“No machine needed. Pure handmade buns, and it’s simple, too.”
Making own burger bread was to have more simple and healthy burger meal at home. It was simple. My home-baked burger buns were more crisped at the crust, not as soft as the store-bought, since no softener or enhancer added. Taste more bland, but healthier, since no flavoring added.
Ingredients
11g of active dry yeast
200ml of warm water
60ml of olive oil
50g of brown sugar
270 – 300g of bread flour (about 2.5 – 3 cups)
100g of all-purpose flour (1 cup)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon salt
1 knob of butter, melted
1 teaspoon of sesame seeds (Optional)
Method
(1) Add warm water into a bowl, dissolve yeast. Then, add sugar and oil, let it stand for 3-5 minutes. In the meantime, add salt, 270g of bread flour and all 100g of all-purpose flour into a large bowl. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture, add egg. Pour in yeast water and mix to form a soft dough.
(2) Knead soft dough until smooth and not sticking to hand. Gradually add more flour by sprinkling onto the dough while kneading, if dough appears too sticky even after 3-5 minutes of kneading. The dough should be elastic enough and be able to pull till about 2 inches wide when splitting between thumb and index finger, to test out.
(3) Cover dough with damp cloth and let it rest for about 30 minutes. Remove cloth and punch down the dough to deflate the proofed dough. Dived dough into 10 pieces and shape each piece into a ball. Place the balls apart on greased baking tray. Cover again to let rest for an hour.
(4) Dough balls should be double in size now. Brush melted butter on the surface of each dough ball. Sprinkle sesame seeds. Bake in preheat oven at 180deg Celsius for 12 minutes, it until lightly browned at the top. Remove from oven to let it cool on wire rack. When cooled, store buns in an air-tight container until ready to use.
Crust of the buns would be slightly hard and crisped when first baked out from oven, but turned softer after cooled. Buns can be stored for 3-5 days in an air-tight container or plastic bag. Make sure it’s cooled with no condensation in the storage.
Anyway, burger bun is meant to taste more bland so that it will not outshine the patty fillings. I was very pleased by the outcome, afterall.
A bun counts about 190kcal.
Tips: Yeast cannot be dissolved in hot water as it will kill the yeast. Safest at about 30-40deg Celsius, or when you are able to place finger in for more than 10 seconds. Colder water will not kill the yeast, but slow down the proofing effect causing only much longer proofing/ resting time. It should still be working well.
* Use of instant dry yeast in sachet works great. It is available at major supermarkets.
* The amount of flour should be adjustable till enough to yield a smooth and elastic dough. First add the minimal amount of 270g (bread flour), and then, slowly adjust from there. It could be even more then what listed. Just remember, if dough appears too dry, add more water. If too sticky, more flour.
* For softer bread texture, consider cake flour instead of all-purpose flour.
* For healthier choice, you may also consider replacing all-purpose flour with wheat flour. Drier texture would be expected.