Homemade Sesame Hamburger Buns Food

HOMEMADE SESAME HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Stir together the water, dry milk, vegetable shortening, salt and sugar (the shortening will not be dissolved and it doesn't matter).
• Sprinkle the package of yeast over this mixture and let stand for about 5 minutes.
• Add the 1/2 egg and 1/2 to 1 cup of flour.
• Gradually add another 2 cups (approximately) of flour to make a sticky soft dough; knead on a floured surface for one minute (this isn't a particularly easy task), then scrape it back into your bowl and let it rest for 10 minutes.
• Add about another 1-1/2 cups flour so dough isn't extremely sticky and knead dough until smooth and elastic.
• Cover and let rise in a warm place (I like to let it sit on top of the clothes dryer), for about another hour and a half.
• Grease a large cookie sheet.
• Divide dough into 8 equal pieces and roll into balls.
• Place dough balls on the greased cookie sheet and flatten each of them with your hand to form a 3 to 3-1/2 inch diameter disk.
• Cover and let them rise another 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
• Brush tops with a little of the egg white (you won't use it all), then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for about another 5 minutes.
• Remove from sheets and cool on baking racks.

HAMBURGER OR SANDWICH BUNS

Steps:

• To set up: Brush a 5quart bowl with melted butter and set aside to rise dough.
• To assemble dough: Heat the milk with the butter and pour it into a large mixing bowl. Add 1/2 cup warm water and the shortening. Add the sugar, salt, egg and yolk. Mix well. Dissolve the yeast in 1/4 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar. When the yeast is dissolved, add it to the mixing bowl, along with enough of the sifted flour to create a dough that is not easily stirred. Turn dough out on to a floured work surface and knead until smooth and elastic, adding only as much flour as needed to keep dough from sticking to your hands and work surface. When correct texture has been reached, place dough into the greased bowl. Cover the bowl with greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm, draftfree spot for 2 hours.
• Note: You will not need all of the flour. Save the remaining flour as your dusting flour when shaping your buns.
• To rise dough twice: After 2 hours has elapsed, uncover dough and punch it down several times. Turn over in the bowl. Recover bowl and let rise 1 hour more.
• To set up to bake: Line 2 shallow baking sheets with parchment paper and sprinkle paper with cornmeal.
• To shape buns: After the second rise has been completed, uncover dough and punch down once more. Turn dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Knead briefly and gently. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces and cover all while you work with one. Shape each piece of dough into a smooth ball by first making it round with your hands. Then pull the dough up, pinching at the top of the dough ball. Keep pulling and pinching up at the top until you have a tight ball. Turn ball on its side on the lightly floured surface. With a pastry cutter, cut ball of dough directly in half through the waist of the ball (not through the pinched end). Take one half and place it on top of the other, meeting the cut sides in the middle. Pinch around the circumference of the circle of dough to seal. Flatten the circle gently, but firmly. Shove the pinched seam gently under the bun as you flatten. Lay the buns on the two prepared baking sheets and cover with kitchen towels. Let rise for 30 minutes. Begin timing the rising period after the last bun has been formed.
• If topping buns: If you will be topping the buns before baking, immediately after shaping, brush tops of unrisen buns with 1 egg white mixed with 1 teaspoon water. Sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds or top with either of the onion toppings listed with the ingredients.
• To bake: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F for the last fifteen minutes of the rise. Meanwhile melt some butter in a small saucepan. After the rise, uncover buns and brush the tops with melted butter (brush over topping, if using).
• Bake buns in the center of a preheated 375 F oven until golden, about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and brush once more with melted butter. Remove the buns to wire racks to cool thoroughly before slicing and enjoying.
• To store: Store cooled buns in a large heavy duty plastic bag. If you want to freeze them, double the bag before placing in the freezer. To thaw, let sit on the counter in its original bags until soft.

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER BUNS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Place yeast into bowl of a large stand mixer; whisk in 1/2 cup flour and warm water until smooth. Let stand until mixture is foamy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Whisk 1 egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt thoroughly into yeast mixture. Add remaining flour (about 3 cups).
• Fit a dough hook onto stand mixer and knead the dough on low speed until soft and sticky, 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape sides if needed. Poke and prod the dough with a silicone spatula; if large amounts of dough stick to the spatula, add a little more flour.
• Transfer dough onto a floured work surface; dough will be sticky and elastic but not stick to your fingers. Form the dough lightly into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking loose ends underneath.
• Wipe out stand mixer bowl, drizzle olive oil into the bowl, and turn dough over in the bowl several times to coat surface thinly with oil. Cover bowl with aluminum foil. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface and pat to flatten bubbles and form into a slightly rounded rectangle of dough about 5x10 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. Dust dough lightly with flour if needed. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a round shape, gently tucking ends underneath as before.
• Use your hands to gently pat and stretch the dough rounds into flat disc shapes about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange buns about 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Dust buns very lightly with flour. Drape a piece of plastic wrap over the baking sheet (do not seal tightly). Let buns rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat 1 egg with milk in a small bowl, using a fork, until mixture is thoroughly combined. Very gently and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash without deflating the risen dough. Sprinkle each bun with sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Buns will stick together slightly where they touch. Let cool completely, tear the buns apart, and slice in half crosswise to serve.

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.