This Kaiser Rolls recipe is perfect for any occasion. These rolls are soft, and fluffy and have a slightly sweet flavor that pairs well with any meal. Whether you're hosting a dinner party or just want to have some delicious bread on hand, these Kaiser Rolls will not disappoint.
Jump to:
- ❤️ Favorite things about this recipe
- 📝 Ingredients you'll need
- 🥣 Before you begin: essential tools
- 🥄 Step by step: instructions
- 👩🍳 Variations to make it your own
- 👍 Let's make the perfect recipe: Amira's tips
- 🧺 How to store leftovers
- ⌛ Make Ahead
- 🍽️ Perfect pairings: what to serve with
- 💬 Your questions answered: FAQs
- 📣 Related Recipes
- Kaiser Rolls
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❤️ Favorite things about this recipe
- The soft and fluffy texture makes these rolls great to serve alongside a meal, but you can also use them for sandwiches and burgers.
- You only need simple ingredients, so you don't have to worry about trying to track down hard-to-find ingredients.
- They also smell amazing while they are baking, so your house will smell good!
Making homemade rolls and breads can require a bit of effort however, this recipe is easy to follow and the result is worth it.
📝 Ingredients you'll need
Note: This is an overview of the ingredients. You'll find the full measurements and instructions in the recipe card (printable) at the bottom of the page.
📋 Ingredient Notes / Variations
- Bread flour - I like to use King's Arthur Flour, however any brand of bread flour will work.
- Active dry yeast - For this recipe, you will want active yeast and not rapid-rise yeast.
- Salt - Table salt will work just fine in these homemade rolls.
- Unsalted butter - This will give your rolls a little fat to help keep them moist.
- Eggs - Eggs act as a binder and help give the rolls their airy texture.
- Cold milk - This will help activate the yeast and create a softer dough. Whole milk works best in breads.
- Sugar - Just a touch of sugar adds a hint of sweetness to balance out the savory flavors in these rolls.
- Oil - You can use any type of neutral flavored oil. I like to vegetable or canola oil in baking.
- Toppings - You can use sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or a mixture of both on top of your rolls.
🥣 Before you begin: essential tools
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- Stand mixer with dough hook
- Lightly oiled bowl
- Plastic wrap
- Parchment-lined baking sheet
- Small bowl
- Pastry brush
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🥄 Step by step: instructions
Note: This is an overview of the instructions. The detailed instructions are in the recipe card below.
- In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour, yeast, salt, and sugar.
- In a measuring cup or microwave-safe bowl combine cold milk and water, and microwave for 30-45 seconds to warm them a bit.
- Add cold butter, this will reduce the mixture temperature a bit, then beat in one egg.
- Turn the mixer on low speed slowly pour the wet ingredients over the dry ingredients and knead until you have a consistent and elastic dough that leaves the sides of the bowl but still sticks to the bottom.
- Turn the dough into a clean working surface and knead with hands for a couple of minutes, If the dough is too sticky lightly dust your surface with flour.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with oil then place the dough in, cover lightly with plastic wrap or a damp towel, and let the dough rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough to deflate and divide into 12 equal pieces. Roll dough into round balls.
- Cover the balls with plastic wrap lightly brushed with oil.
- Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
Shaping Kaiser rolls:
- Take one dough ball, keeping the rest covered, and roll it into a long rope about 14 inches long.
- Tie the rope into a knot with about an inch open loop.
- Take the bottom tail up and over and tuck it into the center of the loop. To make a loose knot.
- Pull the other tail and wrap it under the loop pinching the ends together to seal under the bun.
- Place the unbaked rolls on the parchment-lined sheet pinched side down. Repeat with the remaining rolls.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap brushed with a little oil and let the dough rest and rise for another hour.
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Beat the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water.
- Brush the shaped rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with some sesame seeds poppy seeds or both.
- Bake on a parchment-lined baking sheet in the center of your preheated oven for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack before serving.
👩🍳 Variations to make it your own
- Instead of shaping these rolls into knots, you can also shape them into round dough balls so that they bake up into sandwich rolls.
- You can also shape them into buns for hot dogs, by rolling them into logs and then not folding them.
