Louisville Hot Browns on a Dutch Crunch Roll

Instructions

Soft White Roll

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer or large mixing bowl, combine yeast, milk and sugar. Stir to dissolve and let sit for about 5 minutes (The mixture should start to bubble or foam a bit and smell yeasty).
2. Add in vegetable oil, salt and 2 cups of flour. Mix at low speed until the dough comes together.
3. Switch to the dough hook attachment and add remaining flour a quarter cup at time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. (For me this was 1 1/4 cups flour.)
4. Knead for about 4 minutes, until smooth and elastic. Turn out onto a lightly floured surface and knead it a few time more and shape it in to a ball.
5. Place in a lightly greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for 1 hour, or until doubled (or more) in size.
6. Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into 6 equal portions (if you’d like to make rolls) or 2 equal portions (if you’d like to make a loaf) (using a sharp knife or a dough scraper works well). Shape each into a ball or loaf and place on a parchment-lined baking sheet (try not to handle the dough too much at this point).
7. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 15 minutes while you prepare the topping.
8. Coat the top of each roll or loaf with the topping (recipe below). Let stand for 20 minutes after applying the topping.
9. Bake in a preheated 380º for 25-30 minutes, until well browned. Let cool completely on a wire rack before eating.

Dutch Crunch Topping

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk; beat hard to combine. The consistency should be like stiff royal icing—spreadable, but not too runny. If you pull some up with your whisk, as shown below, it should drip off slowly. Add more water or rice flour as necessary. Let stand 15 minutes.
2. Coat the top of each loaf or roll with a thick layer of topping. (I used a scoop to gentle put it on top and then smoothed it with the back of the scoop.) You should err on the side of applying too much topping—a thin layer will not crack properly.
3. Let stand, uncovered, for 15 minutes and bake your bread as you ordinarily would. The Dutch Cruch topping should crack and turn a nice golden-brown color. *

Louisville Hot Browns

1. Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour until a thick paste forms. Continue whisking for 2 to 3 minutes until the flour is bubbling. Slowly whisk in the milk. When the sauce is smooth and thickened, add cheddar and Parmesan cheeses and cook for 2 minutes more until cheese is melted. Set aside.
2. Place bottom half of rolls on a boiler pan. Top with turkey, bacon, tomatoes and cheese sauce. Broil 3 inches from heat for 4 minutes or until cheese sauce is golden. Serve immediately.
3. *The Dutch Crunch Rolls were best eaten on the day they were made.