Reviewed: Apr. 27, 2012

This recipe is perfection! My first batch didn't turn out so great, however, I made another batch and they were as authentic to the real deal as you can get. I was born in Germany and as a child ate these every day. Haven't had them in 50 years until now. I will never be without Brotchen again. I also shared these with my neighbors who have both visited Germany and loved the brotchen. They were both so happy and couldn't say enough about tasting exactly like the ones they had over there. Thank you, thank you, thank you for sharing the recipe!

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Reviewer:

Bakingwithlove

Reviewed: Mar. 24, 2012

These were perfect. Nice and crusty on the outside and warm and fluffy on the inside. Next time I will quarter the recipe, or at least half it, because they lose the crustiness if you freeze them, though they still taste great. Another reason to cut the recipe (unless you can actually cook all the batches at once) the first batch turns out the best, and the remainders sit out for to long and become to dense before baking so they don't rise as much during baking. I would love any feedback that could prevent this from happening .

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Reviewer:

tinagail

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Reviewed: Mar. 17, 2012

Very good, my first time I did this and it worked well. Just need to pay attention to applying the egg/milk at the end, I found it makes the top very yellow. Highly recommend this recipe!

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Reviewer:

der bayer

Reviewed: Mar. 6, 2012

ATTENTION ALL COOKS WHO LIVED IN GERMANY!! In texture these seem to be what I remembered as a 10 year old girl visiting my aunt in Stolberg (1/2 hr. from Aachen). The local bakery would deliver them to her door every third day. BUT and this is a big issue: The FLAVOR AND THE AROMA - that's what is missing! I never forgot the aroma of the real things even 40 years later! And it took me 20 years to realize what it was---BREWER'S YEAST! I guarantee if I can find someone somewhere who has eaten brotchen with this aroma and can tell me how to duplicate it in this recipe, I will have found the Pot of Gold at the end of the rainbow!! I have tried adding "Nutritional Yeast" to dough (which has this smell) and it just bakes out in the final result. I even called a bakery in Wisconsin who apprenticed in Germany at a bakery an hour away from Stolberg. He told me every bakery makes these differently and what they add is a closely guarded secret. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE HELP CRACK THIS CODE!! If you think these are delicious NOW...JUST YOU WAIT TIL YOU HAVE THAT AROMA WAFTING OUT OF THE KITCHEN! Looking desperately for any suggestions on how to infuse this recipe with that aroma and slight flavor of Brewers Yeast!! THANKS IF YOU CAN HELP!

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Laura in PA Dutchland

Reviewed: Feb. 12, 2012

Very nice bread. Thanks for the recipe. Tamo the reason for the "ice" is it will start to steam faster than just water would. Water would take longer to heat up. Yes, the ice will melt and eventually have to heat up but when it first touches the hot pan it steam.

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Linda10701

Reviewed: Feb. 4, 2012

can anyone help me and explain why ice cube is needed in this recipe...Im not native speaker so I might understood "putting in ice cubes" directly it may says another meaning...pls help Im ready for baking thx in advance everyone

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Reviewer:

tamo

Reviewed: Jan. 5, 2012

Excellent recipe! First time I ever made home made Brötchen and they turned out great! Now I am ready to experiment with more grains. Thank you!

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Reviewer:

Ottie

Reviewed: Nov. 30, 2011

These rolls are delicious and rarely survive seconds out of the oven. The only thing is that they're nothing like broetchen. The outside needs to be crisp.

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Reviewer:

ILEANA

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Chicago, Illinois, USA

Living In: Houston, Texas, USA

Reviewed: Nov. 27, 2011

Great recipe. Brings back memories from Germany. Dough was beautiful to work with.

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Reviewer:

Domachica

Home Town: Snoqualmie, Washington, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 29, 2011

Not being a baker by any stretch of the imagation and having failed at a "Sourdough Bread" attempt last night that should have been sold to the the "Defense Department, I decided to give this a try. I lived in Germany for about seven years and recently found a very good german grocey that had homemade brotchen that was hot out of the oven. Only problem, an hour away. Now I have to have! So, I started early today and spent a long time carefully reading, re-reading, measuring, re-measuring, etc. Then when I got to the first punch down got scared as it seemed to wet! So had an emergency phone call to my sister-in-law who can bake a combat boot with two tours and make it taste good. Although she was not quite sure what a Brotchen was, she said "hold steady". I followed recipe to the "T". They do not look like brotchen but then again I have trouble just drawing a straight line. But.... they tasted like "BROTCHEN"! OMG! I am so excited... Hubby just said, want a brick oven, new blender? You name it, you got it. I want more of these! Tomorrows breakfast will be Brotchen, liverwrust, butter and cheese just like a German breakfast in a Guesthouse. Now I want to go back to Germany! Thank you for this recipe and thank you for my success! FYI, if anyone sees an Sourdough loaf come flying by, it is probably mine! LOL!

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