Last week, I gave you a recipe for French baguettes. Another type of bread that many people associate with baguettes are sandwich rolls, sometimes also called Cambodian or Vietnamese baguettes. And although these bread rolls look a bit like baguettes (we also call them “Baguettebrötchen” in German), they are not really related to the French original. Yes, shaping and scoring are a bit similar. But the consistency and flavor are very different from a French baguette.
You will see that the ingredient list and recipe instructions are very similar to my recipe for round-shaped German breakfast bread rolls. That is because these are wheat-based bread rolls, no baguettes. They have a soft, cottony, airy, and even crumb. The crust is thin and crispy. The trademark of a baguette, on the other hand, is the extremely thick and aromatic crust. The crumb of a baguette is uneven and wild.
How do we achieve a super light and soft texture with a thin crust? We have to use bread improver. If you live in Germany, you are spoiled. Just order a package of “Brötchenbackmittel” (dough improver for German bread rolls). Outside of Germany, it might be harder to source Brötchenbackmittel. If you can’t source a bread improver specifically for small rolls, then you can also use an all-purpose bread improver.
Bread improver is the key ingredient to bake fluffy bread rolls
I know that a lot of people are opposed to bread improver. They associate it with low-quality, cardboard-like industry bread. I cannot comprehend that reasoning. Bread improver doesn’t make your bread any less artisanal, healthy, or delicious. The end result with dough improvers is so much better than without. You cannot achieve a crumb that light and airy with such a delicate and crispy crust with traditional methods.
If you use strong flour with a lot of gluten, your bread might be airy but it is also chewy. Bread rolls aren’t supposed to be chewy. If you add fat or milk as a softener to bread rolls, then they will be soft and fluffy but also denser than lean bread rolls. The reason why bread rolls got so popular in Germany is that they are extremely light thanks to the invention of bread improvers.
Take a look at the picture below: On the left is a bread roll without bread improver, on the right with bread improver. The recipe was identical!
I saw in many online recipes that people try to imitate the effect of bread improver by adding vinegar or ascorbic acid to their dough. Yes, you can certainly do that. Bread improver usually contains ascorbic acid because it’s an oxidizing agent that strengthens the gluten network. So you end up with a more stable dough. But overall, the bread improver yields the best results and is the easiest and most convenient choice. Bread improver not only contains ascorbic acid but also enzymes, emulsifiers, and reducing sugars that give the bread a better rise and a thin crispy crust. Refer to my book “Baking bread the German way” for more info on the technological function of bread ingredients.
And no, none of these ingredients is a health hazard like some people claim. Maybe it’s because I studied food engineering that I am always more fascinated about new technologies than some other people that don’t have a scientific or engineering background. If things like bread improver help us to bake better bread rolls, then why should we oppose them? Way too often I see journalists who claim that bread is not supposed to contain enzymes. First, all bread contains enzymes because the flour has naturally-occurring enzymes in it. Second, people have been adding enzymes in the form of industrially-produced baking malt to their bread dough for more than a hundred years. And third, the baking enzymes added to bread dough are no health hazard. In fact, you inactivate them because bread is baked in a hot oven. There is no objective reason to oppose bread improvers. And no, you are no better or more wholesome baker because you condemn the usage of bread improvers.
But I guess I don’t have to tell you that because, otherwise, you wouldn’t read my blog. It’s just that I always get a bit aggressive when I hear people who criticize technologies or the food industry for no good reason. There are many things to criticize about industrial food production. But the usage of dough conditioners is definitely not one of them.
The bread-making process for sandwich rolls
This is the quickest bread recipe that I have posted so far on my blog. The whole process takes less than two hours. That is mainly because I use no pre-ferments and the dough is made with warm water so that it rises extremely quickly in combination with the bread improver. What is very important is that you knead the dough very well. Don’t stop kneading before it passes the windowpane test. Kneading bread dough too little is one of the most common beginner mistakes. It might seem like forever at first until the dough becomes elastic and smooth.
Please also make sure to not use strong American-style bread flour. A better substitute for the German Type 550 flour is American all-purpose flour. Remember, gluten makes bread chewy. German flour is generally weaker than American flour and thus the bread turns out fluffier and softer.
The shaping process is pretty straightforward as can be seen in the pictures below. If you don’t have a Baker’s couche you can also simply leave your dough to proof on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
I score the sandwich rolls from the side. You can also score them a bit more to the center if you want them to burst open from the center evenly in both directions. It’s really important that you don’t proof the sandwich rolls for too long before slashing and baking them. If they have proofed just 10 minutes too long, they won’t burst open as nicely. It’s better to bake them too early than too late.
And lastly, take a look at that cotton-like crumb. It’s fluffy and even without any large air pockets and has no chewiness to it. You can easily tear it apart and compress it with your hands. Also, note how thin, flaky, and crispy the crust is. It almost looks like a puff pastry crust, it’s paper-thin! This is something you cannot achieve with traditional methods.
To conclude: These sandwich rolls are perfect for sandwiches because they can hold a lot of filling. It’s as if they are “hollow” on the inside. They might not have anything in common with traditional French baguettes. But if you want to bake a quick and easy sandwich bread for dinner, this is the way to go!
Sandwich Rolls/ Num Pang/ Banh Mi (‘Baguettebrötchen’)
Ingredients
- 260 grams (9 ounces) water, at 30 °C (85 °F).
