Baking is something that used to really intimidate me. Ten years ago, I wouldn’t even try to bake things from scratch without following a recipe to the letter – and still over think the whole process. While baking is a science – there is also an art to it. With some reading and research as well as lots of trial and error, you can learn the art of baking. Starting with very simple recipes is really the first step. So many try to shoot for the moon and fall short. If you start smaller and succeed – you can build on that. This recipe for Homemade Hamburger Buns is exactly that.
Yeasted doughs do a lot of the work for you. While you do have to knead this dough some, it does not need to be over worked. If you knead yeasted dough too much, you will actually “suffocate” the yeast and it will not bloom as well as it can. When a dough recipe says to proof until doubles in size, you really need to do just that. If you down does not rise enough it will be dense after the baking process. Proofing or rising is how the end product will have the air bubbles and fluffy qualities. In an over simplified explanation – as the yeast blooms it puts off gas within the dough which creates the air bubbles or pockets.
I like to add some sesame seeds to the top of these buns because it just gives you that extra “burger bun” quality. It is almost totally an aesthetic choice – which makes it mostly optional. Do not skip brushing the tops with the melted butter though. That’s what gives the tops their nice golden brown color. You can also put other topping on that will impact the flavor more – like dried minced onion or poppy seeds. You can so go with a fun everything but the bagel seasoning as well.
While I’ve named this recipe Hamburger Buns – you can use them for more than just burgers. They have a nice fluffy quality but they will hold up during the whole meal. You can use them for pulled pork sandwiches – and they will survive the bbq sauce. I made these with my Cumin & Beer Smoked Pork and they were so good. And my Carolina Gold BBQ sauce was delish without destroying the bun.
Now Let’s Get Cookin’!
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 cup Water room temp.
- 6 tbsp Sugar
- 2 pkg Dry Active Yeast 7 grams
- 2 Egg beaten
- 7 cups Flour bread or AP
- 2 tsp Salt
- ½ cup Butter softened, divided
- 1 tbsp Sesame Seeds
Instructions
- In a small bowl, add water and sugar. Stir until most of the sugar is dissolved. Then add yeast packets. Let sit to bloom for about 10 minutes. (should be foamy)
- In a large bowl, combine flour, salt and beaten egg. Pour in bloomed yeast. Mix together until a dough forms. Knead for about 5 minutes. Then add half of the softened butter and knead into dough for another 5 minutes. Cover bowl with plastic wrap (or a bowl cover). Place in a warm place (countertop or proofing drawer), to rise for about and hour. It should double in size.
- Turn dough out on lightly floured surface and punch out most of the air. Then use bench scrapper (or knife) to portion into 16 equal pieces. Roll each between your palms into round balls. Line out on a parchment paper covered baking sheet. Cover again with plastic wrap (or a clean kitchen towel) and let proof again, until doubled in size.
- Preheat oven to 350degF.
- Melt remaining butter. Once buns are done proofing, remove plastic wrap and brush each with melted butter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds. Place in oven to bake for 30 minutes (or until golden brown).
- Remove from oven and move immediately to a cooling rack. Let cool at least 15 minutes before slicing in half to use to make burgers or sandwiches.
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Estelle Forrest self-published this cookbook after a lot of playing around in the kitchen. You can purchase your own copy here:
AVAILABLE IN PRINT OR KINDLE eBOOK VERSIONS
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These sound wonderful, and I agree, letting the dough rise is so important. Thank you for sharing!
These look great! I can’t even imagine how good a homemade hamburger bun would be!!!