Homemade Burger Buns

I had seen these around the interwebs and really wanted to give it a try. I decided to go with the recipe from Smitten Kitchen because the pictures were awesome. And pretty much everything on her blog makes me salivate.

Now I will extol the virtues of these buns till the cows come home.

These are so light and wonderful, yet sturdy enough to hold up to whatever you want it to hold up to (within reason). They smelled wonderful, and when they are fresh and warm from the oven they're everything home made bread is supposed to be.

The recipe is fool proof, considering I had an "oh crap" moment when adding the yeast. But the buns came out perfect in spite of my lack of careful measuring. (I occasionally mistake tablespoons for teaspoons).

I served 'em up with the Noble Pig's pulled chicken recipe (which is amazing, btw) and I think we were all happy campers.

Here is the recipe from Smitten Kitchen. Please make and enjoy!

And for the love of all that is holy, ignore those dolphins. Thank you.

Makes 8 4 to 5-inch burger buns

3 tablespoons warm milk 2 teaspoons active dry yeast 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar 2 large eggs 3 cups bread flour 1/3 cup all-purpose flour 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened Sesame seeds (optional)

1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.

2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes. The dough will be on the sticky side so it can be a bit messy, but keep in mind that the more flour you knead in, the tougher the buns will get. Try to leave them tackier than you would a round loaf.

3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours.

4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours.

5. Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Beat remaining egg with one tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.