Versatile Sandwich Buns Food

HOAGIE ROLL RECIPE (IT'S EASIER THAN YOU THINK)

Steps:

• Yeast: Dissolve 2 1/4 tsp of active dry yeast in a 1/3 cup warm water with a pinch of sugar and let sit for 10-15 minutes or until the mixture foams up and increases in volume just slightly. This ensures that the yeast is active and that the yeast will be easily incorporated into the dough. Omit this step if using instant yeast and just add it as-is in step 2 where it calls for the yeast mixture.
• Knead with a mixer: To a bowl of a stand mixer (if you'd like to make this dough in a bread maker see Note 1 at the bottom) add 3 1/2 cups flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 tsp kosher salt, remaining warm water and the yeast mixture from step 1. Stir quickly with a spoon to bring all ingredients together. Then, attach a dough hook and knead for ~20 minutes on speed 3 (or low speed), or until the gluten is well developed. TIP: You'll know the gluten is developed when the dough is tacky to touch. DO NOT overknead the dough or the gluten fibers will break and the dough won't have the strength of the gluten network to hold in the air bubbles as it rises. This will give you doughy hoagie rolls that don't rise well.Next, add the room temperature butter and knead until fully incorporated (~2 minutes).Knead by hand: add all ingredients, together with the yeast mixture except for the butter to a large bowl and stir with a spoon to slightly bring everything together. Then, knead with your hands for about 15-20 minutes or until the dough is tacky to touch and is very stretchy when pulling a small piece into a pane. Add room temperature butter and knead until it's fully incorporated.
• Omit this step if you'd like to make the Quick Hoagie RollsProof: Transfer the dough to a well-oiled bowl, cover with a tea towel and allow to proof until doubled in size in a warm (not higher than 100F°), draft-free place (~45 min - 1 hour). If you have a proofing option on your oven, use it. Otherwise, you can preheat your oven to 200F for 2-3 minutes, then turn it off and place your bowl with the dough in there. Make sure the oven is not hotter than 100F° or the yeast in the dough will die and the dough will not rise.
• Divide and shape:Turn out the dough onto a floured or oiled surface. Divide it into 6-8 equal pieces (or 4 if you're looking to make them XL). Use a kitchen scale if you'd like the hoagie rolls to be exactly the same size. Shape all of them into neat and tight balls. Using a rolling pin roll each ball into a 6"x4" rectangle (for 6 -8 rolls). Now, roll into a tight 6-inch roll, pinching the ends to seal. Set on a parchment-lined 16"x21" baking sheet seem side down spacing the rolls evenly. Cover with a clean kitchen towel. Allow to proof until doubled in size (~30-45 min) in a warm place (you can do the oven trick again. Just remember to remove the proofed rolls from the oven when preheating the oven for baking).
• Bake:Preheat the oven to 375F°. Using a serrated knife score each roll about 1/4 inch deep, lengthwise. If you wish, you can brush the tops of the hoagies with an egg white lightly whisked with a small pinch of salt, or leave them as is. Place in the oven and bake for about 15-20 minutes or until the outside is golden in color. If the hoagie rolls are baked through, the internal temprature reading should be 200F°.
• Remove from the oven to a cooling rack and cool for at least 20-30 minutes before cutting. , or until the hoagies are room temperature.

SOFT SANDWICH BUNS (DOUGH HOOK MIXER VERSION)

Steps:

• Combine milk, sugar, butter, and salt in small saucepan over medium heat; cook and stir until butter melts. Remove from heat and allow to cool to lukewarm.
• Combine 1 cup bread flour, egg, yeast, and milk mixture in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook; beat at lowest speed for 1 minute. Let rest 5 to 10 minutes. Add 2 3/4 cups bread flour; mix at next-to-lowest speed until dough cleans sides of bowl and sticks to dough hook, about 2 minutes.
• Place in lightly greased bowl, cover, and let raise in warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).
• Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface, punch down to get out air bubbles, and shape into rolls, placing rolls onto 2 lightly greased baking sheets. Cover with waxed paper and let rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
• Brush tops of buns with melted butter. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
• Bake in preheated oven until lightly browned, 10 to 15 minutes.

VERSATILE SANDWICH BUNS

Steps:

• Sprinkle the rolls lightly with cornmeal and then, very gently, turn the rolls over so the impression, if you used a stamp, is now on the top.
• Whisk the egg and water to make the egg wash. Lightly brush the egg wash over each bun. Sprinkle with the seeds to taste.
• Enjoy the buns with your favorite fillings!

THIN SANDWICH BUNS

Steps:

• In a bowl sprinkle the sugar over the warm water, then do the same with the yeast. Add the egg and oil and combine. In a separate container, use a fork or a whisk to stir together the flour, bran, wheat gluten, and salt. Add 1/2 of this mixture to the wet ingredients and blend. This is the sponge.
• Let rise 30 - 45 minutes.
• Add rest of flour mixture and knead for about 5 minutes. I use my stand mixer with the dough attachment. This dough will be sticky.
• Spray 2 cookie sheets with cooking spray. Divide dough into 16 equal portions. This is a wet dough so instead of adding any additional flour, I weigh the dough on a food scale and divide it by 16. Then I weigh out each portion and put 8 on each cookie sheet. Don't worry about how it looks now.
• Take a 4" biscuit cutter and place it over one of the dough portions. If you wet the inside of the cutter as well as your fingers you can spread the dough into a perfect circle by using your fingers to flatten it to the inside edge of the biscuit cutter. (These will be very thin but they will rise). Remove the cutter, re-wet the inside and use it to do the same thing to the remaining 15 buns.
• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Let the buns rise until double in bulk, about 30-45 minutes.
• Bake in a preheated 350 degree oven 12-15 minutes until golden brown. Don't overbake. Cool the buns and then cut them in half for sandwich buns.
• Edit Note: Since I first started making these I've made 2 changes. One is that I make them in muffin top pans sprayed with Pam. No cutting involved.
• The other thing is that I use oat fiber instead of the wheat bran. I ordered oat fiber online. It is NOT the same as oat bran and is in many things these days, so I decided to try it instead of wheat bran. It is very high fiber, few calories, and pleasant tasting. Just use in moderation. In this recipe I use only 1/4 cup. It is 5 calories and 26 grams of fiber for the 1/4 cup. Also, it is more mild tasting than the wheat bran.
• Each bun has 108 Calories; 1g Fat; 5g Protein; 20g Carbohydrate; 4g Dietary Fiber; 13mg Cholesterol; 124mg Sodium.