Homemade Hoagie Rolls (Philly-Style Sub Rolls)
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Ask anyone from Philadelphia what makes a hoagie, and they’ll tell you about the roll (bread) before they name a single thing that goes in it.
Growing up, there was a bakery in every neighborhood. A few classics are still going in Philadelphia and South Jersey, and the bread is as good as it ever was — but it’s bread you can’t find once you leave. That’s what this recipe is for. It’s also for anyone who bakes and wants to see how close you can get at home.
Call them sandwich rolls, hoagie rolls, or sub rolls. Two things set these apart from most homemade sub roll recipes: a long mix and real steam. The dough goes nineteen minutes in the stand mixer, not five — you’re looking for a windowpane, and that’s where the chew comes from. The rolls then bake at 440°F with ice cubes thrown onto the oven floor, and that steam is what keeps the crust thin and tender instead of letting it set up thick and tough. You can hold the dough overnight in the fridge, and the baked rolls freeze well.
These are what I make for Philadelphia Italian hoagies, but they’d also work great for any sandwich, including Italian meatballs or Italian beef.
Note: The recipe below makes 6 small (6-inch) or 3 large (12-inch) rolls. The step-by-step photos in this post show a double batch (12 rolls) – perfect if you’re feeding a crowd or want to stock your freezer!
Why Make This
- A thin crust, not a thick one — not a baguette that shatters, not a soft bun that goes to paste
- Real chew, from a nineteen-minute mix instead of the usual five
- Seeded or plain, the way the bakeries do it
Ingredient Notes
The full list of ingredients with measurements is in the recipe card. A few notes to know:
Bread flour. Worth using a good one — the protein is what lets the dough take a nineteen-minute mix and come out chewy instead of slack. All-purpose will make a roll, just a softer, less structured one.
Water at 62%. This ran at 57% until 2021, when I raised it. The extra water makes the rolls lighter and softer without changing the crumb — it stays fine and even, which is what you want in a sandwich roll. An open, holey crumb would let oil and vinegar run straight through. If you want a heavier, denser roll, take it back to 57%.
Olive oil at 5%. Softens the crumb and keeps the rolls good a little longer — it’s what separates these from a lean French-style dough.
How to Make (step by step)
Add everything to the bowl of a stand mixer: flour, water, salt, sugar, olive oil, yeast. Weigh it if you can. Weighing is the single easiest way to improve your bread baking, and a scale costs less than a good sheet pan — I use an OXO Good Grips with the pull-out display.
The recipe makes six 6-inch rolls or three 12-inch. The photos below show a double batch, which is what I do when I’m stocking the freezer.
Mixing the dough
Low speed for 4 minutes so the flour hydrates, then medium for 15 more. You’re mixing to a windowpane, and that long mix is doing two things: building the chew and giving you a fine, even crumb instead of an open one. An open crumb is the goal in a lot of bread. Not here — holes let oil and vinegar run straight through the sandwich.
Here’s what the dough should look like about halfway through the mix: 
The dough after about a 20-minute mix (it will develop more during shaping and rising).
Initial Shaping
On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12 x 16 rectangle. Cut into 6 pieces for small hoagie rolls (6-inch) or 3 pieces for large hoagie rolls (12-inch). Cover with a damp towel or oiled plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 to 30 minutes.
Final Shaping
Roll each piece out using a rolling pin (you want them relatively thin), and then roll up each piece jelly roll style. Let these rest for another 20 minutes – this pre-shaping step is important for developing the right texture. Note that these photos showed rolls that were shaped more like “torpedo” rolls, which are tapered at the end.
After this rest, you’ll do the final shaping. Roll them back and forth on the counter until you have either 6-inch lengths (for small rolls) or 12-inch lengths (for large rolls). Apply more pressure to the ends and pull the dough over to seal them if needed.
Rising and Baking Prep
Line your baking sheet with parchment paper, dust with cornmeal if using, and place the rolls allowing for about 2 inches of space between them. Cover with plastic wrap (pro tip: spray the top of your rolls with cooking spray so the plastic wrap won’t stick).
Let the rolls rise for about 60 to 90 minutes at room temperature. If your kitchen is cold, you can place them in an oven with just the light on (make sure the oven isn’t actually heating!). Alternatively, you can place the rolls in the refrigerator for an overnight rise.
Here’s a pro tip: Use a “spy” – place a small piece of dough in a shot glass with a rubber band marking its initial height. When this piece doubles, your rolls are ready to bake!
Baking
Preheat your oven to 440°F (not on convection setting). Just before baking, slash each roll with a clean razor or sharp knife and mist with water. Load them into the oven and quickly create steam by either misting the oven several times or throwing a few ice cubes onto the oven floor.
After about 5 minutes, reduce the temperature to 400°F and bake another 10 to 15 minutes — 15 to 20 minutes total from when the rolls went in. Look for a golden crust. If you’re making multiple batches, keep the waiting tray in the refrigerator until it’s time to bake.
For a glossy finish, brush the finished rolls with pasteurized egg whites thinned with water or with melted butter after baking.
Tips for Success
- Weigh each piece after portioning. Same-size rolls bake evenly; eyeballed ones don’t.
