Are you an Italian hard rolls type person, or do you prefer the soft, sort of sweet Parker House type rolls? We are definitely of the Italian hard rolls crowd. We like to hear that crackle and crunch when we try to break into them, and the crust is so hard that some of the crumbs fall onto our plates. Oh, but the inside, the inside is so soft, so warm, so light and airy, and so very fragrant with a rich yeasty scent.
The pat of butter that we put in the crack of the roll melts and soaks right into the interior crumb.
*sigh* Pure Bliss!!
These panini duri Italiani have everything we desire in a roll.
Yeast Starter
Yeast Rolls Start with Pre-ferment
It all begins with a starter we make the day before and let it sit on the counter. The following day we add the starter to the rest of the ingredients and knead the dough.
Hard Rolls Dough
Then we place the dough ball into a container and allow it to rise.
Italian Hard Rolls Benching and Scaling
To get a uniform roll we bench and scale the dough. We are huge proponents of kitchen scales.
Italian Hard Rolls on Parchment Lined backing sheet.
We let the rolls rise for another hour or two.
Yeast Rounds Brushed with Egg White Wash
We brush the rolls with an egg white wash.
Scoring the Italian Hard Rolls
After we score the rolls, we put them on a baking sheet and then immediately into a preheated 425F oven.
Italian Hard Rolls Baked to a Golden Brown
Next day delicious dinner bread
The key to these panini’s fantastic flavor is the extra-long fermentation and very little yeast. Use them as crispy Italian sandwich rolls. They would make excellent sliders, or you could make them larger and use them for grilled sausage or hamburgers. Let us know how you ate these tasty Italian hard rolls.
Tutti a tavola è pronto!
Un caro saluto e alla prossima.
Genuine Italian Hard Rolls Recipe
Italian Hard Rolls {Panini Duri Italiani}
Ingredients
Starter
- 4 ounces cool water -- 1/2 cup*
- 4 1/4 ounces-- 1 cup Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
- 1/8 teaspoon Instant yeast
Dough
- all of the starter
- 15 1/2 ounces -- 3 1/2 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour Keep 3/4 ounce or 1/8 cup out to see if needed
- 8 ounces -- 1 cup lukewarm water
- 1 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
- 1/4 teaspoon instant yeast
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg white mixed with 1/2 cup cool water
Instructions
- To make the starter: Mix the starter ingredients until smooth, cover, and let rest at room temperature overnight.
- Next day combine all of the dough ingredients and mix and knead them together -- by hand, mixer or bread machine -- until you've made a soft, somewhat smooth dough. You may not need all of the flour. Add the remaining 3/4 ounce (1/8 cup) if needed.
- Allow the dough to rise, covered in a greased bowl, for 3 hours, gently deflating it and turning it over after 1 hour, and again after 2 hours.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly greased work surface. Divide it into 12 pieces*, shape the pieces into balls, and firm them up by rolling them under your lightly cupped fingers.
- Place the rolls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, cover them, and let them rise for 1 to 2 hours, until they're puffy, though not doubled in size. They'll flatten out a bit as they rise; that's OK.
- Cover the rolls, and refrigerate them for 2 to 3 hours. Towards the end of the rolls' chill, preheat the oven to 425F.
- Whisk together the egg white and water until frothy. Remove the rolls from the refrigerator, and brush them with the wash. They may seem a bit flat but they'll perk up when they hit the oven's heat.
- Slash a 1/4" deep cut across the top of each roll. Immediately put the rolls into the oven.
- Bake the rolls for 20 to 25 minutes, until they're a deep golden brown. Remove them from the oven, and cool on a wire rack. For the best crunch, open the oven door, and allow the rolls to cool in the turned-off, open-door oven.
Notes
- *We never use tap water. We use bottled spring water or distilled.
- *We doubled this recipe and scaled our rolls at 3 ounces which yielded 18 rolls.
Nutrition
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D Kocik
Best hard rolls ever, everone loved them.
Anna
Marisa, I found your site quite by accident and so happy that I did. I tried this recipe and the rolls came out just as I had hoped. Thank you so much for posting.
5 STAR for sure!
Marisa Franca
Hi Anna!! I’m so glad you found us! I’ve got a secret — if you love bread and things Italian this week I’m posting something special. I hope you keep an eye out. Thank you so much for your sweet comment. Sending a big hug!!
Molly
I’m anxious to make these, but am not sure about the yeast that was given to me- don’t know if it’s active or instant. Any suggestions? And do you have an adaptation for active yeast as a substitute? Thank you.
Marisa Franca
Hi Molly! Let’s say it’s active (you may treat instant like active)although you’ll need a bit more active. So, for the 1/8 tsp yeast use 1/4 in the warm water and let it bloom.
