A buttery twist on the classic lobster roll. I love the addition of butter to everything in this recipe since lobster should always be paired with butter on butter on butter!
A lemony lobster salad and diced celery stuffed into the most buttery new england style rolls you could think of. And to think they couldn’t get any better, I toast the rolls in a pan of hot butter before loading them up with the lobster salad. A warm fluffy buttery roll with cool lobster salad is the best take on the classic I could think of and brings me right into summertime. Or at least, if it’s not going to feel like summertime right now, I am going to start eating like it is!
During this quarantine, if there is one thing I could wish for, it would be better weather. It has been so hard to not be able to go outside. When this first started, we got snow. Now it’s constantly raining. When it all stops and the sun is actually shining, the wind is so cold it makes it hard to be outside more than 10 minutes without needing to get back inside under a warm blanket. Which is why I am starting to cook things that remind me of summer. I just can’t wait for the warm weather and all of the in-season fruits and vegetables that come with it.
I have a few lists of potential recipes I want to create and I sort them by what season I think they would be best in and from the looks of all four lists, you can clearly tell summer is my favorite. It hands down has the most recipes to create in it. All of the fruits and vegetables that Michigan gets during the summer inspires me to cook so much. And while it isn’t summer yet, I had to get started because I am that excited to test out all of these recipes I’ve been writing down for months.
To be honest, when I started this blog, I thought it would get difficult pretty quickly coming up with idea. However, now that I’ve started I think it’s the opposite. I am not able to keep up with the ideas that I have. All I want is to just pump out recipes all day long so that this is constantly being updated with new recipes everyone can try.
One thing that really helps with coming up with ideas is testing out recipes I try from some of my favorite restaurants. When I go out and see restaurant menus I’ll take note if I loved a recipe and then go home and try to make one up that is similar. I’m this case, these Lobster Rolls were definitely inspired by Houndstooth in Benton Harbor. We love going to that place and they are always switching up the menu so we go there often. One of our favorite things to get is their lobster roll. I don’t know how they make it but it’s incredible. I’ve had lobster rolls before but this one blew the rest out of the water.
One would think that what makes a lobster roll so good is the fresh lobster that you use, however, I would argue that one of the most important parts is the buttered flaky roll that you use to stuff the lobster into. It is important that the roll is warm and buttery so I like to toast it on a skillet in some butter right before serving it up. The way the two pieces of the lobster roll have different temperatures is simply drool worthy. The warm buttery roll stuffed with cold lobster salad sounds like it would be interesting, but it is really something special.
I served these with a side of crispy Parmesan french fries and garlic aioli and wow! One of the best meals I’ve made at home hands down. While making the bread was a little time consuming with the proving process, I will say, the lobster salad and the french fries really didn’t take that long. You could even make the bread ahead of time and when you are ready, steam up the lobster tails and fry the potatoes.
This is definitely a meal I will consider making when we have company over in the future. Drape some newspaper over a picnic table and line the center with the Parmesan french fries and lobster rolls and it sounds like a perfect summer day. Serve with a side of Watermark Beer and I honestly couldn’t think of anything better.
Again, I am using my new Holtz Reclaimed Wood Charcuterie Board. I’ve legit never loved something more in my life. Its perfect for photographing food on and when I am not using it, I put it on my exposed shelf that hold all of my dishes and it looks so good! It ties in the woods in my living room and makes the white plates and bowls in front of it really pop. I highly recommend checking out her website. She even custom makes a lot of home decor so you can custom order something to fit your home. I think my favorite thing she has made is a chi-cuterie board and will most likely be ordering one for my husband for his birthday who is so hard to buy for. I can say that here on this post because I know he wont get that far in reading this. haha! Also! If you are looking for some shelving in your house, she makes custom shelves too! Basically very proud of my super talented friend and also very excited to remodel in the future so I can buy all the things from her!
Getting back to these classic Lobster rolls, I want to mention the process of making these so yummy. I have tried getting store bought rolls from the store and honestly these are some of the best ones I have found. They are sliced down the center so it makes them easier to stuff whether that’s with making lobster rolls, philly cheesesteaks, grilling out with brats, etc. However, if you aren’t in a time crunch, I heavily recommend making your own. They just taste that good! I use a New England style pan to get the classic style brioche shape that these have. Then when they come out of the oven, I like to slice them down the center instead of the side so that I can toast both sides with butter and hold more in the middle without the whole lobster roll falling apart with every bite.