- Target 80°F dough temperature after mixing. A nineteen-minute mix generates real friction heat — a Thermapen or any instant-read tells you whether to start with cooler water next time.
- Look for 30–50% larger, not doubled. These go into the oven underproofed compared to most bread. Fully doubled rolls will spread instead of rising.
- Bake on the center rack. Too low and the bottoms darken before the tops set.
- Cold kitchen? Put a pot of hot water next to the rising tray. Or use the oven with just the light on — but make sure it’s off.
How to Store
Best on day one. They’re fine the day after, just not the same — after that, slice and freeze. A paper bag holds the crust; plastic holds the crumb soft; pick one.
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📖 Recipe
Homemade Hoagie Rolls
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Ingredients
- 6 cups (742 g) bread flour (see notes for baker's percentages)
- 1 3/4 cups (423 g) water (room temp/about 70 degrees F)
- 2.5 tsp (15 g) salt
- 2 tbsp (22 g) sugar
- 3 tbsp (37 g) olive oil
- 2 1/4 tsp (8 g) instant dry yeast
- Note that grams are exact but volume measurements are rounded
Instructions
- Add all ingredients to the bowl of a standing mixer (see blog post for step by step pictures)
- Mix on low speed for 4 minutes (it's important for the flour to "hydrate" and absorb the water before you start using higher speed)
- Increase speed to medium and continue mixing for 15 additional minutes (you want the dough to "windowpane"- this is crucial!) (see notes)
- On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out to a 12 x 16 rectangle and cut into 6 pieces for small hoagie rolls (6-inch) or 3 pieces for large hoagie rolls (12-inch). Cover with damp towel or oiled plastic wrap and let rest for about 20 to 30 minutes
- Roll each piece out using a rolling pin and after rolling out, roll up each piece jelly roll style and let rest for 20 minutes (this is preshaping – we will do a final shape in the next step).
- After the rolls have rested you will do a final shape. To do so, roll them back and forth on the counter until you have a length of 6-inches for small hoagie rolls or 12 inches for large hoagie rolls. Apply more pressure to ends and pull the dough over to seal the ends if needed.
- Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper, dust with cornmeal (if using) and place the rolls allowing for about 2 inches of space between. Cover with plastic wrap (I spray the top of my rolls with cooking spray so the plastic wrap won't stick.
- Let the rolls rise for about 60 to 90 minutes at room temperature. (if it's winter and/or chilly, you can place in oven with oven light on; just make sure the oven is not heating/turned on). Alternatively, you can also place the rolls in the refrigerator so they could rise overnight.
- Consider using a "spy" – if you have a small shot glass, add a piece of dough and place a rubber band to mark the top of the dough. When the dough has doubled, it will be easier to see. This "spy" should be subject to the same temperature/location as the rolls that are rising.
To Bake
- About 30 minute before the rolls are finished rising, preheat your oven to 440. Update: do not use convection setting as the fan will dry out the crust and also push out the steam we will create in an upcoming step.
- Just before baking, slash each roll swiftly with a clean razor or knife and then mist with clean water just before loading into oven.
- Mist the oven several times with water or throw a few cups of ice on over floor just after loading bread and quickly close oven door. Try to trap that steam by doing this quickly.
- After about 5 minutes, reduce the oven to 400°F and bake another 10 to 15 minutes — 15 to 20 minutes total from when the rolls went in. Look for a golden color on the crust. You may place the remaining tray in the refrigerator until the first tray is finished baking; don't mist with water until ready to bake.
- If you'd like a glossy look, brush rolls with pasteurized egg whites thinned with a little water or with butter after they are finished baking.
- Hoagie rolls are best eaten the same day; they freeze well. I like to slice and freeze.
Notes
- To get more accurate cups measurement for bread flour, refer to your flour’s nutrition label which will give you grams/cup of flour.
- Use high quality, bread flour – this is the main ingredient in your recipe so make sure it’s a good brand
- Use a kitchen scale if you have one. Weighing ingredients is one of the easiest ways to improve your bread baking
- Ensure you are mixing the dough enough initially. This recipe calls for a ~20-minute initial mix
- I also recommend weighing out each dough ball after you portion the dough so that each roll is about the same size
- Make sure the rolls rise enough before baking. The rolls should be at least 30 to 50% larger than when they were first shaped
- If you kitchen is cold, place a pot of water on the stove with the tray of rolls next to it to heat things up
- Using a thermometer such as a Thermapen is very helpful to make sure your dough is not too hot or too cold (target dough temp about 80 degrees after mixing)
- Make sure your oven is hot enough – I found the best place to bake these rolls was right in the center rack of the oven
- Don’t forget to mist the rolls with water as well as the oven so you get a bit of oven spring (oven spring is the sudden increase in volume of bread during the first several minutes of baking)
I love this recipe! I live alone and cut the dough in half put half in the refrigerator and the other half I make any kind of roll I want for that days meals and use the other half for the following day. I am now accustomed to having fresh bread anytime I want. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe
Thank you so much! I love your idea of dividing the dough and baking fresh rolls as needed. Fresh bread on demand is hard to beat, and it’s great to hear the dough works so well over multiple days for you. Thanks for taking the time to leave a comment! 😊