View source for Kaiser roll

{{Short description|Austrian breadstuff}}
{{more footnotes|date=February 2013}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2021}}
{{expand Czech|date=March 2024|topic=cult}}
{{Infobox prepared food
| name             = Kaiser roll
| image            = Kaisersemmel-.jpg
| image_size       = 250px
| caption          = 
| alternate_name   = Vienna roll, hard roll, water roll
| country          = [[Austria]]
| region           = [[Vienna]]
| creator          = 
| course           = 
| type             = [[Bread roll]]
| served           = 
| main_ingredient  = [[Flour]], [[barm]], [[malt]], water, salt
| variations       = [[Michetta]], rosetta
| calories         = 200 (100 g)
| other            = glycaemic load 40 (100 g)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.health.harvard.edu/diseases-and-conditions/glycemic_index_and_glycemic_load_for_100_foods |title=Glycemic index and glycemic load for 100+ foods |publisher=[[Harvard Medical School]] |date=27 August 2015 |access-date=20 February 2018 }}</ref>
}}

The '''Kaiser roll''' ({{langx|de|Kaiserbrötchen}} {{IPA|de|ˈkaɪzɐˌbʁøːtçn̩||De-Kaiserbrötchen.ogg}}; "Emperor roll"; {{langx|sl|kajzerica}}; {{langx|pl|kajzerka}}; {{langx|hu|császárzsemle}}), also called a '''Vienna roll''' ({{lang|de|Wiener Kaisersemmel}}), a '''hard roll''' or, if made by hand, also {{lang|de|'''Handsemmel'''}}, is a typically round [[bread roll]], originally from [[Austria]]. It is made from white [[flour]], [[baker's yeast|yeast]], [[malt]], water and [[salt]], with the top side usually divided in a symmetric pattern of five segments, separated by curved superficial cuts radiating from the centre outward or folded in a series of overlapping lobes resembling a crown.<ref>{{cite AV media|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVhYhFsc9oo  |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211212/OVhYhFsc9oo| archive-date=2021-12-12 |url-status=live|date=November 19, 2013 |title=How To Shape Kaiser Rolls |medium=[[Culinary arts|Culinary Arts]] |time=0.06 |work=[[Keiser University]] |access-date=January 20, 2021}}{{cbignore}}</ref> The crisp {{lang|de|Kaisersemmel}} is a traditional Austrian food officially approved by the Federal Ministry of Agriculture.<ref>[http://www.lebensministerium.at/lebensmittel/trad-lebensmittel/speisen/kaisersemmel.html List of traditional foods, entry No. 164] {{in lang|de}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131112133758/http://www.lebensministerium.at/lebensmittel/trad-lebensmittel/speisen/kaisersemmel.html |date=2013-11-12 }}</ref>

==Origin==
[[File:Hoftafel mit Kaisersemmel.jpg|thumb|left|Kaiser rolls at a court banquet of [[Maria Theresa]] about 1760, detail from a painting by {{lang|de|[[Martin van Meytens]]|italic=no}}]]
It is sometimes claimed that kaiser rolls were named to honor Emperor ({{lang|de|Kaiser}}) [[Franz Joseph I of Austria]] (born 1830, reigned 1848–1916); but the term appears as early as 1825.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hussian |first=Raphael Ferdinand  |title=Anweisung zur Ernährung neugeborner Kinder: eine Schrift für besorgte Eltern |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=RgZaAAAAcAAJ&newbks=1&newbks_redir=0&dq=kaisersemmel&pg=PA178#v=onepage&q&f=false|access-date=2025-02-26}}</ref> There is also the theory that the name stems at least in part from a baker family called Kayzer in Opatów in Galicia which had been occupied by the [[Habsburg monarchy|Austrian monarchy]] in the [[First Partition of Poland]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Radoslaw |first=Kubicki |title=The city of Opatow and Opatöw landed estates under Austrian rule (1794 - 1809) |url=https://shron2.chtyvo.org.ua/Zbirnyk_statei/Die_galizische_Grenze_1772-1867_Kommunikation_oder_Isolation7_nim.pdf |access-date=2023-03-31}}</ref> In the 18th century a law fixed retail prices of {{lang|de|Semmeln}} (bread rolls) in the [[Habsburg monarchy]]. Another claim is that the name {{lang|de|Kaisersemmel}} came into general use after the bakers' guild sent a delegation in 1789 to [[Joseph II, Holy Roman Emperor|Emperor Joseph II]] ({{abbr|b.|born}} 1741, {{abbr|r.|reigned}} 1765–1790) and persuaded him to deregulate the price of bread rolls.{{citation needed|date=June 2014}}

