Soft, chewy hoagie rolls built for serious sandwiches. A hoagie roll is a sort of baguette for sub-style sandwiches, and these swap in for beef dips, subs, po’ boys, or even hamburger buns (halved). They have body and a bit of crust, and hold up to robust fillings.
Mechanic
Diastatic malt powder is the key ingredient: its enzymes turn starch into sugar, which feeds the yeast and promotes browning. Steam in the first minutes of the bake gives the rolls a proper crust.
Dough
- 260 g 1% milk
- 6 g instant yeast
- 8 g diastatic malt powder
- 400 g bread flour
- 10 g honey
- 20 g olive oil, or melted and partly cooled butter
- 8 g salt
Warm the milk to 40–43°C (105–110°F). Stir in the yeast and malt powder and let stand until foamy, 3–5 minutes. If there are no real bubbles by 20 minutes, the yeast is dead; start again with fresh yeast.
Combine the flour, honey, oil, and salt in a large bowl. Pour in the yeast mixture and mix by hand until no dry flour remains, about 2 minutes. Cover and rest 15 minutes.
Knead on a clean surface until smooth and no longer sticky, 8–10 minutes, or about 10 minutes with a dough hook. It’s ready when a small piece stretches thin enough to see light through without tearing (the windowpane test).
Return the dough to the bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm spot until doubled, 45–60 minutes. Or ferment it in the fridge for 12–24 hours.
Shaping and baking
- Cornmeal, for the pan
- 1 egg white, beaten with a splash of water
- 4–5 ice cubes, for steam
- Sesame seeds, dried herbs, or everything bagel seasoning (optional)
Punch down the dough and divide it into 4 equal pieces, about 175 g each. Press each into a rectangle about 20 cm wide and 2.5 cm thick. Roll it up tightly from the bottom, seal the seam, and roll it out into a cylinder about 25 cm long. Set on cornmeal-dusted baking sheets, 2 per sheet.
Cover loosely and let rise until 1.5–2 times the size, 45–60 minutes. A gentle poke should spring back slowly.
Fifteen minutes before the rolls are ready, heat the oven to 190°C (375°F), with convection if you have it, and put an oven-safe pan on the bottom rack.
Score each roll with one long slash at 45°, off to one side. Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with cornmeal or toppings. Load the rolls onto the middle rack and toss the ice cubes onto the hot pan. Bake 10 minutes, rotate, then bake another 8–10 minutes, until golden and the centre reads 93°C (200°F).
Cool completely on a wire rack.
Notes
- Diastatic malt powder is sold at baking specialty shops and online. It’s not the same as malted milk powder.
- Texture improves overnight. For that chewy hoagie texture, bag the cooled rolls and refrigerate them for 24 hours before making sandwiches.
- For a lighter dough, cut the milk 50:50 with water. For a denser, softer crumb, use cream.
- A 50:50 mix of whole wheat and white flour, or all-purpose flour, also works.
- A food-safe spray bottle helps: mist the rolls before they go in and again halfway through.