Kaiser Rolls Recipe

The hamburger bun is probably the top roll in the country, but it lacks the great chew of a good Kaiser roll. I make kaiser rolls every once in a while just to say I did, and if you haven't i think you should try to make them too. My recipe is a little different from most others, but I like it.

1 1/4 cup warm water
1/4 cu dough starter
1 tsp yeast
2 tbsp sugar
2 tsp salt
1 egg
2 tbsp oil
4 cups bread flour

for topping:
poppy seeds
egg wash (beaten egg and a little water)

Mix the first 7 ingredients together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Then add the flour. Knead to form a smooth, soft (but not sticky) dough. After 6 min of kneading it should be ready. place the dough in a lightly greased bowl and let rise until well doubled. It is best to let this dough rise relatively slow to develop flavors. Once the dough is risen turn it out onto a work surface and gently redistribute the air by pressing its surface. Now form the dough into pieces large enough to form 1 in wide 13 in long snakes of dough. Now follow the pictures above to form the snakes into a kaiser roll shape by looping each one around itself. Place the finished rolls on a greased and cornmeal covered baking sheet to rise until doubled again. Once risen brush the rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake in a 375 degree steamy oven for 20-25 min. enjoy!