Norm's Onion Rolls
Well this is my first batch of baking to be posted to this site, and having read so many rave reviews, I knew Norm's Onion Rolls had to be the recipe to start me off. I used the variation posted by Ehanner (which was really clear and easy to follow, so many thanks)
http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/8903/norm039s-ny-style-onion-rollsomg-greatAs mentioned, the dough was really stiff andif I hadn't been following the recipe so closely, I would definitely have added more liquid. After a quick initial knead, I left the dough to sit for about 20 minutes, then got stuck in and kneaded for about 10-15 in total. i'm still recovering from a back operation, so I have to do this kind of thing in stints.
After the first rise, shaping and the recommended relaxing time, I squished the rolls into the onion mixture, as advised, and it stuck really well. I was a bit nervous of flattening them too much, and squashed them to about .5 inch, but as they rose so beautifully later, I'd be less ginger next time.
My fan oven isn't that efficient, so I knocked the temp down by just 5 degrees, and once the rolls were proved ( judged by finger poking), I did the thumb poke in the middle of each and put them in the oven with a splash of hot water in the tray at the bottom. I turned and rotated the trays after 10 minutes, and thanks to a call from my Mum mid-bake, they were ina bit longer than I'd planned - just over 25 minutes. Some of the onion got a little singed, but it still tastes good, but I'd cook them for less time next time around. And there certainly will be a next time, because despite my botching, these turned out incredibly delicious - I see what all the fuss is about! Thanks to Norm and all of you who've posted about this recipe for inspiring me to try it.
One question I have, is that although I imagined these we going to be more bagel-like in terms of density, they actually ended up quite light and fluffy (I'm always startled at how much white flour bread rises). I don't know if that's the correct consistency, but I'll post some pics once I've figured out how. but here are some pics of the results:
Comments
dawkins,
Yes, those onion rolls are good. Glad you liked the post from way back then.
Norm told me once that if you don't give them a good squashing in the seeds and onions and flatten them out, they rise and get too puffy. They always spring pretty well. I happen to like the caramelized onion and bake for that feature.
Eric
Ah, thanks Eric - as I suspected. I'll have to make sure I give them a good squashing next time!
Those look oh so good! I usually put a dimple in the middle with a thumb quite hard and put a few extra onions in the hole. Great aroma isn't it.
Eric
Mmm extra onions sounds good - I'll have to try that. They've gone down well with everyone who's tried them so far. It's making me think that if I can scrape the funds together, I'm going to get the Inside The Jewish Bakery book and take part in the bake-along challenge, to try more of Norm's recipes.
I must confess, I didn't take the snaps so any credit for the photography isn't mine. :o)
Rob