Kaiser Rolls - Make Them Traditionally Hand-Tied

Ever had a Kaiser Roll?  It's a typically crusty round roll made from wheat flour with the top side usually divided in a rotationally symmetric pattern of five segments, separated by curved superficial cuts radiating from the centre outwards or folded in a series of overlapping lobes. These days Kaiser Rolls are often produced by machine or with a special stamp which makes beautiful perfectly symmetrical spiral cuts but they were originally made by hand by knotting a long strand of dough.  The hand-knotting makes for an interesting swirl and texture within the crumb of the roll when cut open for a sandwich.

The term "Kaiser" is a German word meaning "Emperor" and was derived from the Roman Emperors' title of "Caesar" (originally derived from the personal name of Gaius Julius Caesar, the forebear of the first Roman imperial family).  The Kaiser Roll was invented in Vienna during the late 1800s, and was named to honor Emperor (i.e. "Kaiser") Franz Joseph I who was then the monarch--his titles were Emperor of Austria, Apostolic King of Hungary, King of Bohemia, King of Croatia, King of Galicia and Lodomeria and Grand Duke of Cracow (I'll bet he had one ugly business card).  One interesting aside for those interested in the history of Mexico, Franz Joseph's younger brother was Archduke Ferdinand Maximilian (born 1832, who was installed by Napoleon III as Emperor Maximilian of Mexico).

Here's how to make Kaiser Rolls:

• 2 cups Water - luke warm (for a protein and flavor boost you can alternatively use the whey left over from making kefir cheese or yogurt cheese)
• 1 Tbsp Yeast - heaping
• 1/2 cup Sugar or your favorite sweetener (this feeds the yeast)
• 1/4 cup Vegetable Oil (I like olive)
• 1 Tbsp Salt
• 1 cup White Flour
• 4.5 cups Whole Wheat Flour
• 1/4 cup Gluten (available at your health-food store and sometimes called Vital Gluten--this is important for fluffy whole-grain breads) if you don't use gluten at least half your flour should be white flour
• Milk
• Sesame Seeds

Stir the oil, the yeast, and the sugar into the water.  Add the white flour, the gluten, and three cups of the whole wheat flour and stir in well.  Add the final cup of whole wheat flour and work it in with your hands.  Knead the bread as best you can (it will be sticky), leave it in a lump in the bowl, spray it with oil spray, and leave it to rise until double.

Beat down the dough and separate out into 4 ounce pieces.  On a floured surface roll each of these into a "snake" around 18 inches long.  Tie this in a loose simple knot right in the center (see the upper left photo in the collage above).  Now tuck the loose left strand up underneath the knot (see the upper right photo in the collage above).  Finally, pull the loose right strand over the knot and tuck the end down into the center (see the center right photo in the collage above).  This will take a bit of practice because the dough sticks to itself and makes it difficult to tie and manipulate.  Keep your hands well floured as well as the dough.

Place the knotted rolls on a baking sheet, brush with milk or a mixture of equal parts egg-whites and water, sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds.  Let rise until double and bake until golden brown (about 20 minutes) at 350 degrees fahrenheit.  Serve warm or use for sandwiches or hamburgers.  Makes a great bun for these bean-lentil veggie burgers or these smokey sweet potato burgers.  Have fun and enjoy!