Maggie's Farm

BD,

I have food on my mind this morning, specifically, "hard rolls". These were a staple in my Dad's house when I was small, and usually involved driving to the bakery after church to pick up fresh ones for the week. They measured about six to seven inches in diameter and two and one half to three inches high. What made them "hard" was the crusty shell, which crunched as you tore it up, or bit into it; the hide was covered with poppy or sesame seeds, or nothing. Also, every individual bakery, whether "Italian" or "Portuguese" had a slightly different texture and flavor. I miss these things, and what passes for them in bakeries today and supermarkets is a par-baked mush bag, which they seem to finish cooking with light bulbs. No crust.

My question: Is there any place on Maggie's Farm that still makes these with the old shell crust? The last hold-out that I knew about was a small "Italian" bakery in the North End of Waterbury, Connecticut, but that was twenty-five years and many miles ago.

BTW, the next best experience in the round baked goods department was walking into the small bagel bakery under the #4 line in The Bronx, on Jerome Avenue, near 180th. It was really special at 5:00 AM, when production was cranking, and they were flying off the conveyor. They were soft and gooey for a little while before hardening, so you bought some lemon cream cheese and ate them on the spot!

Thanks for the other nice posts, BTW, I think I have a little time to waste today!

H-m-m-m, I'll have to do some research tonight, Agent Cooper. The kaiser rolls we have here in CT are soft-skinned, and I only remember seeing them here after the advent of the "roll-the-rack-in" convection ovens, which take a partially-baked, preformed dough (frozen) and finish it. The only way I know (I'm not a real baker, I only play one on the radio) to get the hard crust on my bread is to spray water on the dough during the baking process. I'll be b-a-a-ck . . .

For those of you wondering, there are some slight cultural differences between Boston, MA and New Haven, CT, however, many of the Connecticutians share a love of the Boston Red Sox.