New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls are known for their light crispy crust and fluffy interior. There are different stories as to the origin of the term Po ‘Boys, but a popular view is that it’s the Louisiana rendition of “poor boys.” Because of their fluffy interior, New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls are perfect for sopping up the various fillings that adorn them.
Ingredients for New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls:
I used the following ingredients: Filtered water, granulated sugar, salt, olive oil, bread flour, and instant yeast.
Making the Dough for the New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls:
Like all of my bread recipes, two things are critical for success. First, I always use my bread machine to do most of the work, i.e., mixing and kneading. Second, I always, always, always weigh the flour and the liquid ingredients. Before I started doing this, the quality of the end product was hit or miss. Now, once I have the perfect ratio of flour to liquid, I don’t deviate from it!
Anyway, as you might have guessed, I used my bread machine to do most of the work for these delicious Po ‘Boy Rolls. I added the water, granulated sugar, salt, olive oil, bread flour and yeast to the pan of my bread machine in this order.
I set the bread machine on the dough cycle, and walked away. For these rolls, I decided to make the dough ahead of time, and refrigerate it for the rise. Therefore, as soon as the kneading finished, I removed the dough from the bread machine, and placed it in an oiled 8-cup measuring cup. I covered the measuring cup with plastic wrap, and refrigerated the dough overnight. The next day, the dough had risen, and I was ready to start forming the rolls.
Finishing the New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls:
Remember that I said that I weighed everything? Well, I not only weigh the ingredients, but also weigh the dough before dividing it. I ended up with 25.5 ounces of dough. Because I wanted to make 6 Po ‘Boy Rolls, I divided the dough into six pieces that were 4.25 ounces each.
Working with one piece at a time, I patted the dough into a rough 2-½ x 6 or 7 inch rectangle on a well floured piece of parchment paper. Then I folded the long end toward me, and pinched the two sides together. I patted the dough again into a rough rectangle, and repeated the folding and pinching. Next, I rolled the dough back and forth on the floured surface to ensure that all edges were sealed. I repeated this with the remaining dough.
Then, I placed the each of pieces on the wells of my parchment lined pan baguette pan and perforated French bread pan.
Finishing Steps For New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls:
I consistently follow Julia Child’s advice for the perfect environment for the bread to rise. Specifically, I turn on my electric oven for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds. After I turned the oven off, I placed the dough into the oven for about one hour and 30 minutes to allow the rolls to rise. Before baking the Po ‘Boy Rolls, I misted them with water and slashed each one down the middle with a sharp knife to allow further rise in the oven.
I placed a cast iron skillet on the bottom rack of the oven, and preheated the oven to 400° F. When the oven reached temperature, I filled the cast iron skillet with boiling water to produce the perfect steam environment. Then, I popped the Po ‘Boy Rolls into the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, the rolls golden brown and perfectly cooked. I placed the rolls on a wire rack to allow them to cool completely.
I don’t think that there has been a time when I made bread that I didn’t marvel at the result. This was no exception! I ended up with six New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls that had a perfect light crispy crust and fluffy interior. I can’t wait to use them for Shrimp Po ‘Boys (stay tuned). Laizzez les bons temps rouler – Yum!
Recipe
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New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls (Bread Machine)
Ingredients
- 1 cup plus 3 Tablespoons (9.5 ounces) filtered water
- 1 Tablespoon granulated sugar
- 1-½ teaspoons Kosher salt
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil (0.5 ounces)
- 3 cups bread flour (15 ounces)
- 1 Tablespoon instant yeast
Instructions
- Place all ingredients in the order listed in the pan of the bread machine. Select dough cycle, and press start. If making dough ahead of time, remove as soon as kneading finishes, place in oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. If making dough for immediate use, allow dough cycle to finish.
- Place dough on floured surface; divide into 6 pieces that are 4.25 ounces each. Form each piece of dough into a 6 to 7-inch loaf. Place on parchment lined baguette pan and/or perforated French bread pan.
- Turn electric oven on for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds. Place dough in oven to rise for around 1 hour and 30 minutes or until doubled in bulk.
- Preheat oven to 400° F. Place cast iron pan on bottom rack.
- Slash rolls with sharp knife; mist with water.
- When oven reaches temperature, add boiling water to cast iron pan. Place rolls in oven; bake for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
- Cool on wire rack.
- Yield: 6 New Orleans Po 'Boy Rolls.
JR says
Do you have a recipe for BREAD MACHINE NEW ORLEANS FRENCH BREAD?
Chula King says
Unfortunately, I don’t have a recipe for New Orleans French Bread. Sorry.
Chula
#KajunKryptonite says
It came out so nice and soft—making this a frequenters…
Chula King says
So glad that the recipe worked for you!
Chula
Wayne says
I don’t have a bread machine. What would be the process in a stand mixer?
Chula King says
Wayne,
Pour the water into the bowl of your stand mixer. Add the tablespoon of sugar, stir and sprinkle with the yeast. Allow this to sit for 15 minutes, until the yeast is frothy and bubbling.
Add the remaining ingredients and place the bowl on the mixer fitted with a dough hook. Mix the dough at medium speed for 8 minutes. The dough should form a ball and pull away from the sides of the bowl. If the dough seems too sticky, add more flour, a few tablespoons at a time. If the dough seems too firm, add more water, a few tablespoons at a time.
Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and knead by hand for a minute or two. Then, place in a bowl coated with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm location for an hour to an hour and a half.
Hope this helps.
Chula
Josephine says
I want to make these but I do not have a perforated baguette pan or french bread ban either. Any thought on what could use?
Chula King says
Josephine,
I’ve not made these without the perforated baguette pan. However, I often make free-standing rolls with the same recipe. Therefore, you might try forming the Po ‘Boy Rolls, letting them rise and baking them on a baking sheet. They may not be as “plump” as they would be with the baguette pan, but I suspect that this might work.
Chula
Bruce Bay says
second attempt, and both times they went flat with the attempt to slash. dough seems very fragile. got good rises and everything seems fine to that point. next time around, I might simply aroid the slash and see how I fare.
Chula King says
Sorry about that Bruce. If you try again, I would suggest slashing the dough right after it has been formed. As it rises, the slash will fill out.
Chula
Chelsea says
Flat as a pancake. Everything seemed fine until the second rising in the warmed oven. Perhaps this proofing method ran too hot and I killed my yeast? I should have known this was unnecessary in FL. Maybe where the room temp is too cold, but for us, yikes.
Chula King says
I’m sorry Chelsea that the rolls didn’t rise. I too live in Florida and consistently use a warm oven for the second rise.
Chula
Josephine says
I do not have a bread machine any longer, so I was wondering if you might have instructions for stand up mixer.
Chula King says
Josephine, I’ve not made these rolls using my stand mixer. However, I have made other bread recipes where I’ve used both the stand mixer and the bread machine. In those cases, I’ve used bread machine or instant yeast, put all of the ingredients into the bowl of the stand mixer, and mixed the dough with the dough hook until it forms a ball around the dough hook and pulls away from the sides of the bowl.
Hope this helps.
Chula
Mark says
I found this recipe and found it easy. Unlike many French Bread recipes I found up here in the northern regions where the bread tends to be more dense, this was nice and “airy” like I was hoping to get.
I also changed portions for my own purposes, instead of making 6 loaves, I decided to split in halves to make 8 mini loaves which for me ended up being a perfect size for my purposes, single serving homemade poboys.
Lavani Wright says
I was sooooo nervous to make this recipe let alone any bread recipe, but when I say these turned out bomb.com they turned out bomb.com. I was afraid that I needed to knead it after the bread had risen because it didnt say to do that, because I wanted to get the perfect shape (but I didn’t). I’m so glad I didn’t!! Crunchy on the outside and soft on the inside.. I’m so excited that I can’t wait to make more..Thank you soooooo….
Chula King says
Lavani,
I’m so pleased that the New Orleans Po ‘Boy Rolls were a success for you!
Chula
Mark Pinkerton says
My dough turned out nice, when I sliced the bread down the middle before I cooked it, The dough went flat, like the air was sucked out of it. The bread was good just kind of flat. What did I do wrong? Thanks,
Chula King says
Mark,
Same thing as when I make the French bread.
Chula
Hunter says
For the first rise you say:
“Turn electric oven on for exactly 1 minute and 45 seconds.”
Is it relevant that you are using an electric stove? What about gas? How long then? I supposed it would be more accurate if you knew the temp 1.75 minutes gets the oven to.
Thanks, looking forward to trying this 🙂
Chula King says
Hunter,
The electric oven is relevant. The reason is that the heat does not instantaneously stop when the oven is turned off like in a gas oven. Basically what this does is to produce a warm environment for the rise. When I turn my oven on, the temperature showing is 100°F. This is not the actual temperature, but rather the default starting point. After 1 minute and 45 seconds, the temperature rises to 101°F. That’s when I turn the oven off.
Chula
Anonymous says
I made these tonight. They came out beautifully. This is a great and easy recipe.
Chula King says
I’m so glad that they turned out for you!
Ruby Humphries says
Hello
I appreciate you recipe wanted it to work for me and thought I had followed all the way. I probably need to practice several more times. I am not new to bread machine baking and “dough cycle” is what I use most but my first time for this recipe “New Orleans Po Boy” buns came out a bit gummy and chewy instead of fluffy and light inside. Please help if with what I did wrong and I will keep working on the recipe too.
Thank you,
PudgeFactor says
Hi Ruby. I’m sorry that your rolls were gummy and chewy. They are consistently light and fluffy for me.
I always use the dough cycle on my bread machine, and always weigh my ingredients for bread – especially the water and the flour. The reason for weighing the flour is that one cup can weigh as little as 4 ounces or as much as 6 ounces depending on how it is measured. My rule of thumb for flour is that 1 cup weighs 5 ounces. I always make sure to use filtered water since chlorine can retard the growth of the yeast. Finally, I always make sure that the dough has fully risen, i.e., that the rolls are nice and plump. With all of this, I suspect that if you extend the time for the rolls to rise, their interior would no longer be gummy and chewy. Chula
Anonymous says
Finally a recipe that actually taste like New Orleans french bread! I made loaves instead of buns and they came out delicious! Nice crunchy and flakey outside!
PudgeFactor says
Outstanding! I’m so glad that they turned out well for you.