Homemade Hamburger Buns

I wanted to recreate the soft billowy store bought hamburger buns at home.  I tried a few recipes and the only one that came close was the one from King Arthur Flour.  The buns came out perfectly brown and had an amazing texture.  The only thing that was disappointing was that the buns were a little hard on the outside.  I still haven’t gotten them perfect but they are pretty awesome.  So without further ado, here are my buns (Haha).  They browned perfectly and look great with the sesame seeds.

Homemade Hamburger Buns – (From King Arthur Flour)

• 2 tbs granulated sugar
• 2 packets or 2 scant tablespoons active dry yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
• 2 cups warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
• 2 tbs vegetable oil
• 2 tsp salt
• 6 to 7 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• egg wash of 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon cold water
• sesame, poppy or caraway seeds or coarse salt (optional)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, 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 on medium for 2 minutes.  Be careful and start out slow, otherwise the flour will go everywhere.

Gradually add flour, 1/4 cup at a time, until the dough begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl.  I used about 6 cups of flour.  This will vary depending on the time of the year and the humidity.  That is why the flour measurement in the recipe varies.

Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and 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.  You want this dough to be soft so make sure that you do not add too much flour.

Spray a large bowl with vegetable spray and place the dough into the bowl. Turn once to coat the entire ball of dough with oil. Cover tightly with a lint free dampened towel and let rise until doubled, about one hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled work surface. Divide into 16-18 equal pieces depending on the size of the rolls that you require.   Shape each piece into a ball.  Then either flatten into disks or use a round ring to make the buns perfectly round.  I used a 5 inch round ring to shape the balls into flat disks.  Place the dough ball in the ring and spread the dough out into a disk.  The ring will make the dough perfectly round.

Once you have all of the buns formed, cover with a damp 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 your favorite topping.  I love sesame seed buns so I went all out.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the buns are nicely browned.  Remove the buns from the baking sheet to cool on a wire rack.  If you skip this step the buns will get a little soggy.

These buns were excellent.  I used them for a couple great recipes that will be posted throughout the week.  Check back Thursday for my favorite recipe of all time.

You can use this same dough to create hot-dog buns, roll the balls into cylinders, 4 1/2-inches in length.  Then bake according to the same instructions above.