Homemade Hamburger Buns

One of my favorite new food blogs of this year is Branny Boils Over. Branny's posts are creative, witty and fun to read and I'm inspired by her unique creations and the healthy meals she prepares. I saw these hamburger buns on Branny's site and was inspired to make them. I've never made my own hamburger buns before so I was excited to give this recipe a try. I cut my dough into 12 pieces instead of 9 so mine were a little smaller. These were easy to make and both my husband and I really enjoyed them. I need to work on getting mine rounder next time and to brown them a little more, but overall a great start.

Hamburger Buns Branny Style

1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1 packet or 1 scant tablespoon active dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
1 cup warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1.5 cups bread flour
1 cups AP flour
2 tsp vital wheat gluten

egg wash: 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
sesame, poppy or caraway seeds or coarse salt (optional)

In a large bowl, dissolve the sugar and then the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, oil, salt and 3 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Beat vigorously for 2 minutes.

Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a floured work surface.

Knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough. Because this dough is so slack, you may find that a bowl scraper or bench knife can be helpful in scooping up the dough and folding it over on itself.

Put the dough into an oiled bowl. Turn once to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover with a tightly-woven dampened towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide into 9 equal pieces. This is done most easily by dividing the dough first into thirds, then those thirds into halves, then the halves into thirds.

For soft-sided buns, place them on a well-seasoned baking sheet a half inch apart so they’ll grow together when they rise. For crisper buns, place them three inches apart.

Cover with a towel and let rise until almost doubled, about 45 minutes.

Fifteen minutes before you want to bake your buns, preheat your oven to 400°F. Just before baking, lightly brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash and sprinkle with whatever seeds strike your fancy.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the internal temperature of the bread reaches 190°F.

Cool on a wire rack.

Source: Branny Boils Over