Giant Weck Rolls for Beef Sandwiches

Heres the kimmelweck ("weck") recipe, from "Real American Food" by the Sterns. Mix yeast with 1/2 C of the potato water and sugar. Combine mashed potatoes, remaining C of potato water, milk, butter, salt, and caraway seeds. When yeast mixture is foamy, stir it in. Add 7 C of the flour, cup by cup, stirring until dough comes away from bowl. Turn out onto a floured board and let rest while you clean and butter bowl. Knead dough 10 minutes, adding flour if necessary to create a smooth dough. Return to bowl and roll dough around to coat it with butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk, about 2 hours. Punch down dough, knead again 1-2 minutes. Roll out and divide into 12 pieces. Form each piece into a smooth ball. Then flatten ball slightly so that its roll-shaped. Set 2 inches appart on lightly greased cookie sheet. Cover loosely with towel and let rise until double in bulk, less than 1 hour. Preheat over to 375 deg. Brush rolls with egg white mixture and sprinkle with desired amount of coarse salt [it should be a lot of salt, not just a few grains] and caraway seeds. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 325 deg and bake 15-20 minutes more, until rolls are medium brown. Remove from oven and cool on rack. Posted to MC-Recipe Digest V1 #524 by dsr@philabs.research.philips.com on Mar 19, 97