Homemade Hamburger Buns!

I know you are saying WHY make hamburger buns when they aren't THAT expensive to buy at the market!!  I know BUT have you ever looked at the ingredients of the store bought buns - hmmm!!  And making your hamburger buns isn't that hard.  Yes, it does take a little but extra work, but trust me it is worth the extra effort!!  My family loved these.

This "adventure" comes from my fast becoming favorite cookbook, Handmade Pantry, by Alana Chernila.  Excellent cookbook!  Disclaimer - I do not know this woman and I am not getting paid to endorse her book - just love her cookbook.  That being said and done - on to the recipe.

Homemade Hamburger Buns

1 cup warm water (about 110 degrees)
3 T milk
2 tsp active dry yeast
2 T sugar
3 large eggs
3 3/4 cups all purpose flour plus extra for kneading
2 1/2 T unsalted butter - at room temperature
OPTIONAL - poppy or sesame seeds

In a glass measuring cup, combine the yeast, warm water, milk and sugar.  Let stand for about 5 minutes until nice and foamy.  While waiting, beat 2 eggs in a separate bowl.

Using a mixer, combine the flour and butter.  Add the yeast mixture and the eggs until the dough starts to come together.

Dust a countertop with flour and dump the dough onto the counter.  Knead the dough for 10 minutes, adding more flour when the dough becomes sticky. 

Roll the dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl.  Cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and a dry dish towel.  Place in a warm spot.  Let rise to double in size - about 2 hours.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  Cut the dough ball into 8 pieces.  Roll each piece into a small ball and place on the baking sheet arranging 2 to 3 inches apart. 

**She says to let rise 1 hour.  I did and the buns were HUGE.  I think a 1/2 hour would suffice.  After a 1/2 hour, look and see how much the rolls have risen.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. 

**In the recipe, you are to beat the last egg with 1 T of water and brush the tops of the buns.  I found that this deflated some of the buns.  This might have happened because I let them rise an hour. 

**She also wants you to "steam" bake the rolls.  This makes for a hard crust.  I baked these buns that way.  I don't think I am going to do that the next time.  To "steam" bake the buns, you place a metal pan in the bottom rack of the oven and fill with hot water - DO NOT USE A GLASS PAN!!!!

Bake for 20 minutes.

As I said, these buns take a little bit of effort, but they are DEFINITELY worth the effort!!

You can freeze these buns - just cut them in half and put them in freezer bags.  Good for 6 months!