👍 Let's make the perfect recipe: Amira's tips
- To get equal rolls, you can use a kitchen scale to weigh the dough balls to ensure they weigh the same.
- Even if you are not sprinkling the top of the rolls with the seeds, you still want to brush the tops with the egg wash so that they brown.
- Check the expiration date on your yeast, fresh yeast will give your rolls the best rise.
- If your house is on the cooler side and you can't find a warm place, you may need to allow the dough to rise in the oven with the oven light on.
🧺 How to store leftovers
Refrigerate - Once the rolls have cooled, place them in an airtight container and store them in the fridge for up to 3 days.
Freeze - To freeze the rolls, wrap them tightly with plastic wrap and then with a layer of aluminum foil and place them in a freezer-safe bag or container. And, then freeze them for up to three months.
⌛ Make Ahead
My family prefers these rolls fresh, however, you can make them up to 24 hours ahead if you need to save a little time.
🍽️ Perfect pairings: what to serve with
- I typically serve homemade Kaiser rolls with our favorite meals such as hearty soups like this Lebanese Lentil Soup or this Instant Pot Beef and Barley Soup.
- You can also use them as sandwich rolls with your favorite cold cuts.
💬 Your questions answered: FAQs
Sesame seeds are larger and oval-shaped with a nutty flavor, while poppy seeds are smaller and round with a slightly sweet taste.
The difference between the two is that in order for bread dough to turn out correctly, it needs a higher gluten content, so bread flour contains more gluten than all-purpose flour.
📣 Related Recipes
- These Fluffy Butter Dinner Rolls are perfect for any occasion! They are soft, buttery, and easy to make.
- Sweet Bread Rolls also known as Shoreek are a delicious treat for any time of day. They have a slightly sweet taste and are perfect for spreading with jam or butter.
- These Stuffed Rolls are full of cheese and savory flavors. They make a great snack but they also go well with soup.
Beautiful and delicious, Kaiser rolls are very common in Egypt, but we are more likely to see them in a rounded form, like burger buns. Leave me a comment below and let me know if you have ever tried these rolls.
If you love this recipe, please leave a ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ rating! Thank you.
Kaiser Rolls
Ingredients
- 4 cups bread flour 500g plus more if needed
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast one ¼ oz envelop
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 Tablespoon unsalted butter
- 2 eggs
- ½ cup tap water plus more if needed
- ½ cup cold milk
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- A little Oil for greasing a bowl
For garnish:
- Sesame seeds
- Poppy seeds
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer combine flour, yeast, salt and sugar.
- In a measuring cup or microwave safe bowl combine cold milk and water, microwave for 30-45 seconds to warm them a bit.
- Add cold butter, this will reduce the mixture temperature a bit, then beat in one egg.
- Turn the mixer on and slowly pour the wet ingredients over the flour mixture and knead until you have a consistent and elastic dough that leaves the sides of the mixing bowl but still sticks to the bottom.
- Turn the dough into a clean working surface and knead with hands for a couple of minutes, If the dough is too sticky lightly dust your surface with flour.
- Lightly grease a large bowl with oil then place the dough in, cover and let it rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
- Punch the dough to deflate and divide into 12 equal balls about 70g each.
- Cover the balls with plastic wrap lightly brushed with oil.
- Line two large sheet pans with parchment paper and set aside.
Shaping Kaiser rolls:
- Take one ball of dough, keeping the rest covered, and roll into a long rope about 14-inch long.
- Tie the rope into a knot with about an inch open loop.
- Take the bottom tail up and over and tuck it into the center of the loop.
- Pull the other tail and wrap it under the loop pinching the ends together to seal under the bun.
- Place on the parchment lined sheet pinched side down. Repeat until you are done with all the rolls.
- Cover loosely with plastic wrap brushed with a little oil and let them rise for another hour.
Baking:
- Preheat oven to 350F.
- Beat the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water.
- Brush rolls with egg wash and sprinkle with some sesame seeds or poppy seeds or both.
- Bake in the center of your oven for 30-35 minutes until golden brown.
- Cool on a wire rack before serving.
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