#3 Hamburger Buns

I've been busy in my kitchen......even if my blog doesn't show it. Yesterday for supper turkey burgers were on the menu. So I decided to try the recipe for hamburger buns (page 208) in "The Homemade Pantry" by Alana Chernila. You can find it here. And you can find Alana here. So now I have the proper credits out of the way:)

Here is the recipe with my modifications using a Kitchen Aid stand mixer...you can find one here.
First a shout out to Kitchen Aid stand mixers....it was the very first present I got from my husband after we were married 13 + years ago and I love it! It really is the best appliance I have in my kitchen. It's an investment, but if you bake a lot.....it is worth it. The one I linked to is pretty nice, but there are smaller ones with lower price points. Ok, on to the recipe.

Hamburger Buns

1 c. warm water
3 Tb. whole milk
2 tsp. active dry yeast
2 Tb. sugar
2 large eggs
3 3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 1/2 Tb. soften butter

1. In a small glass bowl combine warm water, milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy. If it doesn't foam up, your yeast minght be dead. Try fresh yeast.
2. In your mixer bowl combine flour and salt. Give it a few seconds whirl using the paddle attachment. Add the butter and two eggs. Mix. Add yeast mixture. Mix until it comes together. Then switch to your dough hook. Mix for 5-8 minutes...this does the kneading for you. Place your dough back into a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in bulk.
3. Meanwhile line a baking sheet with parchment paper. I used an Airbake cookie sheet, since my gas oven runs pretty hot. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. And set a metal pan of water in the bottom of the oven.
4. After my dough had fully risen....I became my grandmother for a moment:)...and used a paring knife to cut chunks of dough out of the bowl and formed bun dough balls. It was a special moment for me:) I floured my fingers to make the forming easier, since the dough is a little sticky. I ended up with 9 completely NOT uniformly shaped bun balls. But I was good with that since I have little kids, big kids and big people in my family. We all eat different portion sizes;) I make the burgers in different sizes too, so it works. Now cover with clean dish towel and let rise an hour.

After the second rise Alana's recipe then brushed the buns with an egg wash and also sprinkled with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, etc. But my family is not that fancy smancy. So I just left mine. Bake for 20 minute or until the tops are golden brown.

 

 

And this is how they came out after only about 10 minutes.  I brushed them with butter which is what my grandma does...so that's our fancy smancy;) These buns were soft, light and sooo yummy. I'm not a big fan of dense buns, so I was so happy that they came out so good. My family loved them.
So will I make these again? Is it worth the extra effort? They are worth it! And I will make these again. Will I make them everytime I need hamburger buns? Probably not..I'm a busy homeschool mom to five kids. But if I know I will have the extra time or if I don't have buns on hand and we have hamburger in the freezer...burger nights can happen more often...without a run to the grocery store....which is really good since I live about 10 miles from one. Super great recipe!