Homemade Kaiser Rolls and Pulled Pork for a #SaucySuperBowl

Homemade Kaiser Rolls & Pulled Pork

Roll recipe from Macheesmo – Yields 16 Rolls (Recipe Note: this takes 2 days!)

Ingredients:

• 4-5 lb pork shoulder or boston butt (if you have a larger group, use a much bigger piece of meat!)
• 1 bottle of Chai Chipotle Q’ Sauce (or your favorite bbq sauce)
• 1/2 pack of saucy chili mix
• 5 ounces (1 1/8 cups) AP flour
• 5 ounces (1 1/8 cups) bread flour
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp instant yeast
• 3/4 cup room temperature water (may need a bit more)
• 20 ounces (4 1/2 cups) bread flour
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tbsp oil (I used olive oil, but you can use canola or veggie)
• 1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
• Poppy seeds or Sesame seeds for topping (optional)
• Cornmeal or semolina flour for dusting

Directions:

Day 1 — Make the Pate Fermentee (aka the starter)

1. In a large bowl stir together the 5 ounces of ap flour and 5 ounces of bread flour, 3/4 tsp salt, and 1/2 tsp instant yeast.
2. Add the water and stir until it forms a ball. This should NOT be sticky or stiff, but if you are worried err on the side of sticky. Remember, you’ll be kneading on a lightly floured surface.
3. Roll the dough on a lightly floured surface for 5- 7 minutes, or until very smooth but no longer sticky.
4. Lightly oil a bowl, turn the ball around in the oil and cover with a slightly damp paper towel.
5. Let sit out in a warm (non-drafty) part of the kitchen for 90 minutes. Then put the whole thing in your fridge overnight! (The recipe author mentions you can save this for 3 days in the fridge if covered well, or 3 months in the freezer if very well covered)

Day 2 — Finish the Rolls

1. Remove the starter from the fridge and cut (using scissors or a sharp knife) into small pieces. Let warm up to room temperature for 20-30 minutes. (This would be a good time to measure out the rest of the ingredients you need to make your rolls!)
2. Add the remaining dry ingredients to a large bowl (20 ounces bread flour, 1 1/2 tsp salt, 2 tsp instant yeast).
3. In a separate smaller bowl, mix together the eggs, oil and water.
4. Add the chopped dough to the dry ingredients, then pour in the water mixture.
5. Stir together with a spoon or CAREFULLY with your paddle attachment in your stand mixer. If yours seems to wet and sticky, slowly add 2 tbsp flour at a time until it starts to form a ball.
6. Now you can either mix this with your dough hook for 6-8 minutes, or knead it by hand. I chose to knead my dough by hand and it took me about 15 minutes to achieve a smooth, elastic dough that passed the windowpane test. 
7. Again, lightly oil a large bowl and roll the dough until covered. Allow to sit at room temperature, covered with a damp towel, until doubled in size. It took my dough about 1 1/2 hours to do this, but it may take you up to 2 hours.
8. Once the dough has doubled in size it’s time to form the buns! I used a kitchen scale to measure out similarly sized rolls. I made all of mine between 3-4 ounces which yielded 16 rolls. I wouldn’t make them much bigger than this or else they will be monster sandwiches!
9. To shape the rolls: take 1 portioned out piece of dough and roll into a long strip (about a foot long). Then cross the dough (to make a ribbon shape – like the breast cancer ribbons). Next wrap 1 of the ends inside the circle and around 1 side of the dough circle part. Repeat with the other end until you have a knotted ball of dough. Repeat with the remaining portioned out dough pieces.
10. Dust a lined cookie sheet with cornmeal or semolina flour and roll each dough ball around until lightly coated, and place on the cookie sheets. I did 8 to a cookie sheet. Cover the dough pieces with a slightly damp towel and let rise in a non-drafty place for 30 minutes. Flip them over then let them rise again for 10-15 minutes while the oven is preheating (pre-heat the oven to 425 degrees!).
11. Once the oven is preheated you can spritz the dough with a bit of water and add some poppy seeds or sesame seeds for garnish.
12. Bake the rolls (1 cookie sheet at a time) for 10 minutes, then reduce the temperature to 400 degrees fahrenheit and bake for another 15-25 minutes depending on how large the rolls are (it took mine 20 minutes to finish). They were a deep golden color and hard/hollow sounding when finished.
13. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees again and repeat with the second cookie sheet.
14. Allow the rolls to cool on a cooling rack for 30 minutes before eating.

To Make the Pulled Pork:

1. Once you have finished making your roll starter, pull out your pork.
2. Cover the pork in a generous layer of the saucy chili mix. I used half of the pack, but if you feel you need more do not hesitate to use more! Note: No saucy chili mix? Try this spice blend instead.
3. Place the pork in the baking vessel you plan to cook it in, then cover tightly with plastic wrap.
4. Place in the fridge overnight.
5. Once you are ready to cook your pork, take it out of the fridge and let sit at room temperature for 30 minutes.
6. Pre-heat the oven to 300 degrees fahrenheit. Once preheated, place the pork in the center of the oven and cook for 6-8 hours. (It should take about 1 1/2 hours per pound) Optional: during the last hour of cooking baste with bbq sauce! I thought I would since it tastes oh so good.
7. Once the pork is done, remove from the oven and let sit until it has cooled enough that you can pull it to pieces. I used 2 forks and another pair of hands to help me with this chore.
8. Once all pulled, place in a pot and toss with the barbecue sauce. Warm over medium-low heat for about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve on a homemade bun with local green beans and you have a good ol’ midwestern meal!