Soft, Italian-style bread like you get at the supermarket, but much better flavor and texture. Sturdy enough for loaded, gut-bomb hoagies. Slice it lengthwise and make garlic bread or cheesy garlic bread, like the appetizers at a pizza shop. Slice it crosswise, toast, and top with soft cheeses as a lighter alternative to a toasted baguette.
Soft Hoagie Rolls

inspired by KAF Italian Supermarket Bread

6 rolls, 10"-12" long

sandwiches hoagies

Ingredients

Dough

Shape

Watch this Bahn Mi shaping video from Aimee’s Cooking. Her technique is adapted below. It’s a great way to knock out any air bubbles and build tension for a good oven spring.

Grease baguette pans with vegetable/spray oil.

Divide dough => Punch down dough and dump/scrape onto greased counter, and pat down + stretch into a circle. Use bench knife to cut in half, and then each half into thirds. Goal is to get 6 triangular pieces weighing 245g each. Keep dough covered with plastic wrap or spritz with water bottle, to avoid the dough drying out and a skin forming.

Roll out with rolling pin => grease counter and rolling pin1. Pat dough into triangle shape and use rolling pin to roll it out, ensuring the bottom of the triangle is rolled very thin. The bottom points should be 8"-10" and closest to you.

Roll in with your hands => Use your thumbs and pointer fingers, on each side of the top point, to roll towards the bottom. Switch between rolling towards you a little bit and pushing back to build tension. Watch the YouTube video linked above, as this is hard to explain. When the dough is rolled all the way to the bottom, it should feel bouncy and spring-loaded. Flip upside down and pinch the bottom seam closed from end-to-end, like a very wide dumpling. Move to baguette pan right side up. Repeat for the rest, re-greasing the counter every time. Cover pans with plastic wrap and let rise until puffy and passing the poke test2, 1-2 hours depending on room temperature.

Bake

Set oven to 425°F. Beat 1 egg with a splash of milk or water until well-combined. Gently brush egg wash onto hoagies. It’s like painting; you don’t want too much paint on the brush. Sprinkle with lots of sesame seeds. Use a lame or sharp knife to score, either a few times on the diagonal or one long score down the middle (this is easier). Put pans in oven, side-by-side on same rack and lower temperature to 375°F. Bake for 10 minutes, then rotate pans 180°. Bake for 8-12 more minutes, keeping an eye on the color towards the end. It’s worth peeking at the bottoms; if they’re getting over-done, slide a sheet pan or cookie sheet underneath the baguette pan. Move to cooling rack when rolls are a nice golden-brown color.

Notes

  1. Rolling Pins => small ones work best, like the kind for dumplings. They are cheap at Asian grocery stores
  2. Poke Test => imprint the dough with your finger. If it doesn’t spring back all the way, the dough has passed the poke test and is ready to be baked.
  3. Baguette Pans => I have two of these pans from King Arthur Flour. Otherwise, a sheet pan will work fine too.