Chewy Italian Sesame Rolls

After years of asking out-of-town relatives to bring me those chewy sandwich rolls, I finally decided to master them myself. And behold: these dense, crusty rolls have become my weekly staple. They hold up beautifully to hearty fillings.

What makes these great is what’s NOT in them. No eggs, milk, or butter. Just a simple lean dough of flour, water, yeast, and salt. Keeping it simple will create that dense, chewy texture we want for meatball subs or dipping in pasta sauce.

Ingredients and Tools You’ll Need

We’re using simple ingredients here. You’ll want to use bread flour to get that chewy texture. All-purpose won’t give you the same results. And kneading with a stand mixer with a dough hook will make this SO much easier.

This will make eight rolls. If you’d like to double or triple this recipe, you can make adjustments in the recipe card at the bottom of this post.

Equipment

• Stand mixer
• Baking Sheet
• Parchment paper

Ingredients

• 4 cups bread flour
• 2¼ teaspoons instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 ½ cups water
• 1 egg white mixed with 1 tablespoon of water for topping
• ¼ cup sesame seeds

How to Make

Don’t rush the kneading or rising. Let it have the time it needs or you’ll be disappointed in he results.

Step One: Mix

Throw your flour, yeast, salt, and sugar into your stand mixer bowl. Add the water and mix it with the dough hook on low until it comes together – takes about 2 minutes. Don’t worry if it looks shaggy at first.

Step Two: Knead

Bump it up to medium speed and let that mixer work for 10-12 minutes. The dough should get really smooth and elastic. If you’re doing this by hand, plan on at least 15 minutes of kneading. Your arms will feel it.

Step Three: Rise

Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap (grease that too so it doesn’t stick), and let it double in size. Takes about an hour in a warm spot.

Step Four: Divide

When it’s ready, dump it on a floured counter and divide into eight pieces. I just eyeball it, but you can use a kitchen scale if you want to be precise.

Step Five: Shape

Roll each piece into a tight ball – pull the edges under and pinch to seal on the bottom. Put them on two parchment-lined baking sheets.

Step Six: Proof

Cover with that greased plastic wrap again, and let them puff up for about 45 minutes. Don’t let them double this time – just puffy.

Step Seven: Prepare

Heat your oven to 375°F. Brush the tops with that egg white mixture (don’t go crazy, just a light coating) and sprinkle sesame seeds on top. Be generous with those seeds.

Step Eight: Bake

Bake for 25 minutes, switching the pans halfway through so they brown evenly. You want them deep golden and crusty. Let them cool on wire racks.

Bread Machine Instructions

If you’ve got a bread machine, this recipe works great on the dough cycle. It’s actually my favorite way to make these rolls since the machine does all that heavy kneading and rising for you.

Toss all your ingredients into the bread pan in whatever order your machine prefers (I’m not picky about the order, and most machines aren’t either). Start the dough cycle and let it go for about 5 minutes, then take a peek. The dough should look smooth and slightly tacky but not sticky. If it’s too wet and sticking to the sides, add flour a tablespoon at a time until it pulls away cleanly. If it looks too dry and shaggy, drizzle in water a teaspoon at a time.

Once the dough cycle is complete (usually about 90 minutes), your dough will be perfectly kneaded and risen, ready to divide and shape into rolls. Just turn it out onto a lightly floured counter and pick up the recipe at the “divide” step. The bread machine takes all the work out of both the kneading and first rise, which is especially helpful with this lean dough.

Serving & Storing

These rolls are best the day they’re baked, but will keep at room temperature for 2 days in a paper bag (avoid plastic or they’ll get soft).

To refresh, splash with water and pop in a 350°F oven for 5 minutes. They also freeze beautifully, just thaw at room temperature and crisp up in the oven.

Make It Your Own

Shape them differently or add different toppings.

• Shape into longer rolls for hoagies or smaller ones for dinner rolls
• Try poppy seeds or a mix of sesame and poppy for topping
• Add 1 tablespoon of dried Italian herbs to the dough for herb rolls
• Leftover rolls make amazing homemade croutons or breadcrumbs

More Italian Breads To Try

• This large muffuletta bread is the base for a yummy sandwich of Italian meats and an olive tapenade.
• Make your sesame rolls with sourdough (and a tiny bit of yeast) for crusty Italian sourdough rolls.
• Homemade Italian sandwich bread is a perfect everyday loaf. Easy, fluffy, and foolproof.

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