I love this recipe!  I followed the recipe pretty closely, just made 3/4 the amount of dough and 1/2 the amount of onion filling (used filling no. 1), which turned out to be just the right amount, resulting in 9 3-oz rolls, just the right size.  The recipe in the book called for 5 tsp. of instant yeast, but I only used 2 1/2 tsp, and it worked just fine.  I mixed the malt in the water mixture (saved the onion soaking water--thanks to Eric's earlier post!).  I photographed just the end results, with no crumb shot, as I made them late in the evening and we were eating dinner and watching the 49'er/Giant game while they were baking.  (Not recommended!  Can't believe we resisted!  But wait til tomorrow's lunch!)  The dried onion flakes worked very well; I have the Safeway brand, and they are cut quite fine.  I had tried using them as a bagel topping but never knew how to handle them.  Leaving them in boiling water for 30 minutes was the secret, then mixing in the poppy seeds, oil and salt.   I baked the rolls on the preheated stone at 400 with light steam (spritzed twice), raised the temp to 425 after 10 minutes as they looked a bit pale; at 12 minutes decided to turn the oven to convection (375 being equivalent of 400), and left it that way for another 5 minutes, so 17 minutes total.  They browned up quickly once I set the oven to convection (I probably missed an important play retrieving them, but first things first!).   I found the directions clear enough, which suggested putting the onion mixture on waxed paper to press the boules to 1/2" after they rested for 15-20 minutes.  I did forget to press the middle down with my thumb before loading them, so I did a little push at half bake (no burns encountered, done quickly).  It worked well enough.  I have luscious memories of onion pletzels from my Brooklyn childhood, so I think I'll try that variation next time.  And I love this smooth, silky
dough; it mixed up easily at speeds 1 and 2 in my K/A Pro 6.  Next on the list will be Kaiser rolls.

Very Joyful!

I do (this is a tease ) ....

Stan Ginsberg
www.nybakers.com

The first time I saw Norm's Onion Rolls I knew that despite my inexperience I had to try them. 

I have some sourdough starter, and thought I would start with 1/4 cup of that, add flour and water, let that ferment for 8 hours, (reduced the flour and water in Norm's recipe by equal amounts), and combine and proceed as Norm instructs.  My scale is a little tiny thing, so I'm still relying on cups and ounces, but I was blessed to get really good rolls out of the process.  We've piled on burgers, and roast beef.  The rolls held up well overnight, and we've stashed several in the freezer to see how they survive.

My math skills are limited, so it gave me a headache to try to sort out hydration levels, and flour amounts, so the rolls the results of beginner's luck and Norm's expert guidance.

On Decembeer 31, 2008 ...

Norm's Onion Rolls (and a lone kaiser roll)

and ...

Apple Crunch, from the Summer Shack Cookbook

And, on January 1, 2009, I baked ...

San Francisco Sourdough from Reinhart's "Crust & Crumb"

The sourdough was delicious with lentil soup and a salad.

David

Norm, AKA nbicomputers, is a retired professional baker from New York City. He has been sharing his recipes and his baking wisdom with us for close to a year now.

Norm's NY Style Onion Rolls have become a favorite on The Fresh Loaf. Below are the list of posts I could find that contains pictures, tips, and comments about this recipe.

• Norm's original post with his recipe for NY Style Onion Rolls
• Elagins's batch
• Susan's batch
• Eric's batch
• Eli's
• David's
• and mine

Thank you, Norm.

I too have baked a batch of Norm's Onion Rolls. They are wonderful.

I added 1 tablespoon of poppy seeds to the dough as well as an extra quarter cup or so of rehydrated dried onions. Otherwise, I followed his recipe.

I may have gotten a little too carried away with the poppy seeds and onions, but they were awfully tasty.

Norm's Onion Rolls

Norm's Kaiser Rolls: These Kaiser Rolls (AKA hard rolls, vienna rolls, bulkies) were made with the same dough used for onion rolls.

I didn't grow up in New York. We did have a Jewish Bakery in Fresno when I was younger. They got me addicted to Sour Rye and Jewish Corn Rye and pumpernickel and cheese pockets. They made onion rolls, too, but I never liked them much. They were fluffy with a boring crust and no "tam."

 The carryings on about how wonderful onion rolls used to be by folks on TFL who hail from NYC and environs made me think maybe I'd missed something, so when Norm posted his formula, I thought I should try making them. I got distracted by other baking projects, but the recent postings about these rolls re-activated my intention to make them. Thanks to Eric, Elgins, RFMonaco and Eli. I am delighted to join you!

These onion rolls are, as Norm said, "only onion rolls." Yeah. Like a stradivarius is "only a fiddle." 

 Kaiser rolls are made from the same dough as onion rolls. What is most different is the elaborate shaping. Ever since I read Greenstein's description of the old-time bakers sitting around the bench "klopping" hundreds of vienna rolls every night for the breakfast rush, I've wanted to try doing this. Well, the rolls are delicious, with a substantial crust and  sweet, chewy crumb. We had them tonight with "hamburgers" made with ground chicken. These are not your fast food joint's soggy, tasteless buns. What they really need is a pile of thin sliced juicy roast beef, or roasted brisket, better yet, or maybe chopped liver. 

My klopping needs some work. They will be prettier next time, but I can't really imagine them tasting better.

The hamburger was good. But the best part of dinner was dessert - An onion roll sliced in half with sweet butter.

Thanks, Norm! 

 FYI, all the rolls were scaled to 2.55 oz. I think this was just right for the onion rolls. Next time I make Kaiser Rolls, I think I will scale them to 3 oz.

David