BBBabes Love Burger Buns

Almost everyone loves a burger or something from the grill that can go in a burger bun. The ever lovely and clever Bread Baking Babes are no exception.

Although Sweetie loves grilling year 'round, when the summer months hit we find that we turn to grilling most evenings of the week. He loves to make pulled pork from a slow cooked fresh piece of picnic pork and I've figured out a soy-based marinade for chicken thighs that's delicious and which I'll post one of these days, but a standby that never disappoints is the ever popular hamburger. Good quality beef and a light hand in making the patties are my only tips since Sweetie usually does the actual cooking.

We sometimes skip the rolls but not this last month. Thanks to the lovely Sara of I Like to Cook, our never boring Kitchen of the Month, the Bread Baking Babes made burger rolls!

This recipe, like the last one for Soda Bread, acknowledges that summertime baking can be different than baking during the rest of the year. There are so many fun things to do away from the kitchen, so 'quick and easy' is often the requirement for summer cooking and baking. These great Burger Buns from Williams-Sonoma fit that description. No overnight preferment, no triple rise, and just about two hours from the idea to the finished warm and crusty roll! If you want to make the popular mini version called sliders, Sara has kindly included directions and Karen of Bake My Day baked up a huge number of sliders so check out her post once it's up.

I enjoyed making them and eating them! I topped mine with a seed mix from King Arthur Flour and it looked like bird seed but tasted wonderful. (I guess bird seed tastes good to birds...but I'll never be a bird my friend.) I also used Irish wholemeal flour for half the flour which gave the rolls a nice nutty taste.


Because my buns usually have too much bread on top, for these I rolled out the dough and cut the buns using a 9.5mm round cutter. As a result my buns were just the right size around and not too tall but nicely rounded...perfect for that 'birdseed' topping.


Half the rolls were enjoyed with burgers at a 4th of July bbq, I used one for a turkey sandwich for lunch,


and the rest (which had been in the freezer to stay fresh) were split and grilled and enjoyed with local turkey sausages (Italian flavored and some with tomato-basil flavor) this week. I found that the ones that had been frozen were a little bit crumbly so I'll probably freeze them unbaked next time and bake them at the time I'll use them.

Don't forget to check out the other Bread Baking Babes' posts (links to right) and to make these delicious rolls yourself to be a Buddy... and feel free to change the size, shape, flours, toppings, etc. Remember, to be a Buddy, you need to e-mail Sara (iliketocookATshawDOTca) the link to your post (or a description of your baking session/results) and a photo by July 29th. That way you can be included in the round-up.

Sara wrote:
"Summer will soon be here and who doesn't like to bbq a burger or hot dog in the summer? And you just know that it will taste even better on a bun you've made yourself. The recipe gives directions to make regular sized burger buns as well as slider sized buns." Thanks Sara for a perfect challenge for July fun.



Homemade Hamburger Buns
Williams-Sonoma

1 1/2 cups (375 ml) milk
8 Tbs (1 stick/125 g) unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces
4 1/2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups (625 g) all purpose flour, plus more for dusting
(Note: I used 2 cups all-purpose flour and 2 cups Irish wholemeal flour)
5 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs kosher salt
1 egg beaten with 1 tsp water
sesame seeds for sprinkling (optional)or use the seed or seeds you enjoy

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the milk and butter and heat until the butter is melted, about 7 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool to 105-155'F (40 to 46'C). Add the yeast and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let stand for 10 minutes.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the 4 cups of flour, the sugar and salt and beat on low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the milk mixture and knead until the dough forms a ball, about 1 minute.

Increase the speed to medium low and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 4 to 5 minutes. Remove the dough from the bowl, oil the inside of the bowl and return the dough to the bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. On a lightly floured work surface, roll out the dough into a 10 by 7 1/2 inch (25 by 19 cm) rectangle. Using a ruler as a guide, cut the dough into 2 1/2 inch (6cm) squares. Transfer to the prepared baking sheet, spacing the buns evenly apart, and cover tightly with oiled plastic wrap. Let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400'F (200'C)

Remove the plastic wrap from the baking sheet. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg mixture (I brushed the tops with milk) and sprinkle with sesame (or other) seeds if using.

Bake until the buns and golder and an instant read thermometer inserted into the center of a bun registers 190'F (88'C), 14 to 16 minutes. Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let cool completely. Cut in half and use as hamburger buns. Makes 12 hamburger buns.

For slider buns:
Follow the instructions above but roll out the dough into a 9 inch (23 cm) square. Cut into 1 1/2 inch (4cm) squares and place on 2 parchment lined baking sheets. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. Position one rack in the upper third of an over and one rack in the lower third and preheat to 400'F (200'C). Brush the tops with the egg mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake for about 14 minutes, rotating the baking sheets from top to bottom and 180 degrees halfway through baking. Makes 36 slider buns.