Beautiful Burger Buns
This is straight out of the King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion, a fantastic cookbook. Despite the name, they also make killer hotdog buns. Originally appearing on the Internet courtesy of "Moomie" (Ellen Dill), many of the versions turned up by Google are just too dry, and hence too dense. Here's my take on the recipe:
In the large bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together:
- 14 oz (about 3 c) all-purpose flour
- 1.75 oz (1/4 c) sugar
- 1 t salt
- 1 T instant / rapid-rise yeast (yes, really: 1 full tablespoon)
Whisking at this step avoids clumping when the liquid is added. For onion rolls, add 1 t onion powder and 1/2 t dried minced onion. Instead of King Arthur flour, I actually prefer a generic, slightly softer all-purpose flour in this recipe, strangely enough. Now add:
- 8 oz (1 c) warm water
- 1 large egg
- 1 oz (2 T) butter, melted
Mix with the dough hook until smooth, soft, and well-mixed, about 5 minutes. It will be too wet to kneed easily by hand, so the mixer is really helpful here. Scrape down the bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and let rise for 1 hour.
Flour the dough generously and scrape onto the counter. Divide into 8 equal pieces for burger buns, 12 for hotdog buns. Shape into balls and flatten (or stretch out) and place on a baking sheet fitted with a Silpat or parchment. (Use flour to keep them from sticking to you, but only as much as necessary.) Let rise 30-40 minutes. They'll stick to any kind of covering, so I use some tall cooling racks and kitchen towels to make a no-touch "tent" over the rolls. Bake at 375 F for ~14 minutes, until golden. Optionally, brush with 1T melted butter when they come out. For sesame or poppy seed rolls, brush with egg wash prior to baking and then sprinkle on the seeds. Like all breads, these are best the same day, but they do freeze well.
