Gerhard Ströck’s Curry Rolls

As much as I don’t mind making breads that take at least two days to complete, sometimes a freshly baked batch of yeasty goodness just has to come out of the oven right quick. Using pre-ferments and soakers are just two of many techniques for making bread with fully-developed flavor but, uh, they had to be made yesterday.

Planning ahead is necessary because any type of yeast bread can benefit greatly from a longer and slower fermentation. This mantra holds especially true for lean breads where flavor development depends heavily on small amounts of yeast and lots of patience.

If the main flavoring came from other sources, say spices, a bit of garlic, and maybe a sprinkling of chickpea flour, then a larger amount of yeast can be used to make the dough rise quickly. In this case, the yeast primarily acts as a leavener instead of flavor enhancer.

This seems to be the thinking behind the curry roll formula from Austrian baker Gerhard Ströck. These pungent garlic-laced buns are finished in about two hours if you skip the much-maligned “cool on a wire rack” step. Dinner rolls are much better fresh from the oven anyway.

formula adapted from ichkoche.at (found via Ye Olde Bread Blogge)
Yeastspotting at Wild Yeast Blog

Gerhard Ströck’s Curry Rolls
Curryweckerl á la Ströck

makes 12 dinner rolls (approximately 2 3/4 to 3 ounces each)

Final Dough Formula:

Ingredients               Volume          Ounces          Grams
instant yeast                  4.5 tsp          .5           15
cold water                     1.5 cups
all-purpose flour              3.5 cups       15.5          440
white whole wheat flour        1.75 cups       7.75         220
chickpea flour                                 1.4           40
vegetable oil                  2 tbsp
yogurt                                         1             30
salt                                            .4           12
barley malt syrup                               .4           12
garlic, finely chopped                          .4           12
curry powder                                    .4           12

Notes:

• Google Translate can be very useful for recipes written in a foreign language but some things tend to get lost in translation. This interpretation of the formula worked quite nicely for me but I would definitely appreciate any corrections and suggestions.
• I replaced the 80 grams of cooked chickpeas in the original recipe with 40 grams of water and 40 grams of chickpea flour.
• Chickpea or garbanzo flour is also known as besan, chana, or gram flour in Indian groceries.
• I used garam masala as the curry powder. There are many different versions of this Indian spice blend. Mine is a mixture of finely ground cardamom seeds, cinnamon, cloves, black peppercorns, and nutmeg.

Final Dough Instructions:

Mix                   Dissolve the instant yeast in the water.
                      Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until
                      a rough ball is formed.

Knead                 8 to 10 minutes

kneaded curry roll dough

Rest                  20 minutes in a loosely covered container

Divide                12 pieces (approximately 90 to 95 grams each)

Shaping               Shape into rolls

shaped curry rolls

Final Proof           50 to 60 minutes

Preheat Oven          475ºF

Steam                 1 cup of boiling water poured in a heavy steam
                      pan (preferably cast iron)

Bake                  Immediately lower the temperature to 425ºF.
                      Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the rolls at the
                      halfway mark if necessary

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