Looking for a true Broetchen - Semmel recipe

[Marcel]

Hi,

This "Newbie" sees so many Forums within eGullet he doesn't know where to start.

I'm looking for a recipe for real German hard rolls, called variously: Broetchen, Semmel, Schrippen, ...

They are crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. They have a great aroma and delicate flavor so they are great with just unsalted butter.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marcel

[Gifted Gourmet]

BROTCHEN (German Hard Rolls):

might these be the hard rolls you are looking for?

[alanamoana]

Hi,

This "Newbie" sees so many Forums within eGullet he doesn't know where to start.

I'm looking for a recipe for real German hard rolls, called variously: Broetchen, Semmel, Schrippen, ...

They are crusty on the outside and chewy on the inside. They have a great aroma and delicate flavor so they are great with just unsalted butter.

Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks,

Marcel

←

these small rolls can be any number of rolls...germany has wonderful breads and tons of riffs on little rolls. i especially love the whole wheat numbers that use different whole grains and seeds and things on top...can you be more specific?

more often than not, the small rolls that they make are whole wheat or rye based. can you be more specific as to what kind of flour, etc? it could be a regional thing as well. little rolls in the black forest (schwartzwald) may be different than the little rolls in munich or in northern germany.

[Marcel]

(M) Thanks to both Melissa, and Alan? for their help.

(M) Alan, you wanted me to be more specific so let me say that I'm not looking for darker rolls such as "Schusterjunge". The rolls I seek are nearly ubiquitous in Germany and Austria. They do vary in shape somewhat, from a circular to an oblong footprint. Their individual weight is probably between 2.5 and 2.75 Oz. I'm virtually sure that they are made with unbleached, unbromated "white" bread flower. Their interior consistency is not unlike that of a French Baguette but with smaller holes.

(M) Melissa, thanks for both recipes. I'm leaning toward the 2nd as Susan Freeman doesn't specify the kind of yeast, nor the type of flour.

(M) Your 2nd reference: SOURCE: Gabi's Küche (http://gabiscott.com/pages/gabi.html)

reads as though it were offered from a German, Swiss, or Austrian source so I'm more inclined to follow it. Gabi also specifies the type of yeast and flour. I'll visit her site.

(M) The German sites I've visited do not seem to show much standardization. I've found recipes with and without egg; and many with great variability in the resting periods, etc.

(M) What I want is the plain everyday variety of Broetchen that is available everywhere I've visited in Germany and Austria. I've not been to Switzerland so I'm only making assumptions there.

(M) "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is an adage that I think works here. It seems that many home bakers are trying to improve on a roll that is essentially a pedestrian creation.

(M) I read all 4 pages of fairly heated debate, from 2004, on whether the French make the best baguette. It included input from the "top brass" of eGullet. It was interesting that I have no memory of a complete Baguette recipe in that debate.

(M) Many pointed to the unavoidable differences in flour, yeast, bacteria, etc. It could be that I'm facing a similar problem, but it occurs to me that the combined areas of Germany and Austria are fairly large yet one can find the real Broetchen in Salzburg Austria as well as northern Bremen, Germany. That seems to shoot down the local environment as being a critical factor.

M) Anyway, I shouldn't turn your reply into my monologue. Thanks again for your input. If anyone reading this can simply point me to the URL in this huge Forum where I can Copy-Paste this reply, I'd be most grateful.

(M) I should point out that I am at best a virtual beginning baker. I've had some fairly good success in replicating the true Broetchen by using a modified Kaiser Roll recipe of King Arthur Flour and leaving out the egg. When the snow in Oregon melts I hope to try to bake Broetchen in my masonry outside oven. In the mean time, "Was auf dem tisch kommt, wert gegessen."

Guten Appetite,

Marcel

[ludja]

Here's a recipe auf Deutsch from a German website: brotchen

This recipe uses fresh yeast as do most of the German/Austrian recipes I've seen that use yeast.

I'm not much of a bread baker but I do really like German/Austrian Semmel and Broetchen. I love the plain Kipfel (crescents) that one can get in Austria (and Germany?) as well, for breakfast.

Please report back if you have success with any of these or other recipes!

Edited January 11, 2007 by ludja (log)

[Gifted Gourmet]

Looking forward to seeing some pictures and/or the written results on these German hard rolls, Marcel!

[Jensen]

Marcel,

One of my friends/neighbours is from Bavaria and I know from being in her house that she has at least one bread cookbook (auf Deutsch as Ludja says) on her bookshelves.