Is the yeast fresh? Proof the yeast to find out if it’s still active by adding 1 teaspoon of sugar and 2 1/4 teaspoons of yeast (one envelope) to 1/4 cup of warm water. Then, wait 10 minutes. If the mixture bubbles and develops a yeasty aroma, the yeast is still good.
For the second part of the recipe where you add the 1/4 tsp instant yeast add 1/4 + 1/8 tsp active yeast in the lukewarm water. Make sure you stir to dissolve.
Let me know how it turns out.
Rossana
I am a bit confused. You say to use All Purpose flour, but in the photo it shows you are using Sir Lancelot strong flour which is Bread Flour. Is there a big difference?
Marisa Franca
Hello, Rossana. We’ve used both but for these particular rolls we prefer the KA all-purpose flour. Sir Lancelot is a bit difficult to obtain for most people so in the directions we use the all-purpose.
Jim
I started these rolls Easter Saturday and now it is 1pm Easter Day and they just came out of the oven. I placed a cast iron frying pan in the bottom of the oven and as soon as I placed the rolls in the oven I placed 1 cup of boiling water in the pan. I had clouds of steam and the rolls came out of the oven with a hard crust.
Mine were not as brown as yours so I checked the temperature with a Thermapen thermometer and they were 205 degrees which is done. I used 1/3 Montana bread flour in the recipe. Once out of the oven I rubbed with butter and used a small amount of flaked salt on top. They look delicious.
Marisa Franca
Hi, Jim! I smell them now! So yummy! Enjoy your hot rolls. And Happy Easter!!
Paige
These look so great, and I like that they look pretty easy to make too! I’ve been wanting to try my hand at homemade rolls, so thanks for the inspiration!
Elaine
Superior rolls that would be a great addition to my holiday menu. I love the texture, and the looks and pretty much everything about them. Fantastic recipe!
Leslie
I prefer the hard rolls over the soft ones. Don’t get me wrong, I love both! The hard rolls help me to slow down and enjoy the bread! Ha, I tend to over eat the soft rolls! lol. Your recipe looks perfect!
Danielle
I am definitely a fan of the Italian hard rolls. I mean, there is just nothing better out there, right? 🙂 And I love the fact that you need very little yeast to achieve the best result – perfect!
Kari | Chef and Steward
I love the fermentation on the yeast! These would absolutely make excellent sliders and a great substitute for ciabatta. Printing this recipe to make once i can get a hold of some flour
Marisa Franca
Hi, Kari! If we were neighbors I’d give you some flour. Last Fall, KA flour was on sale and we bought a total of 100 pounds. I’m so glad we did. Everyone is making their own bread and rolls. You’ll really like the recipe. Let me know how it goes.
Paige LaFountain
Is the starter supposed to be like a dough ball?
Marisa Franca
Hello, Paige! No, it shouldn’t be quite like a dough ball. It’s a bit looser. By getting this head start on the rolls, they have loads of flavor.
Carole
I was concerned about the pre-fermentation part too cuz mine looked like a dough ball. got a little softer overnight but still, hard to incorporate into the dough the next day. My rolls turned out poorly except for the crunchy crust! the centers were wettish- pulled them out and put a chunk of cheese in the crust! tasty but way more work than was worth. So disappointed! maybe cuz when it said cover I put the rolling cloth over instead of plastic wrap so ? bummer……..
Marisa Franca
Hi Carole! So sorry that they didn’t turn out for you. Bread can sometimes be temperamental but don’t give up. Try it again and see if it doesn’t turn out for you. xoxo
Tammy
My family is definitely a good mix of both but one thing we can all appreciate is a batch of homemade bread. These look beautiful and sound wonderful. I’d love to make these for my family ^_^
Amy Liu Dong
I really enjoy eating home made bread and this one looks really delicious, I will tell to my sister to make this bread for me.
Heidy
These Italian hard rolls will be perfect for Easter Dinner! I have been looking for a good roll recipe and this hit home with me. I will let you know how it goes, but I’m betting everyone will love them.
Marisa Franca
Hello, Heidy! We have made them for Easter and the family loved them. I’m sure your family will too. xoxo
Colleen
These rolls came out perfectly and we used them for burgers. So good. Thank you for the recipe and all the great tips!
Marisa Franca
Hello, Colleen! So glad you enjoyed the rolls and the tips. xoxo
Martha
Can you make the dough and freeze individual non baked portions? I cant eat 18 rolls. Well i could but i would explode.
