My lack of posting has not been for a lack of anything to post about. If you follow us on facebook or instagram, you’ll find gardening and food posts, and a lot of memes – humor is the best medicine to get through some of this world wide chaos!
We’ve been so busy, and with the kids home 24/7 now, most computer time is them doing school work. My last post was the end of March and so much has kept us busy through this odd new reality of life during a pandemic! One of those things, was working on the best burger bun recipe I wanted to share. My initial attempts were far more complicated, with extra steps that would turn off inexperienced bakers, but I was trying to make a chewier bun than was needed for burgers (so I’d have a universal hoagie/burger bun recipe).
Once I gave that idea up and decided I’d do separate recipes for burgers and hoagies, it came together pretty quick. They’re like lovely, fluffy pillows just out of the oven, and it’s hard to let them cool. Once cooled, you are rewarded with an easy to slice, delicious, and soft, but “strong enough to fold all the fillings,” bun. We use these for hamburgers, pulled pork, and they’re so good the next day for ham and cheese sandwiches, which is why I almost always make a double batch. Everyone is disappointed when we run out!
Next, I hope to perfect and share an easy to make chewy hoagie bun recipe!
Burger and Hot Dog Buns
Equipment
- Counter Top Mixer
- Mixing Bowl
- Baking Sheets
Ingredients
Step 1 - proof the yeast
- 1 cup water 110°F
- ¼ cup sugar* divided (see instructions)
- 1 tbsp active dry yeast
Step 2 - mix it all together
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 egg large
- 2 tbsp butter (or oil) unsalted
- 3 cups all purpose flour plus up to ½ cup more as needed
Instructions
- In a mixing bowl or counter top mixer bowl, combine all the warm water, all the active dry yeast, and *about 1 tablespoon of the sugar. It doesn't have to be exactly 1 tablespoon - first measure your ¼ cup sugar and then sprinkle a little bit of that, into the bowl, to help feed the yeast (too much will slow the process at this step, so just a little is needed).
- Allow this mixture to proof (get bubbly) for 5-10 minutes.
- Once bubbly, add the salt, egg, butter/oil, and knead in (by hand or with mixer) the flour, one cup at a time.
- If needed, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at time until the dough is *just barely* able to be touched without sticking. You want to use as little flour as possible to be able to handle it, the more flour needed, the tougher the buns will be.
- Knead by hand or mixer for 6-8 minutes.
- Place into a large, greased mixing bowl, cover with a dry tea towel, and allow to rise in a warm, draft free area until double, about 45 minutes to an hour.
- Punch down the dough and move to a very lightly floured surface.
- Using a scale, divide into 12 equal portions (approximately 70g each) and shape into buns* (see notes, below), placing them on a parchment lined baking sheet. I use 17"x11" cookie sheets.
- Let rest 10 minutes, then flatten each dough ball, cover with a dry tea towel, and let rise in a warm, draft free area about 30-45 minutes or until just slightly smaller than desired size.
- If desired, mix a whole egg in a small bowl and brush into the tops of the buns, and sprinkle sesame seeds on.
- Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 375°f oven. Using a thermometer to check the bun closest to the center of pan will help prevent overcooking and drying out the buns too much. Your buns should be 200°f at 12 minutes. If not, let them bake longer and check each minute until the 200°f is reached.
- Remove from oven and let cool before slicing. Only cooled and sliced, quickly package into a bread bag to keep them fresh, and use within 2-3 days for best texture and flavour.
Notes
Nutrition
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