Homemade Hamburger Buns

Yep. Hamburger buns. From scratch. And they're SO good. They are so easy that I was worried I had messed something up. I will never, ever buy hamburger buns again. I used this recipe, but if you don't have a bread machine you can use this recipe. Also, I halved the recipe and it worked just fine!

First, proof the yeast in the pan of the bread machine. I find it works best if you dissolve the sugar in the water first and then add the yeast, but you can throw all 3 in at the same time. After 10 minutes it should look like this:

Next, add buttermilk, bread flour, salt, and butter. I was out of white bread flour so I used 1 1/2 cups whole-wheat bread flour and 1 cup of regular old All Purpose white flour.

Set to regular dough setting and you will end up with this beautiful ball of fluffy dough.



Dump the dough out onto a floured surface and divide into equal portions. The recipe is for 6, but I got 6 HUGE buns. Next time I would make at least 8, but probably 10.

Arrange buns on parchment paper lined cookie sheet, cover with towel, and allow to rise until doubled in size (about 20 minutes). Meanwhile, toast sesame seeds and prepare egg wash.

When doubled, brush with egg wash and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. I used 1/2 toasted and 1/2 raw.

Bake for 15-20 minutes. The recipe suggests rotating cookie sheets after 10 minutes, but I used my convection setting and it worked perfectly. My oven runs hot and these were perfect in 12 minutes. Enjoy!

Ingredients

1 cup water (warmed to 100 degrees)
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
2 tablespoon white sugar
1 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
5 cups bread flour (plus flour for shaping buns)
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg yolk
1 tablespoon water
*toasted sesame seeds as desired (optional)

Directions

1.Combine the warm water, yeast, and 2 tbsp sugar in breadmaker pan. Let stand about 10 minutes till very fizzy. Add buttermilk to yeast mixture. Add bread flour, salt and butter to breadpan. Set breadmaker to regular dough setting. When dough cycle is completed, remove from breadpan onto lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 12 equal portions. Make tight rounds of dough by pulling the dough tightly around and pinching it at the bottom. Place on two flat baking sheets lined with parchment paper or aluminum foil. After the rolls sit for a minute and relax, flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it is 3 to 4 inches wide. You may want to oil your hand first.

2.Lay a clean dry dishtowel over rolls and set aside until doubled in size, about 20 minutes. Meanwhile preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3.Mix together the egg yolk and 1 tablespoon of water in a cup or small bowl. Brush the tops of the rolls with egg mixture and sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds.

4.Position 2 oven racks so they are not too close to the top or bottom of the oven (2nd and 4th rack in 5 rack oven). Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove the rolls from the oven and swap racks so each sheet spends a little time on the top. Continue to bake for another 5 to 10 minutes, or until nicely browned on the top and bottom.