Martha
Marisa Franca
Hi, Martha! We usually freeze the baked rolls and then just pop in the oven. They turn out nice and crusty on the outside and warm on the inside. We haven’t tried just freezing the Italian roll dough although we do freeze our unbaked pizza dough. Hmmmm! It could work – if you try it let me know. And as far as eating 18 rolls? — I know what you mean. That’s why we hurry and freeze the baked goods. xoxo
Dana
I was *just* saying to my husband on Thanksgiving that I should learn to make rolls from scratch. He scurried out to the store to get some last minute—from the freezer section. Lol. I mean okay, they were good, but obviously nothing compared to homemade. These will be wonderful for the next holiday dinner 🙂
Marisa Franca
Hi, Dana!! You’ll love the hard rolls – let me know how they turn out. Thank you for writing. xoxo
Sharon
Hi! I’m in the middle of making these and I weighed the flour-14.75 oz to be accurate but it sure isn’t anywhere near 3.5 cups and looks very sticky, like it wouldn’t be easy to knead by hand. I mixed it with a stand mixer. Which way is best regarding the flour?
Marisa Franca
Hi Sharon. Use the stand mixer and use 3/4 more ounce of flour to make it 15 1/2 ounces. See if that doesn’t help. Let me know how it goes.
Trish Bozeman
Any roll is a good roll in my opinion, LOL! But you are right, the crackle of the crust is truly dreamy. Then the melty pat of butter. Oh my… I could eat a whole dozen of these. I just started using yeast to make breads at home and this will be my next creation. Thanks!
Sean@Diversivore
These look AMAZING. I’m a big fan of both flaky hard rolls like these and softer sweet rolls, because I don’t believe in discriminating when it comes to bread. I’m totally with you on the scale, especially for smaller buns like these. I don’t know what I’d do without my kitchen scale! We’re trying to transition to making most of our breads around our house, and I’m looking forward to trying these out with sliders, per your suggestion. Cheers!
Lisa
The crusty dome on your hard rolls sort of reminds me of a French baguette (except for the egg wash shine) That crackly exterior is always my favorite part — and I’ve never minded the crumbs that generally spatter over the plate and table. I actually think I like these better than a baguette because there’s more of that crunch — and your rolls look absolutely perfect. These would be great with our Thanksgiving turkey to sop up extra gravy! Thank you for sharing your recipe!
Donna
Homemade bread is the best. This was my first time trying Italian hard rolls, and they were just delicious. I love doing a quick ferment the night before making bread, it adds so much more flavor to the end result!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Donna! We love making bread and sharing with the family. Every weekend we try a different recipe but this one is one of our favorites.
Gloria
Homemade bread is the best. These look perfect for the holiday dinner table. I know I would have to make a double batch for sure.
Marisa Franca
I agree, Gloria! What would the holiday dinner be without some great bread. If you lived closer I’d make you a batch.
Janet
Made these rolls today. They were so good. I have tried so many recipes for Italian Hard Rolls this is the best. Will make again.
Marisa Franca
Hi, Janet! Thank you so mcu for taking the time to comment! I glad you like the hard rolls – they are our favorites!! xoxo
Duke
I liked this recipe a lot the first time I made it but the second time made it with bread flour and some whole wheat flour, I also added 1/4 tsp of diastatic malt (It gave them a nice shine and a crumbly crust) and they were fantastic!!!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Duke!! We always encourage people to try things out their way — and look at you!! A recipe you like even better – that’s great. I wish I could see a photo.
Catalina
Me and my husband are the hard roll type of person. We are always looking for crunchy bread, that one that make a lot of noise! lol. I am so glad that now i can make them at home!
Danielle Wolter
I’m not much of a baker, but your step by step instructions sure do make this sound easy. I would love to try and make these, fresh baked bread is the best!
Emmeline
These look so dellicious, I just wanna slap some butter on one and go to town right now… Great idea with weighing the dough as well – I’ve never thought of this before, genius!!
Marisa Franca
Hi, Emmeline! We always scale our dough. It makes for uniform pieces and it’s easy to do. Have a Merry Christmas.
Claudia Lamascolo
I have that exact stainless mixer! LOL I had to stop by and wish my gooba a MERRY CHRISTMAS and A blessed New Year so glad we got to meet online this year.. the best to you god bless xo Buon Natale
Marisa Franca
Merry Christmas to you too, Claudia! Hopefully, this coming year will be a fantastic year for us. Buon Natale e Capodanno! Un abbraccio forte!
Linda
I have a question… your recipe calls for AP flour, but your ingredients photo shows Sir Lancelot flour which (if it is King Arthur brand) is high gluten. Which flour should I use?
Marisa Franca
Hi, Linda! We purchase our flour in 50# bags. We use both flours depending on how chewy we want the bread. Not everyone can get the Sir Lancelot flour and the bread will turn out excellent using the KA all-purpose flour, just not as chewy.
Jovina Coughlin
I favor hard rolls and you are on a roll today. This recipe is definitely a keeper.
Marisa Franca
Hard rolls are hard to beat! We are making the Pane Bianco right now and boy, do I think this is going to be a keeper. I’ll put a picture of it on Instagram and Facebook.