. Tie rope into a simple knot, leaving a bit of length at each end. To finish the knot, pull one end up and over and tuck it into the center. Take remaining end and pull it down and under, pushing it through the bottom of the knot and up into the center. Place on parchment-lined baking sheets, 3 inches apart. Repeat process with remaining pieces of dough. Let rise, covered, in a warm place until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• Make the topping: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly brush tops of rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake, rotating sheet pans between racks halfway through, until golden brown, 30 to 35 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely.

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in 1/2 cup warm water. Add 1 tablespoon sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the oil, salt, remaining warm water and sugar and 4 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough., Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour., Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 16 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place 2 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes., Preheat oven to 400°. Beat egg white and cold water; brush over rolls. Sprinkle with poppy and/or sesame seeds. With scissors, cut a 1/4-in.-deep cross on tops of rolls. , Bake at 400° for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

Steps:

• Bread Machine Method:Place all of the ingredients into the pan of your machine, program the machine for manual or dough, and press start. About 10 minutes before the end of the final kneading cycle, examine the dough's consistency; it should be quite stiff, but not at all "gnarly;" adjust its consistency with additional flour or water, as necessary. Allow the machine to complete its cycle.
• Shaping:Transfer the dough to a lightly greased work surface, and divide it into six equal pieces. Shape the pieces into round balls, and place them on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet.
• Working with one ball of dough at a time, center your kaiser stamp over the dough. Press down firmly, cutting to the bottom but not all the way through the dough. This is important; if you don't cut deeply enough, the shape disappears as the roll bakes; if you cut too deeply (all the way through), the roll will form "petals" as it rises and look like a daisy, not a Kaiser roll. Practice makes perfect! Repeat with the remaining rolls.
• Place the rolls cut-side down (yes-cut-side down--this helps them retain their shape) onto a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet. Cover the rolls, and allow them to rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until they've almost doubled in volume. Turn the rolls cut-side up. Dip tops in milk and coat with poppy or sesame seeds, if desired.
• Bake the rolls in a preheated 425°F oven for 15 to 17 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.