With its monarchical connotation, Kaiser rolls stood out against common rolls known as {{lang|de|Mundsemmeln}} ("mouth rolls") or {{lang|de|Schustersemmeln}} ("cobbler's rolls"). They are traditionally found in Austria, but have also become popular in other countries of the former Austrian Habsburg Empire, such as the [[Kingdom of Galicia and Lodomeria|Galicia]] region in [[Poland]] and later the whole country (where it is known as {{lang|pl|kajzerka}}), [[Croatia]], [[Slovenia]], and [[Serbia]] ({{lang|sh|kajzerica}}), [[Hungary]] ({{lang|hu|császárzsemle}}), the [[Czech Republic]] (císařská žemle, císařská houska,<ref>HUGO, Jan. Slovník nespisovné češtiny: argot, slangy a obecná mluva od nejstarších dob po současnost : historie a původ slov. Praha: Maxdorf, c2006, s. 160; HUGO, Jan. Slovník nespisovné češtiny: argot, slangy a obecná mluva od nejstarších dob po současnost : historie a původ slov. Praha: Maxdorf, c2009, s. 184; Příruční slovník německo-český = Deutsch-tschechisches Handwörterbuch, Janko Josef a Siebenschein Hugo, V Praze: Státní nakladatelství, 1939-1940, s. 508; Příruční slovník jazyka českého. V Praze: Státní nakladatelství, 1935-1957, s. 258.</ref> kaiserka) and [[Slovakia]] ({{lang|cs|kaiserka}}), as well as in Germany, the [[United States]], and [[Canada]]. During [[Kingdom of Lombardy–Venetia|Austrian rule in Lombardy]], [[Italy|Italian]] bakers produced a hollow version known as {{lang|it|[[michetta]]}} or {{lang|it|rosetta}}.

==Variations==
A handmade Kaiser roll is known as a {{lang|de|Wiener Kaisersemmel}} ({{lang|de|Handsemmel}}) according to the {{lang|la|[[Codex Alimentarius Austriacus]]}} standards collection.<ref>''Codex Alimentarius Austriacus'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20131112132012/http://www.bmg.gv.at/cms/home/attachments/4/9/6/CH1252/CMS1167207128242/b_18_backerzeugnisse.pdf chapter B18, subchapter 2.2.2] {{in lang|de}}</ref>

There are multiple variants of the common roll, differing in size, type of flour used, and toppings. While traditionally plain, Kaiser-style rolls are today found topped with [[poppy seed]]s, [[Sesame|sesame seed]]s, [[pumpkin seed]]s, [[flax]], or [[sunflower seed]]s. The Kaiser roll is a main part of a typical Austrian breakfast, usually served with [[butter]] and [[jam]]. It is often used as a [[bun]] for such popular sandwiches as [[hamburger]]s in America, and with a slice of {{lang|de|[[Leberkäse]]}} in Germany and Austria, though sliced {{lang|de|[[Extrawurst]]}} and pickled [[gherkin]]s ({{lang|de|Wurstsemmel}}), or a type of {{lang|de|[[Wiener schnitzel]]|italic=no}} ({{lang|de|Schnitzelsemmel}}) are also used. A variation called a kümmelweck (alternatively spelled "kimmelweck" or "kummelweck")<ref>{{cite web|url=https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/kummelweck|title=kummelweck|publisher=Wiktionary|access-date=10 July 2020}}</ref> is topped with [[kosher salt]] and [[caraway]], and in the United States is an essential component of a [[Buffalo, New York|Buffalo]]-area specialty, the [[beef on weck]] sandwich. "Weck" is short for "Weckerl", the diminutative of "Wecken", a loaf of bread, "Kümmel" is caraway.

In much of eastern New York State&nbsp;— [[New York City]], [[Long Island]], the [[Hudson Valley]], and the [[Adirondacks]]&nbsp;— and throughout [[New Jersey]], [[Pennsylvania]], [[Maryland]], [[Delaware]], and [[Connecticut]], Kaiser rolls are known as "hard rolls", or "rolls", and are staples of delicatessen and convenience stores. Hard rolls are the bread traditionally used to make the  [[Bacon, egg and cheese sandwich]] in New York.{{Citation needed|date=February 2025}} 

The [[Wisconsin]] variety of "hard roll", which was formed over the decades by the bakeries of [[Sheboygan, Wisconsin|Sheboygan]] to be paired with the local specialty of [[Bratwurst#United States|bratwurst]] (either in a long single bun or circular "double brat" roll), features a fluffy consistency on the inside with a crust on the crown of the bun, though most of the steps and some ingredients in the creation of Sheboygan hard rolls are proprietary, and can vary by each bakery's own recipe.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bratfry.com/buns.html|title=All about Buns|access-date=15 October 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://sheboygancitybakery.com/sheboygan-rolls/|title=Sheboygan Rolls at City Bakery LLC in Sheboygan, WI|publisher=City Bakery, Sheboygan, Wisconsin|access-date=15 October 2019}}</ref>

<gallery widths="200px" heights="140px">
File:13-08-31-wien-redaktionstreffen-EuT-by-Bi-frie-138.jpg|{{lang|de|Handsemmel}}
File:small - Beef on Weck.jpg|A [[beef on weck]] sandwich
</gallery>

==See also==
* [[Austrian cuisine]]
* [[Central European cuisine]]
* [[List of bread rolls]]
* [[Vienna bread]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20101129123350/http://www.nyfolklore.org/pubs/voic29-1-2/buffalo.html New York Folklore Society – Buffalo's Other Claim to Fame]

{{American bread}}

[[Category:American breads]]
[[Category:Austrian breads]]
[[Category:German breads]]
[[Category:Poppy seeds]]
[[Category:Yeast breads]]
[[Category:Cuisine of the Mid-Atlantic states]]