The Kaiser roll, also called a Vienna roll or a hard roll, is a typically crusty round bread roll, originally from Austria. It is made from white flour, yeast, malt, water and salt, with the top side usually divided in a symmetric pattern of five segments, separated by curved superficial cuts radiating from the centre outwards or folded in a series of overlapping lobes resembling a crown. The crisp Kaisersemmel is a traditional Austrian food officially approved by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture. Semmel is the common name for any kind of roll in Austria and the German state of Bavaria, equivalent to Brötchen in Northern Germany or Weck / Weckle in Baden-Württemberg.
Origin
Kaiser rolls have existed in a recognizable form since at least 1760. They are thought to have been named to honor Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria. In the 18th centurya law fixed retail prices of Semmeln in the Habsburg Monarchy. Allegedly, the name Kaisersemmel came into general use after the bakers' guild sent a delegation in 1789 to Emperor Joseph II and convinced him to deregulate the price of bread rolls. With its monarchical connotation, Kaiser rolls stood out against common rolls known as Mundsemmeln or Schustersemmeln. They are traditionally found in Austria, but have also become popular in other countries of the former Austrian Habsburg Empire, such as the Galicia region in Poland, Croatia, Slovenia, and Serbia, Hungary, the Czech Republic, as well as in Germany, the United States, and Canada. During Austrian rule in Lombardy, Italian bakers produced a hollow version known as michetta or rosetta.
Variations
A handmade Kaiser roll is known as a Wiener Kaisersemmel according to the Codex Alimentarius Austriacus standards collection. There are multiple variants of the common roll, differing in size, type of flour used, and toppings. While traditionally plain, Kaiser-style rolls are today found topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, pumpkin kernels, linseed, or sunflower seeds. The Kaiser roll is a main part of a typical Austrian breakfast, usually served with butter and jam. It is often used as a bun for such popular sandwiches as hamburgers in America, and with a slice of Leberkäse in Germany, though sliced Extrawurst and pickled gherkins, or a type of Wiener Schnitzel are also used. A variation called a kummelweck is topped with kosher salt and caraway, and in the United States is an essential component of a Buffalo-area specialty, the beef on weck sandwich. In much of eastern New York state—New York City, Long Island, the Hudson Valley and the Adirondacks—Kaiser rolls are known as "hard rolls", and are staples of delis and convenience stores. The Wisconsin variety of "hard roll", which was formed over the decades by the bakeries of Sheboygan to be paired with the local specialty of bratwurst, features a fluffy consistency on the inside with a crust on the crown of the bun, though most of the steps and some ingredients in the creation of Sheboygan hard rolls are usually secret to the certain bakery.
