Kaisersemmeln/ Kaiser Buns

Kaisersemmeln in the foreground as part of an Easter breakfast spread.

What an amazing bun. It's versatile, easy and quick to make, and impressive to look at. The only tricky part is making the knot, but it's very easy once you get the hang of it- form long, well-floured "snakes" of dough, tie a loose knot and tuck the loose ends into the middle, maybe pulling them through and back again if they're long enough to get more loops.

This dough is relatively low in gluten, so it isn't as eager to return to its shape- that would pose a problem for the rolling-out.

High gluten flour helps keep together doughs with large portions of whole grain flours (which lack gluten) and chewy, porous breads, but in this case what you want is a soft bun, hence the all purpose or type 550 flour. (Note: if you live in the GTA, Starsky has a really good selection of European flours! I need to make a 'resources' page sometime.)

A brief note on what the numbers on different forms of flour mean- they refer to the amount of ash (that is, mineral) content in the flour that remains when a sample is combusted. This doesn't mean that the flour is mixed with ashes! Rather, the amount of minerals remaining roughly translates to the amount of the grain kernel left in the dough after milling, since that's where the majority of the minerals are. So, a higher number means a larger quantity of germ/endosperm and bran in the flour, defining its "whole-graininess". Different types of wheat and other grains also vary in mineral/ash content, so the number makes it easier to gauge the properties of a dough made with some flour rather than working with limited information about its origin, processing etc. The French, Italian, German and other classifications vary, but all have the same pattern of decreasing number meaning a finer, more refined flour.

Regardless of if you use all purpose or type 550 flour, this is an amazing bun, with a great flavour and texture that makes it perfect for a holiday breakfast (what I usually make them for), sandwiches, burgers, and so on... they also go down as one of my mum's favourites. So, that should really motivate you to try making them.

Kaisersemmeln
From Chefkoch.de

For the Sponge:
75 g. All purpose/Type 550 flour
75 g. Whole wheat or whole grain spelt flour
135 ml. Warm water
10 g. Fresh yeast, or 3 g. Active dry yeast

Mix all until well incorporated and let rest, covered, for 30-45 minutes.

For the Final Dough:
Sponge 
350 g. All purpose/Type 550 flour
140 ml Water
20 g. Butter
1 Tsp. Diastatic malt powder or honey
10 g. Salt

Add all but the salt and butter to the sponge and knead together. Add salt and knead for about 8 minutes, then add the butter in pieces and knead for 2 more minutes. Let dough rise, covered, for 20-30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 10 equally sized pieces. Form balls and let rest for 10 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 250℃. Roll out each ball of dough by hand on a floured surface into a long "snake". When it's long enough, you should be able to tie a loose knot. Tuck the two "tails" of the knot into the centre of the dough, and moisten it with a bit of water to help it stick. If your dough is rolled out far enough, you can pull the tail(s) through the centre hole and back up again to make more twists. (Alternatively, you can use a kaiser bun stamp, but rolling it out and tying a knot helps to give it a nice texture.) Repeat with the remaining dough. Dust with flour and let rise 45 minutes. 

Bake for 10 minutes, adding steam with a spray bottle of water at the beginning and end of the period. Reduce the heat to 200℃ and bake for another 10-15 minutes, covering the buns with aluminium foil or a baking sheet on an upper rack to stop the browning.