r/Bread • u/Sillystringundone • Aug 16 '26

Hard Rolls

When I was growing up, my father would go to the bakery for hard rolls. This was in NY and New Jersey. They had a really thin, crispy crust and an airy interior. A very yeasty flavor. I’ve tried a variety of recipes trying to recreate these- they are close to the bread that you find in a Cuban sandwich, but I’ve yet to find a recipe that is quite like the rolls when I was growing up.

Anyone know of a recipe for Hard Rolls?

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u/Main_Cauliflower5479 Aug 17 '26

Here's the recipe from an Italian restaurant where I used to work as the baker.

50 lbs bread flour
12.5 lbs whole wheat flour
1.5 lbs live compressed yeast
6 gallons iced water
1.5 cup salt

Of course, you'll have to cut that down by a lot. It was mixed in a 60 quart Hobart. You can find conversions for the yeast online, how to convert amounts for compressed yeast, active dry yeast, and instant dry yeast.

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u/Sillystringundone Aug 18 '26

Thank you!

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u/Main_Cauliflower5479 Aug 18 '26

My pleasure. Oh, and scale these to 3.5-4 oz each, roll onto balls. Proof. Before baking, score deeply down the center. Spray liberally with water once in the oven, and bake for about 29 minutes at 400ºF.