One Good Ritual

Goal

For this weekend my goal was to bake some Brötchen for breakfast sandwiches.
I was imagining miniature boules. Results might best be defined as “puffy English Muffins” or Toastbrötchen.

Observations

Shaping of this smaller format was my biggest issue, besides gravity. Rolls should have been shaped much tighter and cold-proofed in a smaller container.
Vertical challenges aside, the rolls were actually successful. Just as tasty as my sandwich loaf, nicely varied alveoli, crispy shell.
Poppy seed is still the greatest bread topping.
Maldon salt mostly survived, the larger flakes definitely remained intact but even the smaller crystals were noticeable.
Bake time was around 18 minutes, open bake, at 450F.

What Worked

The starter was incredibly happy when making these. There was good gas retention, as evidenced by the crumb shot.
Toppings adhered well and did help accentuate the bread rather than overpower.
They toasted well and still were great as a breakfast sandwich.

Improvements

Next weekend I am going to drop the hydration from 78%, the hydration I use for my sandwich loaf, to 70%.
Shaping will be more aggressive, tighter boule shape.
Cold-proofed in a smaller container where the dough balls can support each other rather than spreading outward.
Refrigerate before final shaping to help firm things up a bit.