Quick Buns for Sliders or Burgers

An hour or so before dinner, your friend says that he feels like grilling hamburgers but has neither hamburger buns nor tomatoes. Thanks to GirlVsDough, a beautifully warm day, and the first recipe title I stumbled upon with a quick Google search, I made these in just under an hour.

TheFoodening Blog - Hamburger Buns

I used a digital kitchen scale to divide the dough. The total mass was roughly 2 lbs, and divided by 12 would have yielded 2.67 oz per ball of dough. As laziness would prevail, some balls of dough were 2.5 oz while others were 2 oz 7/8 oz. The smaller balls could pass for slider buns, and the larger balls were just about the right size for a grilled average hamburger patty. I also didn't have any milk on hand so I watered down some heavy cream instead.

Note: if you do a lot of bread baking, I recommend picking up the 2 lb block of yeast from Costco. At roughly $4, it really brings down the cost of making bread. Plus, you can store 8 oz of it in the freezer in a freezer jar and some in a pint jar in the refrigerator. 

Ingredients

3 1/2 c all purpose flour, plus more for dusting/kneading
2 tbsp active dry yeast + 1 cup warm water (115 F)
1/4 c sugar
1/3 c olive oil, or neutral smelling vegetable oil
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 tsp sea salt
1-2 tbsp sesame seeds (optional)

Egg wash (for making buns golden brown):

1 egg yolk
1 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp water

-or-

1 egg yolk
2 tbsp whole milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

1. In a 2-cup measuring cup, dissolve yeast in warm water, then add the sugar.

2. In a large mixing bowl, egg, salt and oil. Whisk together. Add yeast water. Add flour.

3. With a wooden spoon, stir to combine.

4. Turn dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 2-3 minutes. Weigh dough and divide equally by what you want to make:

3 oz = medium sized hamburger bun
2.5 oz = slider sized bun
If you chose the latter, one batch of dough will make 12 slider buns.

TheFoodening Blog - A classic hamburger with grilled bacon

5. Form balls of dough. To make a smooth surface on one side of the ball, bring all the odd edges of the dough to the center and pinch it together. Place folded side down onto parchment paper or a silicone mat. Let rest for 10 minutes. I didn't cover these and it didn't seem to matter. Also, my oven takes 10 minutes to heat up to 425 F.

5.1. If you are using an egg wash to make the buns a nice golden brown color, brush the egg wash onto the buns using a pastry brush.

6. Bake for 12 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool on a rack.

7. To use, simply slice each bun in half with a serrated knife (e.g., a bread knife).

Olive Oil and Rosemary Dinner Rolls

Seems like the amount of bread that goes into turkey stuffing is one of those "invisible" carbs. These rolls went quickly. I only made one batch (a dozen) for a T-Day gathering of twice that. While the rosemary shrub is winter hardy in the Pacific Northwest, I'm glad that the house where I made these rolls has their rosemary potted and on the patio. I used a stand mixer to bring all the ingredients together; though I didn't use it to knead the dough. Maybe that's why the dough really didn't start to double in size until the second rising. And, the rolls didn't rise again after being formed and rested on the baking tray before going into the oven. As for the amount of unsalted butter that is melted so that it can be brushed on top of the rolls, well. it is too much for what the original ratio calls for. I ended up with a lot of leftover butter. 

Also, there wasn't any bread flour so I used all-purpose flour, substituting out 3 tbsp flour for 3 tbsp vital wheat gluten. Bread flour plus yeast makes your rolls rise higher. The vital wheat gluten adds more wheat-based protein to all-purpose flour.

Ingredients

1 c warm water (about 100 degrees F)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast + a pinch of granulated sugar

3 1/2 c all-purpose flour (minus 3 tbsp)
3 tbsp vital wheat gluten
1/4 c extra virgin olive oil
3 tbsp fresh rosemary leaves, roughly chopped, divided
1/4 c unsalted butter, melted (for brushing tops of rolls)
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

Directions

Personally, while dinner rolls typically don't call for sugar, I think adding a pinch of it to the yeast helps the yeast bloom faster. You'll see if your yeast is still alive if it starts to foam and bubble in the warm water.

0. Take half of the prepared rosemary and let it steep in the olive oil for at least 30 minutes.

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer: add the yeast water (after bubbles appear, 5-10 mins). Mix in the flour, half cup at a time until it is all incorporated. Add the vital wheat gluten, the oil+rosemary, and salt. Mix until the dough gathers into one mass. Scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl with a rubber spatula.

2. Add the other half of the rosemary and knead the dough until it forms a smooth ball. Either use the stand mixer to knead the dough for 2 minutes, or work it by hand for 10.

Empty the dough into a resealable plastic bag, close, and let it sit in a warm place in the kitchen. Let the dough double in size twice (check each hour for two hours). 

Divide dough into equal pieces. You can make a dozen small rolls with this recipe. Roll the dough into balls and place onto a baking tray. Cover with linen (lint free) kitchen towel until ready to bake.

Preheat oven to 425 F. Brush tops of rolls with the melted butter. Bake rolls for 10 minutes. This gives the rolls a nice golden brown color.

Reduce heat to 350 F and bake for an additional 10-15 minutes. Remove from heat and place in a kitchen-towel lined serving container (maybe a bread basket?).

Enjoy.