Hamburger Buns

Name: Hamburger Buns
Total time: 210 min
Yield: 12 servings
Ingredients: 1 pound of flour; 1 (small) spoonful of salt; 1 (bigger) spoonful of sugar; 1 egg; 1 lump of butter; 1 ordinary (small) packet of yeast; 1 cup of warm water

Fresh, homemade hamburger buns make hamburgers taste better. A good bun is always a great idea, and a critical improvement for lower-fat or less flavorful burgers.

210 min · serves 12

Ingredients

1 pound of flour
1 (small) spoonful of salt
1 (bigger) spoonful of sugar
1 egg
1 lump of butter
1 ordinary (small) packet of yeast
1 cup of warm water

Steps

Put all ingredients except the warm water into a mixing bowl. If you are using a stand mixer, fit the dough hook and turn the mixer to its lowest setting to begin stirring the ingredients together. If you are mixing by hand, give it a few strokes with a mixing spoon or spatula. The purpose of this step is to mostly distribute the yeast throughout the flour and other ingredients. Don't bother stirring it more than necessary for this step.
Pour in half to three-quarters of the warm water. Stir this water in thoroughly. If you are using a stand mixer, let it run until the dough comes together. This will probably take several minutes. At first, it may look like it will never come together, and then it will suddenly form into a smooth ball, or even into a wet, slack batter. If you are mixing by hand, you can turn the dough out onto a clean, flat surface (can be oiled or floured, as you prefer) and knead the dough by hand for up to 10 minutes, adding flour or water by the spoonful as you feel the need.
Assess the texture of the dough. If the dough seems sticky (e.g., makes a sticky mess on your fingers) and is too slack to form into a smooth, soft ball, then you need to add more flour. Start with a generous spoonful, and stir again until it is incorporated. Repeat the addition as many times as necessary (it is unlikely that you will need to add more than about ½ cup/60 g of flour). If instead there is dry flour in the bottom, then pour a little bit of the remaining warm water directly on that dry part, and mix again until the dry flour and the water have been thoroughly incorporated. If you overcorrected, then add a spoonful of flour until you get a workable texture.
Unless it's a hot day, turn on the empty, cold oven for one minute. Then turn the oven off. The purpose of this short "preheating" is to make a comfortably warm place for the dough to rise.
Cover the dough to keep the surface from drying out. You can do this by coating the surface of the dough with oil, or by putting a lid or a big plate over the dough.
Put the bowl of dough in the (now slightly warm) oven or another warm place. Double check that the oven has been turned off.
Let the dough rise for about 1 hour, until clearly puffy and almost twice the original volume. If you used cold water, it will take longer.
If you're using parchment paper, place a piece of parchment on your baking sheet. Otherwise, you can lightly grease the pan to keep the buns from sticking.
Sprinkle a big spoonful of flour on your work surface, and spread this out a bit.
Remove the bowl of dough from the oven. Scrape the puffy dough onto your floured work surface.
Roll the dough in the flour to lightly coat all sides with the flour. If needed, put more flour on your work surface to keep it from sticking. Roll the dough into a rough log shape. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into about 12 pieces of similar size.
Pick up one piece. Dust the wet edges in the remaining flour on your work surface, so it won't stick to your fingers. Choose one of the smoother sides of that piece to be the "top" of your roll. Grab the edges around your chosen "top" surface, and stretch or pinch them back to the "bottom". This has the effect of stretching the smooth side and hiding any lumpy bits on the bottom. Pinch the lumpy bits together on the bottom. Flatten the bun between your hands, and put it pinched-side-down on your baking sheet.

More recipes with flour, eggs, butter or yeast

Adapted from “Hamburger Buns” in the Wikibooks Cookbook by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for this site; this page's recipe text is shared under the same license.

Steps

Put all ingredients except the warm water into a mixing bowl. If you are using a stand mixer, fit the dough hook and turn the mixer to its lowest setting to begin stirring the ingredients together. If you are mixing by hand, give it a few strokes with a mixing spoon or spatula. The purpose of this step is to mostly distribute the yeast throughout the flour and other ingredients. Don't bother stirring it more than necessary for this step.

Pour in half to three-quarters of the warm water. Stir this water in thoroughly. If you are using a stand mixer, let it run until the dough comes together. This will probably take several minutes. At first, it may look like it will never come together, and then it will suddenly form into a smooth ball, or even into a wet, slack batter. If you are mixing by hand, you can turn the dough out onto a clean, flat surface (can be oiled or floured, as you prefer) and knead the dough by hand for up to 10 minutes, adding flour or water by the spoonful as you feel the need.

Assess the texture of the dough. If the dough seems sticky (e.g., makes a sticky mess on your fingers) and is too slack to form into a smooth, soft ball, then you need to add more flour. Start with a generous spoonful, and stir again until it is incorporated. Repeat the addition as many times as necessary (it is unlikely that you will need to add more than about ½ cup/60 g of flour). If instead there is dry flour in the bottom, then pour a little bit of the remaining warm water directly on that dry part, and mix again until the dry flour and the water have been thoroughly incorporated. If you overcorrected, then add a spoonful of flour until you get a workable texture.

Unless it's a hot day, turn on the empty, cold oven for one minute. Then turn the oven off. The purpose of this short "preheating" is to make a comfortably warm place for the dough to rise.

Cover the dough to keep the surface from drying out. You can do this by coating the surface of the dough with oil, or by putting a lid or a big plate over the dough.

Put the bowl of dough in the (now slightly warm) oven or another warm place. Double check that the oven has been turned off.

Let the dough rise for about 1 hour, until clearly puffy and almost twice the original volume. If you used cold water, it will take longer.

If you're using parchment paper, place a piece of parchment on your baking sheet. Otherwise, you can lightly grease the pan to keep the buns from sticking.

Sprinkle a big spoonful of flour on your work surface, and spread this out a bit.

Remove the bowl of dough from the oven. Scrape the puffy dough onto your floured work surface.

Roll the dough in the flour to lightly coat all sides with the flour. If needed, put more flour on your work surface to keep it from sticking. Roll the dough into a rough log shape. Use a sharp knife or a bench scraper to cut the dough into about 12 pieces of similar size.

Pick up one piece. Dust the wet edges in the remaining flour on your work surface, so it won't stick to your fingers. Choose one of the smoother sides of that piece to be the "top" of your roll. Grab the edges around your chosen "top" surface, and stretch or pinch them back to the "bottom". This has the effect of stretching the smooth side and hiding any lumpy bits on the bottom. Pinch the lumpy bits together on the bottom. Flatten the bun between your hands, and put it pinched-side-down on your baking sheet.

Adapted from “Hamburger Buns” in the Wikibooks Cookbook by its contributors, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Reformatted for this site; this page's recipe text is shared under the same license.