hamburger buns

I've been trying to make my own bread to save a little money and stick to our budget. This week, for the second time I made homemade hamburger buns. These suckers are yummy. An added bonus of making buns is Pete running around the house yelling "I love your buns," while giggling. I take that as a double compliment.

This recipe is from The Gourmet Cookbook.

ingredients:

2 cups whole milk (I used skim)

1/4 cup warm water (105º - 115ºF)

2 packages (5 teaspoons) active dry yeast

1/4 cup plus 1/2 teaspoon of sugar

1/2 stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, cut into tablespoons and softened

2 large eggs, lightly beaten

1 tablespoon of salt

6-6 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

equipment:

heavy duty stand mixer with paddle attachment and dough hook (or strong arms)

3 inch round cutter

process:

Bring milk to bare simmer in a small pan over moderate heat. Remove from heat and let cool to 105º - 115ºF.

While milk is barely simmering, stir together warm water, yeast and 1/2 teaspoon of sugar in mixer bowl until yeast dissolves. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. If it doesn't foam you got yourself a loser so toss it and start again.

Add butter and remaining 1/4 cup sugar to yeast mixture and mix with paddle attachment on low speed until just combined. Add warm milk and mix until butter is melted, then toss in the lightly beaten eggs and mix until well combined. Add salt and 4 cups flour and mix, scraping down sides of bowl as needed, until flour is just incorporated. Increase speed to medium and beat until well combined, about 1 minute.

Switch to the dough hook (I often have to take it away from Pete who likes to use it to pretend he is Captain Hook) and beat in 2 cups of flour at medium speed, scraping down sides of bowl once or twice, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 2 minutes; if necessary, add additional flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. (Both times I've added the additional flour.) Beat for five more minutes. Dough will be sticky.

Transfer dough to lightly oiled bowl and flip it to coat with oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let rise is a warm draft-free place until doubled in size, about 2 1/2 hours.

Butter two large baking sheets. Punch dough down (this is a great way to get rid of some pent up aggression). Turn out onto lightly floured surface and roll out into a 14-inch round (about 1/2 inch thick) with a floured rolling pin. Cut out as many rounds as possible with cutter and transfer to greased baking sheets, arranging them about 3 inches apart to allow for expansion.

Gather and reroll scraps and cut some more.

Cover buns loosely with oiled plastic wrap and let rise in warm draft-free area until they hold a finger mark when gently pressed, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Put racks in upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat oven to 375ºF.

Bake buns, switching position of sheets halfway through baking, until tops are golden and bottoms are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped, 14 to 20 minutes. Transfer to rack to cool completely.

Makes approximately 20 buns. I like to put my extra buns in bags and freeze them. Last up to a month in the freezer.

These are perfect for hamburgers and sandwiches.

Mmmm...did someone say hamburger? Yummy. I'm in love with the american grill style boca burger at the moment. It's there, under all that lovely cheese.

Nothing like homemade buns for a tasty dinner. Everyone loves buns (wink, wink)!