Hoagie Rolls Recipe

It's hard to find large sandwich rolls around here, so I figured out how to make my own.

Before You Begin

Ingredients

• 7.1 grams (2 1/4 tsp) Instant Yeast. If using Active Dry Yeast, add 25% more.
• 25.1 grams (2 tbsp) Granulated Sugar.
• 330 ml (1 3/8 cup) Water.
• 500 grams (4 cups) Bread Flour.
• 5.69 grams (1 tsp) Salt.
• 57 grams (4 tbsp) Unsalted Butter, cold, cut into small cubes.
• 50 grams (1 egg) Egg, lightly beaten for coating (optional). Several egg coating variations are suggested below. I have only tried whole egg.
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) Whole Milk for coating (optional).

Preparation

1. If using Active Dry Yeast, activate it by combining the Yeast, Sugar, and 6 tbsp Warm water. Let this stand for about 10 minutes until it "blooms", which is indicated by the formation of foam. I do this using my bread maker's yeast starter function, which keeps it at a nice cozy temperature. Depending on the yeast type, the recommended temperature range is 100-115°F/38-46°C. This is about the temperature of a hot bath, but not too hot because you'll kill the yeast. If the yeast doesn't bloom it is dead or expired.
2. If using Instant Yeast, combine Yeast, Sugar, and 6 tbsp of warm Water. The purpose of adding the Water here is not that you need to allow the Yeast to bloom, but rather to make sure it is wet when you add the other ingredients. You probably want to first warm the Water to about 120-130°f/49-54°C—check the instructions for your brand of yeast.
3. Add half of the Flour, half of the remaining Water, and mix for about 4 minutes. I do this in my bread maker, but a stand mixer with a dough hook is just as good.
4. Add remaining Water, Salt and remaining Flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix for 5 to 6 minutes. The dough should be "slack", which means it's a bit liquidly and does not hold a shape, but is not runny. If it is too dry you can add up to 1/4 cup of additional water. If it is runny, slowly add a little more Flour until it is slack.
5. Slowly add the cubed Butter, about 1 tbsp at at time and mix until combined, about 2 minutes.
6. Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for 60 minutes (80 minutes if using Active Dry Yeast). Dough should approximately double in size. My bread maker has a function with a timer to keep the dough nice and warm.
7. Punch down the dough, and roll it out on a lightly floured surface so it's about 1/4 inch (6 to 7cm) thick
8. Roll out the dough so it's about 1/4" / 6.35mm thick, and divide it into 4 to 8 equal pieces. I make batches of 6 rolls, and each piece weighs about 158 grams.
9. Fold each piece of dough into a log shape, stretching as required to get the desired length (roughly 8 inches or 20cm). You can just cook your rolls on some parchment paper, but I cook mine in small, lightly oiled Pound Cake pans that are 8.25x2.5x3 inches (roughly 21x6.5x8cm) in order to get a consistent shape.
10. Allow to rise again for 30 to 45 minutes (50 to 65 minutes if using Active Dry Yeast). Dough should approximately double in size.
11. Optionally cut a slit with a sharp knife along the top. Some people think this looks prettier
12. Optionally coat with Whole Egg (gives color and sheen), Egg Yolk (improves color), Egg White (gives firmer crust), Milk (improves color), or Egg White + Milk (improves both color and crust firmness).
13. Bake for 16 to 23 minutes at 375°F/190°C depending on the roll size and your oven. 18 minutes works well for me in my small oven with 6 rolls.
14. Cool on a wire rack.

Storage

Summary

References