Homemade Hamburger Buns

I am trying hard to make more stuff from "scratch" and know what I'm putting in my families food. I do love making bread in general but I have the weakest wrists and so I dread kneading, kneading and more kneading. I cheat most times and use my bread machine to make the dough for me. My son has been wanting homemade french fries forever and when we asked the other kids what they wanted with french fries, my oldest said...Hamburgers! My husband mentioned we didn't have buns so I said...I'll make some! And here we are! These were not difficult to make at all! I made hamburger buns a couple years ago when my husband was in Iraq and I couldn't sleep (nothing like midnight adventures!). I didn't like that recipe so I did a search the other day for another one and found this one here.

These buns were awesome! The kids now want me to make them on a regular basis so they can use them to make their sandwiches for their school lunches. Can you say they are a little spoiled? Seriously, I agreed only because they were not hard to make at all.


Homemade Hamburger Buns
Makes 8 buns

1 tablespoon active-dry yeast
1/2 cup (4 oz) warm water
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk (whole, 2%, or skim)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter

In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl, if mixing by hand), stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit until dissolved.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Add all the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead at low speed, or by hand against the counter, for 10 minutes. The finished dough should be smooth, feel slightly tacky, and spring back when poked.

Return the dough to the mixing bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about an hour.

Dust your work surface with a little flour and turn out the risen dough on top. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape each into a tight ball. Transfer the balls to a baking sheet and let rise until they look puffy and hamburger-sized, roughly 30-40 minutes.

Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.

Melt the butter and brush it over the risen hamburger buns. This helps the tops to brown and keeps the crust soft. Bake the buns until golden, 15-18 minutes.

Let the buns cool to room temperature before slicing and using. They are best if eaten within the next day or two, but will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.

This was dinner tonight!

Additional Notes:

• For Whole Wheat Buns - Substitute 1/2-1 cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and prepare the recipe as usual. The texture of the buns will be a bit more dense, but still very delicious and burger-worthy.

• Doubling the Recipe - Double all of the ingredients except for the yeast. To make even more buns, it's best to prepare separate batches as the dough becomes too cumbersome to work with easily.

• Freeze Buns for Later - Wrap the buns in aluminum foil and then store in an air-tight container or freezer bag. Let them thaw in their packaging overnight on the counter. Foil-wrapped buns can also be thawed more quickly or re-warmed in a 300°F oven for about 10-15 minutes.