Rozky: Slovak Caraway Salt Rolls

One thing I love about cooking is that you really never stop learning.  You can learn something new every single day. And this is what I learned yesterday.  For as long as I can remember, most restaurants in our area serve a really good roll which is crusty on the outside, chewy on the inside and filled with caraway seeds.  They are topped with a mixture of caraway seeds and salt.  And they are GOOD!  The strange thing is, I never thought about making them. The other day I was reading about breads from all over the world and I came upon an article about Slovakian bread called rozky.  I searched for recipe but all but one was in Slovak. Interestingly, I can read ingredients in most languages.  After perusing numerous recipes, I found one that called for caraway seeds and all of a sudden the light bulb went on. My city has always had a large Slovak community and this is why we have these local salt sticks. I never put it together that I have only seen these rolls in my area and never anywhere else. I went about making them immediately.
 For the dough:

2 C. flour
1 C. milk
4 T. oil
1 T. sugar
2 tsp. rapid rise yeast
1/2 tsp. salt
1 T. caraway seeds
Mix this together adding more flour as needed.  Knead until you have a smooth ball of dough, cover and let it rise until double.  This can take up to 2 hours.  After it has risen, dump it out on a flour covered surface.

 Cut it in half.

 Roll each half out into a large circle about 12 inches in diameter.  Cut it into 4 pieces.  The next time I make these I will cut them into 8 pieces because these came out rather large.

 Grab the 'ears' on each piece and stretch them out a bit.

 Fold them in.

 Roll them up like a cigar.

 Place them flap side down on a parchment covered cookie sheet.  Cover them with plastic wrap and put them to rise until plumped. 

 This will take about 40 minutes.

 Just before baking, brush with a beaten egg white, sprinkle with more caraway seeds and course salt.

Bake them at 400 degrees for about 20-22 minutes.  Cool on racks.
 Nice and crunchy on the outside, chewy and tender on the inside.

I doubled the recipe but a single recipe make 8 big rolls.  The ones sold locally are much smaller and next time mine will be too.

Comments

Sometimes we don't see what's right under our noses, eh? They look dee-lish!
Craig said…
My goodness these look good!
Anonymous said…
I've never thought of having caraway seeds on bread, so this is something I must try when I start baking after summer again!

Have a great day!
Christer.
1st Man said…
wow, so yummy looking!!!
Mary Ann said…
I have a feeling the Blog Tech enjoyed these!
TARYTERRE said…
Love anything with caraway seeds. These sound tasty, for sure.
All baking is wonderful but there is NOTHING like baking bread. Nothing.
Unknown said…
Grew up eating these rolls on Sunday after Church can’t find in the local Bakeries by me. Time to make our our. Thanks for sharing.
Unknown said…
I am 76 yesterday. I remember our mother taking us downtown Portland, OR. frequently. Often we would go to ther Bohemian Bakery for salted caraway rolls. I have always been in love with these rolls and I have searched for years for a recipe. None of the other recipes for salted rolls, caraway rolls, etc. have that beautiful chewy crust on the outside and oh so tender inside. I should have taken a clue from the name Bohemian, but I never came across a recipe that I assume if from the heart of the Slavic nations such as Poland. Thank you, Thank you,
Thank you.
Larry
Unknown said…
I have to make these. I used to get them locally, but that was a very long time ago. Two questions... What type of flour did you use (AP or bread flour)? And what type of oil? Thanks so much.