Ever realized that the pack of hamburger buns you bought months ago is still 'fresh'? I couldn't bear to think about what they were putting in there so decided to make my own...
Homemade buns elevate your simple burger to a delicious gourmet meal! We don't eat meat but it doesn’t matter what you put on it - beef patty, crab cake, roasted portobello and vegetables, salmon, pulled pork, tuna burger, whatever you fancy - be creative! It is all good and certainly justifies drinking a beautiful glass of red or white wine with it. This is my favorite burger bun recipe. I usually make the whole quantity and freeze the ones I don’t use, so that I have an easy quick meal to fall back on.
1 cup cold water
1 cup cold milk
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (see this post for my recommendations)
2 Tbsp. melted butter
2 Tbsp. sugar
5 to 5 1/2 cups unbleached flour
2 tsp. salt
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 Tbsp. water
Sesame seeds or poppy seeds (optional)
Mix cold water, milk, melted butter, sugar and yeast. You can use your food processor (if it holds at least 8 cups), your bread maker’s dough function or your hands.
Add flour and salt and mix well. Make sure dough is not too wet, nor too dry. If it is too wet, add flour; if it is too dry, add cold water.
Once the dough is well kneaded, lightly oil a large bowl and place dough in it. Lightly oil a sheet of plastic wrap and place over dough. Cover bowl with a clean towel.
Let dough rise in fridge overnight. The cold fermentation process will bring out the flavors. If you don’t have time, try to let it rise for at least 2 hours in the fridge.
Take dough out of fridge and let it sit at room temperature for 1 to 2 hours.
Dust flour onto your counter. Cut dough into 12 even pieces.
To shape buns, pull the sides of the dough towards the bottom of the roll to make the top taut, pinching the bottom of the roll to seal the ends.
Place the buns seam-side down on a baking sheet, allowing at least 3 inches between buns; you might need to use two baking sheets.
Let the buns rest for 10 minutes, then gently slightly flatten each bun (to obtain a 'bun' and not a 'roll') with your hand to measure 4 inches wide.
Cover loosely with greased plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour (until approximately doubled in size).
Turn oven on to 400°F and let it heat up.
Just before placing the buns in the preheated oven, lightly brush the tops with the egg yolk mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown.