Here is my first attempt. Was pretty good—got great reviews from a fellow East Coast transplant—but it is still lacking the perfect flavor and texture.
INGREDIENTS
Pâte Fermentée:
- 5 ounces (1 1/8 Cups) all-purpose flour
- 5 ounces (1 1/8 Cups) bread flour
- 3/4 Teaspoon salt
- 1/2 Teaspoon instant yeast
- 3/4 Cup room temperature water (you might need a few extra Tablespoons)
Kaiser Dough:
- The above batch of Pâte Fermentée
- 20 ounces (4 1/2 Cups) bread flour
- 1 1/2 Teaspoons salt
- 1 Tablespoon barley malt syrup (or 2 Teaspoons malt powder)
- 2 Teaspoons instant yeast
- 2 large eggs
- 3 Tablespoons vegetable or canola oil
- 1 1/2 Cups lukewarm water
- Poppy Seeds or sesame seeds for topping
- Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting
Helpful tools:
- You could use a mixer for this recipe or do it by hand.
- A kitchen scale
- A spray bottle for misting
Note: This is a two day recipe. You make the Pâte Fermentée the night before, and the rest in the am. Give yourself 3-4 hours in the morning to complete.
Pâte Fermentée.
To make it, just stir together all your dry ingredients in a bowl and then add your water. Stir it together until it forms a firm ball. It shouldn’t be sticky or stiff, but if you’re worried, err on the side of sticky. It’s easier to add flour than water.
Then roll your dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it for about 5 minutes until it’s smooth. It should be soft and smooth but not sticky at all.
Then lightly oil a bowl and turn the ball around in the oil so it’s coated.
Cover and let this rise at room temperature for about 90 minutes. Then put it in your fridge overnight. Will keep in the fridge for 3 days if it’s covered well or you can freeze it for up to 3 months.
Pâte Fermentée, day 2. Ready to go.
Bring the cold starter up to room temperature. Chop it up into a bunch of smaller pieces in a large bowl. You can use kitchen sheers, a dough cutter, or even a serrated knife for this.
Let this sit out at room temperature for about an hour to warm up.
Add dry ingredients for kaiser dough. (flour, salt, yeast) to a large bowl.
Separately whisk together the wet ingredients. (malt syrup, eggs, oil, water).
Pour wet into the dry ingredients.
Add the room temperature Pâte Fermentée.
Mix with spoon or dough hook in mixer.
Keep adding flour until the dough forms a ball.
Then you can either mix it on medium speed with the dough hook (6-8 minutes) or if you’re doing it by hand, roll it out onto a floured surface and knead it for about 10-12 minutes until the dough is soft and tacky but not sticky at all. If it’s too sticky, keep kneading in extra flour until it’s not sticky.
Coat in oil and let rest/double size for about an 90 min – 2 hours.
Cut off sections 3.5-4 ounces.
Roll & shape.
Add them upside down to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprinkled with some cornmeal or semolina flour. 
Once you get them all shaped, let them rise for 30 minutes, then flip them so the top of the roll is up and let them rise for another 30 minutes.
Before baking the rolls, spray them all with water. This gives them a crunchy texture. Sprinkle on sesame or poppy seeds.
Preheat the oven to 425. When you put the rolls in the oven, spray the sides of the oven with water also to create some steam in the oven. I also add a small dish of water to the oven. Bake them for 10 minutes. Then reduce the temperature to 400 degrees and bake them for another 20-25 minutes, depending on how large you make them.
They should be golden brown and sound kind of hollow if you tap the bottom.
Cool them for at least 30 minutes. It gives the crust a chance to form and also lets the center of the rolls set up a bit. Then they are ready to slice. Or make into a classic egg & cheese sandwich.
JOSEPH’S “BEST EGG SANDWICH” RECIPE (Serves 2)
- 6 eggs
- 6 slices of good cheddar cheese (I use american cheese, the orange type)
- 1 Pkg of Boar’s Head Bacon (ham or sausage)
- 2 good Kaiser Rolls
- Butter
- Salt and Pepper
Once you have all the ingredients, here are some guidelines Checkler recommends:
1. Crack two eggs onto the griddle.
2. Let cook for about 30 seconds, THEN break the yolk and gently smooth it over the white part. Cook for another minute and a half or so.
3. Flip the egg, immediately add two slices of cheese that cover the whole egg. If you need to add a third slice, DO IT.
4. If the customer ordered meat, reheat FRESH sliced sausage, or, if they ordered bacon, ask whether they’d prefer it crispy or juicy. Cook accordingly. Time it so the meat is done just as the egg is ready to go on the roll.
5. Place egg on the roll, cheese side UP (I said down earlier), and season the non-cheese side with salt and pepper.
6. Place breakfast meat, if ordered, on the sandwich.
7. Wrap in foil.
Toast 
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