March 30, 2016 - 1:43pm
Help with hoagie buns
i am trying to create the perfect 12 inch hoagie bun. I am about 90% there. I want the bun to be soft, not crusty. The issue is that they are a bit chewy. I am using the typical hoagie recipe with yeast, sugar, flour, oil, water, salt. I am wondering about butter or half milk, half water. Does anyone have suggestions? These are for my Pizza restaurant. We make our own pizza dough, but have had a bakery make our sub buns until recently. Everyone seems to like the softer sub bun. Thanks
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Sue Mac,
Without knowing your formula or bakers percentages plus how you develop your dough, etc. it is difficult to give suggestions.
If your are looking for softer crumb and Po-Boy type crust I'd take the formula that you are using now and keep the flour (A/P), yeast, salt, and sugar the same….
Then using a note pad start increasing your percentage of hydration and veg oil and document each batch. Also watch your dough development. If I'm hearing you correctly you don't want 'Wonder Bread' crumb and not Ciabatta open holes either. Sounds like you are close….. So, hydration, oil, and development…...
Your dough appearance, develoment, and how you form your buns need to be consistant and will dictate the final product.
Run several bakes until the buns are on the far side of what you want (hyd & oil wise). Then look back in your notes of bake that was 'almost' there. Use it and now make small adjustments to it, but always keep notes so you can fine tune the formula.
Post more info and there are so many folks on this site that can give you some excellent direction. Pictures will help.
Good luck and keep the faith…...
Thanks so much for your help. I am baking again tomorrow, using your suggestions. I will post a photo.
(hoagie) not (hogtie)... Never type without your glasses.
As above, without knowing your formula I can't be specific, but try adding some shortening to your recipe. My kids like a "Cuban soft bread" that they get in NYC, and the secret to the softness is shortening. I've done this in some recipes and it works really well. I typically use about 40-50 grams of melted Crisco shortening or lard for a typical 1kg loaf.
I've learned that using milk creates a softer crust. I'm still experimenting with the amounts of liquid and powdered milks to add to a recipe, but regardless of how much I use, it still makes a softer bread that the recipe without it.