Homemade Hoagie Rolls

three hoagie rolls on black baking sheet

5 from 13 votes

Soft hoagie rolls with a thin, tender crust — the Philly-style sandwich rolls you'd get from the bakery, made at home. A long mix and a steamy oven are what give them their chew. Makes 1250 grams of dough: six 6-inch rolls or three 12-inch.

Prep Time20

Cook Time20

Rest and Rise Times2

Total Time2 40

Course: Bread

Cuisine: Italian

Servings: rolls (small) or 3 large rolls (recipe can be doubled)

Calories: 543kcal

Author: Marie Pinto Bialek

Ingredients

6 cups bread flour (see notes for baker's percentages)
1 3/4 cups water (room temp/about 70 degrees F)
2.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp sugar
3 tbsp olive oil
2 1/4 tsp instant dry yeast
Note that grams are exact but volume measurements are rounded

US Customary - Metric

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

Baker's percentages: flour 100%, water 62%, yeast 1.15%, salt 2%, sugar 3%, oil 5%; small rolls (6-inch, 200 grams dough; 12-inch, 400 grams dough; 9-inch, 300 grams dough)

May 2021: Hydration updated to 62% from 57%.

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)

Nutrition