Traditional German Brötchen Recipe

Brötchen is a staple in Germany, where it's one of their most well-known types of bread. According to food etymologist Dan Woeller, brötchen is "the ancestor of our American burger bun," and it's been around for quite some time. It's a smaller bread with a hard shell on the outside and a beautiful, fluffy, soft inside.

Mark Beahm is the mastermind behind this traditional German dish that's sure to bring a smile to your face. If you haven't yet sampled a brötchen, you're missing out! If you have been lucky enough to try one, then you know what we're talking about. Beahm says that his favorite part about the recipe is the texture. "Brötchen have a crisp crust and a chewy, dense crumb," he says. "I think they're very versatile. You can have them for breakfast with butter, jam, cheese, or deli slices, or as a dinner roll to sop up extra sauces." 

Here's how to make this yummy bread.

First, you need to make sure that all of your ingredients are present and accounted for. Luckily, you only need a few items to throw together this tasty bread. You will need whole milk, water, active dry yeast, flour, and salt. That's all it takes to make traditional German brötchen, which is probably why you'll be making these again and again.

Once you have all of the ingredients in front of you, it's time to begin.

For the first step, you combine ¾ cup of the warm milk and the water together in a large mixing bowl. Then, you add the yeast and let it stand until it begins to foam. After about 10 minutes, it's time to the add flour and salt.

Then you just mix everything with a wooden spoon or a rubber spatula until it forms into a shaggy ball, and continue on to the next step. 

Once everything is mixed together, and the dough is in a ball, tip it onto a work surface. Then, knead the bread for about 10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and doesn't stick. When it's ready, the dough will be very firm.

When that happens, it's time to transfer the dough to a clean mixing bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a damp towel. Leave it in a warm spot and let it rise for about an hour, or until it doubles in size. 

Once the dough rises, you need to gently punch it down to deflate it. When it is deflated, that's when you can divide it into eight pieces. Roll each piece of dough into an oval that's about 3 ½ inches long. Then they'll need to rise again, but now that they're shaped, they can do it on a baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Like before, cover the rolls with plastic or a damp tea towel and set them in a warm spot for about an hour or until they double in size again. 

While the dough rises for a second time, preheat your oven to 450 F. Then, brush the tops of the rolls with the remainder of the milk to give them a glossy finish. Score each roll lengthwise with a sharp knife. 

The brötchen need about 20 to 25 minutes and bake and should be golden brown. When you take the rolls out, let them cool slightly. You can serve them warm or at room temperature.

If you want to prep ahead of time, Beahm says, "You can freeze the brötchen after dividing and shaping them. Space them out on a tray and set in the freezer until frozen solid. Then you can transfer them to a freezer bag. To cook them from frozen, remove the rolls from the freezer and set them on a parchment-lined baking tray. Let them defrost at room temperature for an hour to an hour and a half before baking."