Reviewed: Mar. 25, 2013

My second rating....I am a male, which should answer the original reason for my initial rating. My first time to really try to bake. After 4 attempts, I totally gave up and gave the recipe a rating of 1 star. Not one to give up, I researched and here is what I did not know. The water should be warm tapwater, 110 degrees kills the yeast. The eggs used need to be room temperature when folding them into the dough. The salt should be added to the flour and mixed prior to putting it into the yeast liquid. After that all worked great. Wunderbar.

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Reviewer:

Tom

Reviewed: Mar. 2, 2013

We lived in Germany for 3 years. We won't make these too often (long process). However, they are very good. Did the math for those that are dieting, and they were 160 calories each.

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Reviewer:

Lilacs

Cooking Level: Expert

Home Town: Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin, USA

Living In: Radcliff, Kentucky, USA

Reviewed: Feb. 12, 2013

This is the best dinner roll recipe I've ever made and I make bread almost weekly. Trying out varies bread recipes and at times striving for delicious bakery like bread this one is definitely one of those recipes! I followed recipe as is, beside the flour amount (7 cups) which was way too much. I did everything by hand and added about half that amount of flour as I didn't find the need for adding more as my dough was perfectly smooth and elastic with the amount of flour I used. As for shaping these, I rolled these into a long log and cut them into about 1.5" wide pieces, that way you don't get oddly shaped rolls but more identical to each other when rolling into balls. Split the tops of the rolls during the last stage of rising (on baking sheet). When these came out I was very impressed with the crust as they were very crisp and hard but when I broke into the roll, WOW so soft, fluffy and chewy!!! And that was just what I was looking for! I've always wondered how to make a crispy exterior and this recipe is that! I think the whites folded into the batter has a lot to do with the texture of these rolls. Regardless this a staple recipe and I know I will make these again! So worth the time and effort.

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Reviewer:

Alymade

Reviewed: Jan. 15, 2013

I changed this up a bit but these are absolutely excellent. The are hard on the outside and chewy on the inside. They are good with wet and dry fillings and last a long time. I substitute butter for the shortening and used white wheat flour. They turn out well every time make them. I did try to use coconut oil and it worked well but make sure to use the organic kind since it has very little coconut flavor.

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Reviewer:

glow

Cooking Level: Intermediate

Home Town: Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan, USA

Reviewed: Oct. 6, 2012

were not as good as what we had in Germany but maybe I took them out of the oven to soon as they were not hard on the outside but will try again.

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Reviewer:

Deb

Reviewed: Aug. 28, 2012

Well worth the effort to make. Closest thing to real German bread we've had since coming home from a trip there!

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Reviewer:

Wecook

Reviewed: Aug. 9, 2012

Excellent recipe...so close to the brotchen I remember. Only 2 changes, cut the salt in half (my family doesn't salt much of anything, so 2 tsp would be ridiculously salty for us), and had to bake about 10 minutes longer. Also, could just be my oven, but they were not really crusty after just 20 min.

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Reviewer:

cfelten

Reviewed: Jun. 29, 2012

Thank you for this recipe! I just made this for the first time this morning. It is awesome. Reminds me of Germany.

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Reviewer:

Jonathan

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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