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French Split Rolls

French split rolls are small dough rounds brushed with melted lard and baked with steam.

From an old cookbook · modernised transcription
From a historical cookbook (Internet Archive) · 2 ingredients
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French Split Rolls

Ingredients

Directions

Shape and proof

  1. Break the dough into 2-ounce pieces and shape them into rounds.

  2. Let them proof slightly and brush the tops lightly with melted lard.

  3. Using a small rolling pin, press down along the center of each roll.

  4. Turn the rolls over and place them in cloths, split side down.

  5. Pinch the cloths between the rows and let them proof well.

  6. Turn the rolls over and place them on a peel, split side up.

Bake

  1. Bake in a preheated oven at 400°F (200°C) with steam.

Recipe from a historical cookbook (Internet Archive).

Transcribed from a scanned cookbook and modernised for today's kitchens. Where the book gave no heat or time, or said "a moderate oven", the temperatures and times here may be modern equivalents rather than the book's own figures.

Explore the science

What each ingredient does

Dough for flutes
Gluten and starch form the structure that traps gas and sets into a light crumb.
Melted lard
Fat brushed on the tops promotes browning and gives the crust a softer, richer finish.

The step that matters

Let the rolls proof well before baking. Proofing lets yeast gas expand the dough so the rolls rise properly. Underproofed rolls stay dense and can burst open in the oven, while overproofed rolls collapse and lose their structure.

“What each ingredient does” and “The step that matters” were written by Claude from this recipe’s own method and reviewed in samples by CompKitchen.

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