Hamburger Buns

Beautiful Saturday in my area , we decided we should be grilling some hamburger tonight . Good thing , because i have been wanting to make hamburger buns . Last week actually i wanted to do this but with the rain in the forecast , it seemed pointless to make the buns when my husband couldn’t even grill outside .

But today is a different story , it is beautiful , sunny 70 F weather here , i thought i wanted to bake cinnamon swirl this morning . I then got distracted by my knitting , so i sat there and as we talked , the hamburger came up in the conversation . Right before i worked out , i mixed the dough for the hamburger buns and let it do the first proof while i was working out .

It didn’t take long , as always with bread making anyway , the waiting period is the longest part , but if you’re busy doing things , it didn’t seem like it was that long . You’re not required to watch it proof either , so go on ahead , do something else in the house while you’re waiting for it .

It took me about 90 minutes for the first proof , and then shaping probably only 10 minutes top , and back to do its final proof , Final proof seemed long this time , or maybe i just didn’t pay much attention to the timer . Probably about 1 hour or 75 minutes long .

Ingredients :

4.5 grams yeast

212.5 grams warm milk , about 90 F

400 grams bread flour

7 grams kosher salt

40 grams sugar

3 tbsp butter , unsalted , melted and slightly cooled

30 grams egg ( if you have large egg , just whisk it , and just pour what you need , keep the rest for egg wash later on )

Directions :

• In a small bowl , add the yeast into the warm milk . Let it sit while you prepare the other ingredients .
• In a mixing bowl , i use kitchenaid stand mixer , add the flour , salt , sugar , egg and butter . Pour the milk yeast mixture into the flour mixture . Use the paddle attachment to mix it . Probably just 30 seconds or so . Switch to dough hook
• Knead about 5 minutes , the dough should not be wet , but not dry either , tacky , kinda sticky kinda not . Smooth and elastic
• Take it out , and knead it by hand for a minute . Shape into ball . Lightly grease a bowl , place the ball , seam side down , cover with plastic . Let it double in size for about 90 minutes .
• When the dough is done fermenting , take it out , and i actually weighed the dough , and i had about 730 grams . I decided to divide the dough into 8 pieces . About 90-100 grams . It doesn’t have to be exact .
• After dividing , shape them into balls , then start shaping it into flatter disk , not pressing it though , because the middle part is still puffier than the side .
• Place each shaped balls into the parchment paper .
• Let it proof for another 60-75 minutes , warm place . I actually placed it on the counter , kitchen temperature is 70 F . Spray with oil lightly , cover loosely with plastic wrap .
• When it’s doubling in size , take the plastic off carefully . Brush with egg wash ( i mixed the leftover egg with little water ) , brush carefully . Sprinkled with sesame seed if you like .
• Bake at 400 F for about 10-12 minutes . My oven is convection , so you might want to watch the timing .