Hamburger Bun Heaven

If you have the time to make these spectacular buns, you won't regret it. The payoff for your time is a subtle depth of flavor and a yeasty, airy, pillowy texture that is impossible to get any other way. You can taste the butter and eggy-ness of these buns, but those flavors are light and appealing. These buns stand up to any burger without being too bready, and you don't feel like you're sneaking in a dessert bread for dinner.

How much time are we talking? These buns require six-ish hours to make; however, most of that time is hands-off since this bread requires four rises. These four rises mean that the dough for these buns is forgiving. If one of your rises gets shortened or lengthened, it will all even out in the end. The result is so good that we sometimes stand around the kitchen at 6pm smearing butter on them while we wait for dinner to finish. Any leftover buns are coveted for breakfast sandwiches the next day.

dough after first rise

Buns before going into the ove

NOTE ABOUT MAKING BREAD IN A COOL KITCHEN: this bread takes a long time. If I'm going to make it in a cool kitchen, then I let my oven warm a little (to about 80-110 degrees) and then I turn it off and do all of my rises in the oven. Just make sure that you don't let your oven get so hot that it damages your yeast.

NOTE ABOUT THIS RECIPE'S ORIGIN: This recipe is adapted from a handwritten cookbook by my mother's friend, Lindsay Woodel. She gave this cookbook to my mother as a wedding present over 50 years ago. I have been cooking out of this book my whole life, and Lindsay graciously said I could share her recipes with you. Lindsay has since shared with me that this recipe is adapted from Dolores Casella's A World of Breads published in 1966. Sadly, this book is no longer in print.

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Hamburger Buns

Adapted from Lindsay Woodel's "Egg Bread"

This recipe takes about 15 minutes of active work at the beginning then another 10 minutes at the end. It requires about 5 hours of rise time and 20 minutes to bake.

Ingredients

3.5 cups of bread flour (or all-purpose flour)

1/4 cups sugar

1 package (2.25 teaspoons) dry active yeast

3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon warm water

2 tablespoons melted unsalted butter

2 eggs at room temperature

1 tablespoon diamond kosher salt

neutral oil for greasing your bowl and baking pan

For Egg Wash

1 egg + 1 teaspoon water

2 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)

STEP ONE

Set eggs aside on counter to begin to come to room temperature. Using a large mixing bowl, or the bowl of a stand mixer, combine yeast, sugar, and 1 cup of flour, then pour warm water on top. Water should be feel warm but not hot when you put your finger in it. Mix together with a spatula and then cover with plastic wrap. Set yeast-mixture aside to rise for about 45 minutes. It's done when it's pocked with bubbles. See photo above. (this rise gives your bread a lot of its extra-special flavor).

STEP TWO

Add the rest of the flour, the melted butter, eggs, and salt to the dough and using either your stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment or your hands, kneed the dough (on low) for 5-ish minutes until it is smooth, elastic but slightly sticky. It takes a while to get this dough smooth by hand (10-12 minutes). Clean out the mixing bowl that you just used, oil it with butter or neutral oil and the add dough. Turn the dough once so that the top is lightly coated in oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and allow dough to double in size either in a warm kitchen or in a warm (NOT HOT) oven about 1.5-2 hours.

STEP THREE

Punch down the dough, flip over and return to bowl and cover for another rise. 1-1.5 hours until it doubles in size.

STEP FOUR

Grease two sheet pans, shape dough into 9-10 round balls, placing them so that any creases or seams are on the side resting on the pan. Cover rolls with a dish cloth and allow to rise for about 1 hour.

STEP FIVE

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare egg wash (egg whisked with 1 teaspoon of water) and then use a brush, or your fingers, to paint all of the exposed bread. See photo. If desired, sprinkle sesame seeds on top. The egg wash will give your bread a shinny, professional look. There will be egg wash leftover, I like to use the extra as the binder for my Anchini burgers.

STEP SIX

Bake bread for about 20 minutes or until tops are golden and when you tap a bun on its bottom side it feels sturdy and makes a little "thump" sound. I find that my rolls get golden at about 15 minutes but they need those last 5 minutes to get cooked all the way through. When buns are done cooking allow to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.