Hello!

As a baker I'm always curious about food chemistry and why different ingredients do different things in bread.

Our restaurant recently closed its bakery (ugh!) and has been getting in pre-fab rolls from a local wholesale baker. Now, I'm biased as the baker/prep cook, but these new rolls are NOT as good as the recipe we used. They are chewy on the inside and outside. Hard to slice, and like gum in your mouth. What could cause such a result?

Could it be an ingredient like dough conditioners or too much gluten? Or could it just be that the rolls are stale when we get them?

Any insights would help satisfy my curiosity. And maybe get us back to baking our own rolls. Or maybe I should just let it go.

Thanks
Chefrev

Hey ChefRev,
It could be a number of ingredients and/or recipes that they use.
Conditoners, powdered crap, fat, milk instead of water, ect.,ect.,ect.....instant yeast, bla,bla,bla.
I perfer a hard dinner roll myself, water, fresh yeast, flour( bread or a combo of bread/ high glutin) and salt. Maybe, just to make it last another day, a little sugar, and baked with steam or by throwing ice in the oven, and brushed with egg white and a little water. Now thats a friggin roll! Your describing food store rolls, cheap spongy crap that make me want to hurle.....
LET IT GO.
Or, you could make your own and blow them away.
Then ask the bastards for a raise!
HaHaHaHaHaHa

Chefspike:

Thanks for the encouragment!

Later!
Chefrev