Perfecting My Buns

I have been trying for years to make the perfect hamburger bun. I've been failing for years to make the perfect hamburger buns. So…lately, I've given up and have just been buying them at the store, selecting a Nature’s Own whole wheat bun because Nature’s Own is one of the few grocery store bread makers who doesn’t include HFCS in the long list of ingredients.

But…I forgot to pick up buns yesterday.

And today was like the 22^nd day in a row of -92 degree weather, so my options were bunless burgers, no burgers, or try one more time to capture the elusive bun.

I recently downloaded a book to my Kindle called The Homemade Pantry by Alana Chernila, and I decided to use her bun recipe. Because why not? The hamburger buns in her photo look delicious. But then, don’t they all? Until you make them.

I also decided to break my cardinal rule of using-only-fresh-milled-wheat flour, and I decided to use part bread flour. I hope I don’t get struck by lightning. And, yes, I happened to have some bread flour in the house because I haven’t fully converted my husband to my cardinal rule.

So I started my hamburger buns by taking 2 ½ tablespoons of butter out of the fridge to bring it to room temperature. Whatever that is. I mean, when it’s -92 outside…

Next, in a glass liquid measuring cup, I combined 1 cup of warm water, 3 tablespoons milk, 2 tablespoons of sugar, and 2 teaspoons of yeast.

I may or may not have talked to the yeast monster in a soft, sing-songy voice to encourage it to bubble and grow. Which may or may not have elicited a strange look from one of my children.

OK. I did. And it did. She even shushed me. In her defense, though, she was trying to do math.

While I waited for the bubbling to continue, I combined my flours: 2 cups of fresh milled wheat flour and 1 ¾ cups of King Arthur bread flour:

 I also added 1 ½ teaspoons of salt. Pink Himalayan salt. Ain’t it purty?

Then at this point, I was supposed to, in a separate small bowl, beat two eggs. I actually have a lovely photo of my eggs before I even beat them. I won’t show it to you, though, because the photo is of three eggs. You’re supposed to beat two eggs to add to the dough and use a third egg as an egg wash.

I don’t follow directions well. I will add this anecdote to my long list of personal examples I incorporate into my You-Should-Always-Read-All-Directions-First lecture I deliver with regularity to my children.

Next you get to act like a kid again: I used my fingers to incorporate the sort-of-room-temperature butter into the flour.

I suppose you could use a pastry blender. But this was way more fun.

Then I added the yeast monster.

And my three eggs. If I was on an episode of Chopped, this is where the judges would be whispering to each other, “Hey, did Chef P just put three eggs into her dough? That’s going to result in a really gooey, messy dough.”

And, yeah, it was gooey.

So of course I added more flour.

And then some more.

And then a lot of flour on the counter for kneading.

I don’t usually knead my doughs by hand; rather, I let my Kitchen Aid dough hook or my Bosch paddle do all the work. I’d forgotten how much fun it is.

So then you are supposed to let the dough rest for TWO hours. 

I lasted for an hour and 30 minutes. You can add “patience” right under “follows directions” on my Things I Don’t Do list. I will say, though, that it makes me happy – very happy – that my oven has a Proof setting. I don’t know why. It just does. It makes me feel like a pro-fessional.

So then I divided the dough into 8 equal’ish pieces, rolled them into balls, and placed them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

And let them rest for another 1-2 hours. I went an hour.

And my buns were HUGE! (Please, no personal comments.) So I gathered all of the dough again and divided them into 12 equal’ish pieces, rolled them into balls, and placed them on parchment paper on a cookie sheet.

 And waited another hour.

Then they were perfect.

I washed them each with egg white from a fourth egg which was really supposed to be a third egg mixed with a tablespoon of water. Then I sprinkled sesame seeds on them because I’m fancy and wanted to go all out.

Then you are supposed to put a metal pan of water in the bottom of the oven and preheat it to 400. I almost forgot the pan. Phew! You’re surprised I didn’t, aren’t you?

Then bake for about 20 minutes.

Guess what? These are the most perfect buns I’ve made to date! I’m astonished myself. Now I don’t know what I’ll do with my life since I have discovered the perfect bun.

Print Hamburger Buns Recipe.

Happy homespinning,
Kathleen