Hamburgers Its In The Bun Food

HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• In a bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, water and 1 tablespoons honey; stir and let it sit for 15 minutes or until foamy.
• Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, combine all-purpose flour, bread flour and sea salt; whisk until very well blended. In another bowl, beat 1 egg with melted butter and remaining tablespoons honey; set aside.
• After the yeast is alive and foamy, pour in the egg mixture and mostly all the dry ingredients, keeping about ½ cup on the side. With the dough hook attachment, process on speed 2 for 2 minutes. Increase the speed to 3 and add 1 tablespoons of flour mixture until the dough releases from the sides of the bowl. To know when it's done, the texture should be soft, slightly sticking but not enough to stick on fingers and when pressing down on it, the dough bounces it back.
• Transfer dough to a lightly floured work surface and form a ball by pulling dough under. Place in a large bowl lightly oil and roll the dough around to coat it with oil as well. Place a clean light dish towel and place the bowl in a draft-free area such as inside the oven (with temperature off) and let it rise for 2 hours or until it double in size.
• Transfer dough back to floured work surface and knead for a couple minutes. Stretch dough into a rounded rectangular shape of 1 foot long by 5-inched wide. Using a bench scrapper, cut it in half then each half in half and finally half again. This recipe makes 8 large hamburger buns but if prefer, it can always be cut in smaller pieces.
• Form a small ball with each piece by pulling dough under. Gently stretch each of them into a flat disc of ½-inch thick and place them onto a large baking sheet lined with silicone mat or parchment paper. Cover them with the same light dish towel and place it back to the oven (temperature off) for a second rise of 1 hour. Make sure the towel is NOT tucked under and place loosely on top otherwise the buns won't rise.
• When time is up, gently remove them from the oven and preheat it to 375ºF. Remove gently the towel and delicately brush an egg wash on each bun - be gentle otherwise they might deflate. Sprinkle sesame seeds over and transfer to preheated oven. Bake for 17 minutes or until golden brown.
• Remove from the heat and let buns cool off completely before separating them and then slicing them in half crosswise for the burgers.

HAMBURGERS - IT'S IN THE BUN

Steps:

• Preheat an outdoor grill to high heat, and lightly oil grate.
• Divide the ground beef into 4 balls, and flatten into patties between sheets of waxed paper. Lay patties onto the grate of the prepared grill. Sprinkle the tops of the burgers with salt. Grill for about 5 minutes per side, or to desired degree of doneness.
• While the burgers are cooking, spread each top bun with 1 teaspoon of butter, and spread each bottom bun with 1 teaspoon of mustard. Place the buns onto the grill for just a minute to toast.
• Assemble the burgers in this order: Bun, onion, burger patty, cheese, tomato, lettuce, a pinch of salt, and top bun. Spread mayonnaise onto top bun if using.

SOFT HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Place all dough ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer. Knead for 4-5 minutes.
• Let rise, covered, for an hour, or until doubled in size.
• Punch down dough and divide into 10-12 pieces. Let rest for 10 minutes.
• Shape each piece into a ball and place on a greased cookie sheet, fairly close to each other. Squish the tops down gently with your hand. The buns will look small but they will get much bigger during their second rise.
• Let rise for 45 minutes to an hour. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Make the egg wash by mixing the egg and water. Brush over the tops of the buns (helps with browning) and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.
• Bake for 20-24 minutes.

HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Prepare the baking sheets: Line two large rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Lightly brush or spray the parchment with oil, then set aside.
• Portion the dough: Remove the dough from the refrigerator and uncover. Scrape the dough from the bowl and place on the work surface. Use the heel of your hand to knock out the gas and deflate the risen dough, which will be quite firm. Using a kitchen scale and a bench scraper or a knife, portion the dough into 10 equal pieces. (Each piece will weigh about 113 grams.) If you don't have a kitchen scale, you can eyeball it.
• Form the buns: Working with one piece of dough at a time, fold it onto itself a few times to create a smooth surface, then gather the edges and pinch them together to form a smooth bundle of dough that looks like a garlic bulb. Place it seam-side down on the work surface and position your hand over the dough, palm barely touching the top and fingers lightly cupping it and resting on the work surface. Drag your hand - and the dough with it - slowly across the surface, moving it in small rapid circles. The friction between the dough and the surface will help tighten the dome so your buns will have a uniform, round shape. You shouldn't need to add flour, since the cold dough is easier to handle and less sticky, but if your dough is slightly warm or otherwise sticky, add just a bit of flour to make it easier to handle. Continue with all the pieces of dough, then arrange the balls on the prepared baking sheets, 5 per sheet, spacing evenly.
• Proof the buns: The buns proof best in a humid environment, so use a spray bottle, if you have one, to lightly spritz the baking sheets with water, or just sprinkle some water around the buns with your fingertips. Loosely cover the baking sheets with plastic wrap, then cover with a damp kitchen towel. Let sit at room temperature, undisturbed, until the buns have doubled in size and appear puffed and balloonlike, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
• Meanwhile, arrange one oven rack in the upper third and one in the lower third of the oven, then heat it to 350 degrees. Beat the egg in a small bowl until no streaks remain, then set aside.
• Test the buns: To see if the buns are fully proofed, uncover one, lightly oil your finger, and poke the surface gently. It should feel filled with air, spring back and hold a slight indentation from your finger. If it doesn't, cover again and continue to let them rise, repeating the test every 10 or 15 minutes.
• Apply egg wash and bake the buns: Brush the surfaces of the proofed buns generously with the beaten egg and sprinkle the sesame seeds over top. Transfer the pans to the oven, one on each rack. Bake, rotating each pan 180 degrees and top to bottom after 13 minutes, until the buns are puffed and deeply browned, 18 to 22 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool completely on the baking sheets. Split horizontally with a serrated knife.

NIFTY HAMBURGERS ON A BUN

Steps:

• Heat oven to 500 degrees F.
• Spread cut sides of hamburgers buns or one side of each bread slice with mustard.
• Mix meat, onion, salt and pepper.
• Spread mixture over the mustard, being careful to bring it to the edges of the buns.
• Place meat sides up on an ungreased baking sheet.
• Bake until desired doneness is reached, about 5 minutes.
• NOTE: If you like, you can have these burgers ready and waiting in the freezer for last-minute cooking.
• After spreading the meat mixture over the buns, wrap each securely in heavy-duty or double thickness of regular aluminum foil and label; freeze no longer than 2 months.
• To serve, unwrap desired number of hamburgers and bake about 10 minutes.