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Crunchy from the outside but soft on the inside: a standard at any German weekend breakfast.
One of my friends has sent me a German blog, filled with recipes for German breads and bread rolls. And much to my delight, I found the recipe for “Knüsperbrötchen” on that blog. Anyone who has even been in Germany, Austria or Switzerland has more than likely had breakfast with white breakfast rolls at least once, with their signature cut in the crispy crust, and their lovely, fluffy and moist inside. They are yummy.
A special ingredient: lard This (simplified) recipe calls for two special ingredients. First of all, “Schmalz” or lard. You can find this at specialized butchers, or in your well-stocked supermarket. You can replace it with shortening or butter, but if you have the chance and you are not vegetarian, use lard. This gives a better inside and a smoother taste.
Second is diastatic malt powder. Diastatic malt powder is powdered malted grain. Usually barley is used, but you can also find wheat and rice. The diastatic enzymes are created as the grain sprouts. In the dough, these convert starches to maltose, or sugars, which is eaten by the yeast. You can replace the malt powder with honey. Malted grain however, will make the insides even more fluffy.