- 8 grams (0.28 ounces) salt
- 10 grams (0.35 ounces) sugar
- 10 grams (0.35 ounces) bread improver (Brötchenbackmittel)
- 10 grams (0.35 ounces) fresh yeast
- 10 grams (0.35 ounces) lard (substitute butter or shortening)
- 400 grams (14 ounces) white soft wheat flour (German Type 550)
Instructions
Prepare the dough:
- Dissolve the salt, sugar, bread improver, and yeast in the warm water. Add the lard and flour. Mix the dough for 2 minutes until no dry spots remain. Then knead the dough either by hand or machine until smooth and elastic so that you can stretch it out very thinly without tearing, about 10-15 minutes. After kneading, the dough temperature should ideally be between 26-30 °C (78-86 °F).
- Cover the dough and leave to rise in a warm spot for 30 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Preheat your oven with baking steel or stone inside on the highest setting that it can go. Place a roasting tray filled with water on the bottom to generate steam.
Divide the dough and shape it into rolls:
- Very lightly grease your hands and the work surface to make it nonstick (very important: don’t apply too much oil/ nonstick spray or your dough will be hard to shape and seal, you don’t want to work any oil into the dough, it’s just for lubrication). Divide your dough into 6 pieces, each weighing about 115 grams (4 ounces).
- Shape the dough pieces into round balls by stretching and folding the dough inwards so that you have a smooth surface. With the smooth side facing down, flatten out your dough piece into a long rectangle, a bit longer than your hand. Stretch the dough so that one end becomes a bit thinner and then roll the dough into a cylinder going from the thinner to the thicker side. Pinch the seam together and rotate the dough cylinder with the palm of your hands to seal it tightly and to make it a little thinner towards to sides. Place the bread rolls seam-side up on a Baker’s couche and cover with a towel.
Proof and bake your rolls:
- Proof your bread rolls until they have puffed up nicely. About 15-20 minutes is enough. If you proof them for too long, they won’t rise as much in the oven.
- Place the sandwich rolls seam side down on a parchment-lined wooden board (the wooden board is to transfer the bread rolls to the oven). Take a bread lame or razor blade and score the bread rolls at a 30-45 degree angle with one long horizontal cut. You can either score the dough directly in the center or from the side. I like to score oval bread rolls from the side (as you can see on the recipe picture). But you can also score them in the center if you like the sandwich rolls to burst open evenly in both directions.
- Spray your scored sandwich rolls generously with water before transferring them into the oven. Bake the bread rolls on a baking stone or steel for 10 minutes at 240 °C (465 °F). After 2 and 4 minutes, briefly open the oven door and spray the surface of the bread rolls with water so that the crust stays soft and the dough can expand more. After 10 minutes of baking, remove the roasting tray with water from the oven. Turn down the heat to 210 °C (410 °F) and bake the bread rolls until they are golden brown to your liking, about 10-20 more minutes.
- Wait for the sandwich rolls to cool down to room temperature before slicing and eating them.
Interessant. Mein Mann ist Vietnamveteran und besucht Vietnam jedes Jahr (vor Covid-19). Er wundert sich oft, warum alle Banh Mi, die er hier in den USA (auch in vietnamesischen Restaurants) gegessen hat, einfach nicht die richtige Konsistenz und Kruste haben. Meine Versuche, sie zu backen, waren in diesem Sinn auch nicht besonders erfolgreich. Selbst der Rolls Royce unter dem Brotbackbüchern („Modernist Breads“) hat es nicht hingekriegt, in Myrvold‘s Rezept ist Fett im Teig, das Brötchen schmeckte überhaupt nicht wie ein Banh Mi.
Normalerweise würde ich den Gedanken an irgendwelche Enhancer abstoßen, aber wenn es mir gelingt, welchen aufzutreiben, würde ich es versuchen. Ein Hamburgflug ist bislang nicht in Sicht, aber immerhin habe ich heute meine 2. Impfung bekommen.
Dieses Rezept ist ähnlich aber nicht ganz das gleiche wie die Baguettebrötchen in Ostasien. Der Grund hierfür ist das von mir verwendete deutsche Backmittel. Das deutsche Brötchenbackmittel (Goldmalz) hilft immens mit dem Gebäckvolumen und ist sicher und gesundheitlich unbedenklich. In Asien sind aber nochmal ganz andere Backmittel im Umlauf, die dann eine noch hohlere und luftigere Krume ergeben. Ganz wichtig für die Luftigkeit der vietnamesischen Brötchen ist insbesondere Kaliumbromat, das in der EU als potentiell krebserregender Stoff schon seit Jahrzehnten nicht mehr als Mehlbehandlungsmittel zugelassen ist. In den USA ist Kaliumbromat wie viele andere Helferchen auch zugelassen, wird allerdings nicht so häufig von Herstellern eingesetzt wie in Asien, da es ja auch in den USA einen schlechten Ruf hat. Persönlich bleibe ich auch lieber beim deutschen Backmittel, dass dann halt Vitamin C anstatt Kaliumbromat enthält und habe dann ein Brot mit etwas weniger Volumen, dafür aber ohne gesundheitlich bedenkliche Chemikalien.
Wenn mans nur ab und zu im Urlaub mal isst, trägt man aber auch keinen Schaden davon. Da ist es mir dann auch lieber die Brötchen zu genießen, als die Inhaltsstoffe zu hinterfragen. Es gibt ja viele Leckereien in Südostasien, bei den Inhaltsstoffen sollte man aber lieber wegschauen und einfach mal genießen.