I've asked to borrow it and will peruse it and get back to you. I wouldn't mind such a recipe myself. My favourites are the ones with the seeds and whatnot on top...

[Swisskaese]

Germans, Austrians and Swiss Germans tend to not bake their own bread because it is so easy to buy it at a good bakery in their neighborhood. I always bought mine when I lived in Germany and Switzerland. Homebakers prefer using fresh yeast, but you can easily used the dry yeast.

Here is a recipe for a basic broetchen:

Broetchen

[Marcel]

Germans, Austrians and Swiss Germans tend to not bake their own bread because it is so easy to buy it at a good bakery in their neighborhood. I always bought mine when I lived in Germany and Switzerland. Homebakers prefer using fresh yeast, but you can easily used the dry yeast.

Here is a recipe for a basic broetchen:

Broetchen

←

(M) Thanks to ALL who have posted replies to my quest. I don't name you all since more replies may be forthcoming. Suffice to say I read all replies with interest and appreciation.

(M) "Swisskaese" offered a link to Google's Recipes, a site I didn't know existed.

I followed the link and sent the contributor the following reply:

================

"(M) Sorry that I can't address you by name but please know that I appreciate your posting on Google of your Broetchen - Semmel - Schrippe recipe.

http://base.google.com/base/a/1193572/D13869106986588446050

I have been trying to replicate the real roll, as shown by your excellent photo, for some time. I suspected that a "sponge" was used first and will continue to explore the Internet looking for such a recipe. In the meantime I'll try your simpler recipe.

I've used the King Arthur recipe for Kaiser Rolls but left out the egg. I've baked great tasting rolls with a good crust but the inside was too forgiving. I'm looking for more chewiness in the center which perhaps is only possible with a previously introduced "sponge".

Would you be willing to tell me how you know that the commercial bakeries use a "sponge" ?

I've spent quite a bit of time in both Germany and Austria and was married for 18 years to Eine Berlinerin so I had a chance to sample quite a few superb German and Austrian baked goods. I live not far from Eugene Oregon so I'm able to get other great artisan breads but the real Broetchen has yet to be found. :-(

Thanks again for your time and trouble.

Guten Appetit

Marcel"

[dreilly]

Marcel,

I am the daughter of German immigrants. My grandmother would come to live with us six months out of the year when I was a child. I spoke little German, and she spoke equally little English. I remember her making Broetchen, mixing the dough with great vigor with a wooden spoon.

I recently tracked down the recipe from my mother, and it is listed below. I have yet to try the recipe -- the instructions are minimal, so it might take a couple of iterations to get it right. I will post my results if I can get around to baking them soon-- if anyone else tries this recipe, I wopuld love to hear about your experience!

Doris

Oma's Broetchen (German Rolls)

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method

-------- ------------ --------------------------------

1/2 cup warm water

1 tsp sugar

1 package dry yeast

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup milk

4 cups flour

1 teaspoon salt

Mix warm water, sugar, milk and dry yeast and let rise for 10 minutes.

Heat 3/4 cup water and 3/4 cup milk in a saucepan until warm.

Sift flour and salt onto pastry board. Make a groove in the flour and mix in yeast mixture and then warmed milk and water. Knead or beat with wooden spoon vigorously for approximately 10 minutes until dough makes air bubbles and is soft and smooth. Let rise for approximately 1 hour or until doubled in volume. Shape into round rolls and let rise again for 10 minutes.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 20-25 minutes. Brush with water for crispness.

Edited January 13, 2007 by dreilly (log)

[schneich]

there is a great amateur baker website with all the german broetchen recipes. the woman who owns it is very much into breadmaking, she also has all the peter reinhardt and la brea recipes online, so she quite knows what she´s doing. i case you knead translation just msg me ;-)

cheers

t.

[ludja]

there is a great amateur baker website with all the german broetchen recipes. the woman who owns it is very much into breadmaking, she also has all the peter reinhardt and la brea recipes online, so she quite knows what she´s doing. i case you knead translation just msg me ;-)

cheers

t.

←

Thank you very much for this link! This really does look like a great resource!

I had a general question though in case you know it. One recipe (Helen's Broetchen) has an ingredient listed as just "Gluten". Any idea what this might be as a US (or German) product? (I don't bake bread alot so I"m not awere if there is something called just 'gluten' for sale in the US.)

Looking at the photo, these rolls look like they might be similar what Marcel is looking for also.

Thanks!

Edited January 13, 2007 by ludja (log)

[schneich]

gluten is pure wheat gluten, and you should be able to get it a organic supermarket or at the local drugstore (at least in germany)

cheers

t.