Sub Buns
I have been making bread for a very long time and have a good selection of recipes. However, I'm having great difficulty attempting to make Sub buns (Hoagie roll, hot dog buns etc.).
I get a very good quality bun but its just too large. We end up eating more bread than what is inside the bun. I would like to make a bun that is smaller but large enough to hold the ingredients that make up a sub. My recipe to make 4 rolls; 400gm flour, 185ml water + 1 whole egg (The liquid ratio with these ingredients is approximately 58%-59%), 19gm butter (5% of flour weight), 1tsp salt & 2tsp dried yeast that I activate before using.
The rolls turn out very nicely but they are just too large. Is there a method where I can make the rolls smaller but long enough to be used as sub buns? If I cut back on the ingredients I'm afraid I might end up with a small flatted roll that can't be used.
Any assistance form the form would be greatly appreciated.
Roger Lambert
So your formula that you posted totals out to about 654 grams total weight. Divided by 4 that is approximately 163. A typical hot dog bun weight is around 2.6 ounces or 74 grams. A hoagie roll would be a little more than that since you're typically looking for a little more width than with a hot dog bun. It depends on length but a 6 inch hoagie roll probably wouldn't weight much more than 3.5 to 4 ounces typically (100-114 grams). Hoagie rolls can be a somewhat challenging thing to make at home because what you are accustomed to getting as a hoagie roll at restaurants almost undoubtedly has dough enhancers in it and the company making it has proof boxes etc. Hamburger/Hotdog buns and Hoagie rolls really are made easier by having a good humid proofing environment that allows the dough to spread nicely as it proofs.
That being said I would certainly cut back on your scaling weight and since you're only making 4 - 6 at a time it sounds like you may be able to find a solution to mimic a proof box (something like boiling hot cups of water in the corner of your microwave, put the buns on parchment and close them in the microwave with the hot water cups. The rolls will look small when you shape them but you just need to make sure your dough is well developed and then give your dough the time to proof to size. If you take some pictures next time you make them and track your progress I'm sure you'll get more help that will get you to the promise land!
Thank you very much for that. I'll take your advice and try again. Cheers
roger