Hamburger Buns Par Excellence Recipes

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Place yeast into bowl of a large stand mixer; whisk in 1/2 cup flour and warm water until smooth. Let stand until mixture is foamy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Whisk 1 egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt thoroughly into yeast mixture. Add remaining flour (about 3 cups).
• Fit a dough hook onto stand mixer and knead the dough on low speed until soft and sticky, 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape sides if needed. Poke and prod the dough with a silicone spatula; if large amounts of dough stick to the spatula, add a little more flour.
• Transfer dough onto a floured work surface; dough will be sticky and elastic but not stick to your fingers. Form the dough lightly into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking loose ends underneath.
• Wipe out stand mixer bowl, drizzle olive oil into the bowl, and turn dough over in the bowl several times to coat surface thinly with oil. Cover bowl with aluminum foil. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface and pat to flatten bubbles and form into a slightly rounded rectangle of dough about 5x10 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. Dust dough lightly with flour if needed. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a round shape, gently tucking ends underneath as before.
• Use your hands to gently pat and stretch the dough rounds into flat disc shapes about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange buns about 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Dust buns very lightly with flour. Drape a piece of plastic wrap over the baking sheet (do not seal tightly). Let buns rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat 1 egg with milk in a small bowl, using a fork, until mixture is thoroughly combined. Very gently and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash without deflating the risen dough. Sprinkle each bun with sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Buns will stick together slightly where they touch. Let cool completely, tear the buns apart, and slice in half crosswise to serve.

SOFT-N-FLUFFY HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Place the water, canola oil, flour, sugar, salt, vital wheat gluten, and yeast into the pan of a bread machine in the order recommended by the manufacturer, select the Dough cycle, and turn on the machine. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.
• When the cycle is finished, remove the dough to a lightly oiled work surface, and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Cut the dough into 12 equal-size pieces, and roll the dough into balls by cupping your hand, with open fingers, over each piece of dough. Roll gently, with just a little pressure, to form a dough ball with a silky surface. Place the dough balls onto the parchment-lined baking sheets, and flatten each dough ball gently into a bun. Cover with a cloth and let rise until doubled, 30 to 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake the rolls in the preheated oven until the tops are golden brown, about 12 minutes. Let cool on racks before slicing.

40-MINUTE HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough. , Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 12 pieces; shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets. Preheat oven to 425°., Cover and let rest for 10 minutes. Bake until golden brown, 8-12 minutes. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

GOURMET HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Equipment:.
• 1 stand mixer with a paddle and a dough hook a 3 inch round cookie cutter.
• Bring milk to a bare simmer in a small saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat and allow to cool to 105 to 115°F.
• Meanwhile, stir together warm water, yeast, and 1/2 tsp sugar in mixer bowl until yeast has dissolved. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
• (If mixture doesn't foam, start over with new yeast).
• Add butter, warm milk, and remaining 1/4 cup sugar to yeast mixture and mix with paddle at low speed until butter has melted, then mix in eggs until combined well.
• Add salt and four cups of the flour and mix, scraping down bowl as necessary, until flour is incorporated. Beat at medium speed for 1 minute.
• Switch to dough hook and beat in remaining 2 cups flour at medium speed until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, about 2 minutes; if necessary add more flour 1 Tablespoon at a time. Beat five minutes more (dough will be sticky.).
• Transfer dough to a large lightly oiled bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm draft free place until doubled, about 2 1/2 hours.
• Butter 2 large baking sheets. Punch down dough, then roll out on a lightly floured surface with a floured rolling pin into a 14 inch round (about 1/2 inch thick). Cut out as many rounds as you can with a floured cutter and arrange 3 inches apart on the baking sheets.
• Gather scraps, re-roll, and then cut out more rounds.
• Loosely cover buns with oiled plastic wrap and allow to rise in a draft free place until they hold a finger mark when gently poked, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Preheat oven to 375°F with racks in upper and lower thirds.
• Mix egg and water for egg wash.
• Brush buns with egg wash and bake, switching pans halfway through baking, until tops are golden and the bottoms are golden brown and they sound hollow when tapped, 14 to 20 minutes.
• Buns can be frozen, wrapped well, for about a month.
• Cooks Notes: If you don't have a stand mixer, stir ingredients together in same sequence with a wooden spoon until a dough forms. Knead dough on a floured surface, incorporating just enough flour to keep dough from sticking, until dough is smooth and elastic, 7 to 8 minutes.

HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Prepare the baking sheets: Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush or spray the parchment with oil, then set aside.
• Portion the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and uncover. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place on the work surface. Use the heel of your hand to knock out the gas and deflate the risen dough, which will be quite firm. Using a kitchen scale and a bench scraper or a knife, portion the dough into 10 equal pieces. (Each piece will weigh about 113 grams.) If you don't have a kitchen scale, you can eyeball it.
• Form the buns: Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold it onto itself a few times to create a smooth surface, then gather the edges and pinch them together to form a smooth bundle of dough that looks like a garlic bulb. Place it seam-side down on the work surface and position your hand over the dough, palm barely touching the top and fingers lightly cupping it and resting on the work surface. Drag your hand - and the dough with it - slowly across the surface, moving it in small rapid circles. The friction between the dough and the surface will help tighten the dome so your buns will have a uniform, round shape. You shouldn't need to add flour, since the cold dough is easier to handle and less sticky, but if your dough is slightly warm or otherwise sticky, add just a bit of flour to make it easier to handle. Continue with all the pieces of dough, then arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheets, 5 per sheet, spacing evenly.
• Proof the buns: The buns proof best in a humid environment, so use a spray bottle, if you have one, to lightly spritz the baking sheets with water, or just sprinkle some water around the buns with your fingertips. Loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap, then cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let sit at room temperature, undisturbed, until the buns have doubled in size and appear puffed and balloonlike, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, arrange one oven rack in the upper third and one in the lower third of the oven, then heat it to 350 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl until no streaks remain, then set aside.
• Test the buns: To see if the buns are fully proofed, uncover one, lightly oil your finger, and poke the surface gently. It should feel filled with air, spring back and hold a slight indentation from your finger. If it doesn't, cover again and continue to let them rise, repeating the test every 10 or 15 minutes.
• Apply egg wash and bake the buns: Brush the surfaces of the proofed buns generously with the beaten egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds over top. Transfer the pans to the oven, one on each rack. Bake, rotating each pan 180 degrees and top to bottom after 13 minutes, until the buns are puffed and deeply browned, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets. Split horizontally with a serrated knife.

HAMBURGER BUNS PAR EXCELLENCE

Steps:

• Heat the milk in a saucepan until tepid but not yet warm (check every 10 seconds).
• Combine the milk, sugar and yeast.
• Beat the egg.
• Combine the flour, oil, egg and salt in a bowl.
• Pour in the milk mixture, and stir with a spoon until the ball pulls away from the side of the bowl.
• Turn the ball onto a floured surface and knead for 6 minutes.
• Cover loosely and let rise for 60 minutes; the ball will just double.
• Punch down, divide into four, and form into buns about 5-6" in diameter.
• Preheat a baking stone in the oven at 375.
• Cover and let rise for an hour; they won't rise that much but they will look puffy and glossy.
• Transfer the buns to the baking stone.
• Cook for 19-20 minutes. They will more than double in height and will be medium brown on the top.