A few things to note about making New England Style Rolls:
- Butter is incorporated at the end of kneading so it adds a bit of a fluffy melt in your mouth texture when it cooks and really compliments the lobster. Also, butter has a little bit of water in it, therefore, when you bake it in the oven in a dough, the water starts to evaporate and that is how the bread gets fluffy and not dense.
- Milk Powder is encouraged. It helps give these rolls their milky flavor and helps with texture. I used dried coconut milk powder since the store was out of nonfat milk powder. It is important to substitute with a dried powder and not a dense wet milk substitute. If you don’t have any milk powder, don’t worry, you can just leave it out! The dough will still rise, you will still get your flaky rolls, they just might not have that milky texture were looking for, however they will taste great!
- New England style pan Like I said before, this is what gives these rolls the classic flat sides, perfect for toasting on a skillet in some butter. If you don’t have one, you can use a tray that is big enough for 10 rolls and just place the rolls really close together so that when they rise, they will press into each other and still give that same effect.
- Fresh Active Dry Yeast. I don’t know if you know this but yeast can actually go bad. Well not that it will go bad but it definitely wont work as well if you are using some old yeast that you’ve had sitting in a drawer for over a year. Use the fresh stuff, it helps your dough to rise properly during the proving and will give you the fluffiest rolls you could ever dream of. If you aren’t sure if your yeast is fresh, you can try activating it with warm water and sugar/honey to see if it bubbles after 10 minutes. If it does, then it is still working and you can then add the rest of the dough ingredients.
- Let the rolls rest before baking, once they have been shaped. Its hard to not just pop them in the oven right away once you have shaped and placed your rolls into the pan, but trust me, the flavor really comes through when you’ve let them rest and the gluten develops. I would even recommend making these the day before you want to eat them and then at this step, letting the slow rise in the refrigerator overnight. That way all you have to do the next morning is pop them in the oven and bake while you prepare what will go in them.
Classic Lobster Rolls on a New England Style Bun
Ingredients
New England Rolls
- 3 3/4 cup Flour (plus more for dusting)
- 1/4 cup milk powder
- 1/2 cup warm milk
- 1/2 cup warm water
- 2 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
- 2 tbsp sugar
- 1 large egg
- 4 tbsp European butter (I use Land o’ Lakes European)
- olive oil for oiling the bowl
- egg wash for brushing the rolls
Lobster Salad
- 4 1/2 cups cooked lobster meat (approx. 4 tails)
- 1/2 cup mayonnaise
- 1 lemon (juiced)
- 2 stalks celery (diced)
- 2 tbsp parsley (chopped)
- salt + pepper
- melted butter for toasting rolls
Instructions
- Start by making the lobster salad. Place all ingredients of the lobster salad in a medium bowl except the butter and mix until incorporated. Place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
- Next make the rolls. Start by mixing flour, milk powder, yeast, sugar and salt in the bowl of a stand mixer. In a separate bowl, mix the milk, water, and egg until incorporated, then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Use the dough hook to mix the dough together until it forms into a ball. The dough should come off the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom.
- Next, while the mixer is on low, slowly incorporate the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Then knead the dough for 5-10 minutes until the butter is incorporated and smooth. It will be a bit sticky and that is okay!
- Grease a clean bowl with a bit of olive oil and place the dough in the center. Turn to coat then cover with a dry cloth. Let it rise in a warm spot for an hour until it has doubled in size. If you are making head, cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge for 8 hours up to overnight.
- When ready to bake. Brush baking pan with butter and set aside. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal size portions. One at a time, roll out each piece into a 4×5 inch rectangle then starting at the long end, roll to form a tube shaped roll pinching at the seams and tucking both ends under a bit. Place in the roll pan and repeat with the rest of the dough.
- You can store the dough like this in the prepared pan as well if you are making ahead. You will need to cover with plastic wrap and let it rest in the fridge until ready to bake. Otherwise, cover the rolls with a light towel or plastic wrap and let them rise a final time for 45 minutes to an hour.
- Next, make an egg wash by whisking one egg with a tablespoon of luke warm water. Brush the tops of the rolls with the egg wash. Bake in the oven until the rolls are golden brown on top and fluffy in the center. About 15-20 minutes.
- Let the rolls cool for 5 minutes before breaking them apart. Brush the sides with butter and toast them in a medium skillet for a couple of minutes, flipping halfway through. When the sides are golden brown and buttery, take them off the heat. Slice the buns down the center with a bread knife, being careful to not slice all the way through.
- Stuff the center of the buns with the lobster salad you made earlier and serve! These rolls are best served with some Crispy Parmesan French Fries and garlic Aioli!
