Memorial Day Hamburger Buns

dolfs on 28 May 2007 at 21:10

Today we had a large barbeque party with our various neighbors and their children and dogs (it was our dog's 10th birthday). So, I just had to make Hamburger buns and hot dog rolls.

Hamburger BunsHamburger Buns

On Friday, when my other baking was going on, I did a quick trial run with Hamelman's recipe. They were OK, but for the production run I made two changes:

[list][*]Upped the butter to 15% (from 8%)[*]Used a wash from one egg and some milk to glaze[/list]

I made 4.3 lb of dough, and used 3 oz per bun, making 22 buns. The original recipe calls for shaping by rolling out a preshaped (mini) boule. That hadn't worked out so well for me, so for production I made nice tight mini boules, and flattened them a little (but not all the way). I used the milk/egg wash, added some sesame seeds, and baked for 15 minutes at 400F. For the hot dog buns I shaped like mini baguettes, except rolled them a little so they were even. Both were a great success.

Buns, cutBuns, cut

Since I was baking again, and my guests on Saturday ate all my [url=http://www.thefreshloaf.com/node/3111/spinach-cheese-boule-whole-wheat]Spinach Cheese Boule[/url], I made another one today as well. Used a 4 sided cross cut slashing which worked out much better. Again, half is gone already!

 

I've been planning to make buns soon. I wanted to make them for the holiday weekend but it didn't happen. Great job, they are beautiful.                                                                                                                     weavershouse
of the dog to go with the buns? Those do look perfect, dolfs. I'll soon be trying out your spinach boule, too.

Those buns look awesome!  Were they as light as they look?  I have tried hamburger buns in the past, but they were too heavy and substantial.  Made a burger feel like a wrecking ball.  I don't suppose you could post the formula here?

Thanks for sharing--they're inspirational.

Katie in SC 

These buns turned out so light that when I first took them out of the oven I was worried that they were to light and not substantial enough to hold juices. After cooldown they were just perfect, however.

--dolf

Those are great looking buns.

If you dont mind me asking, did you bake on a stone or a sheet?  I know you said you made 22 of them, so I was curious as to how you chose to bake them up.  They look wonderful.

TT

Because I had 22 some management was needed. I actually mixed it together about midnight the night before and it had about 60% of its bulk rise in the refrigerator (just for schedule management). Once mixed I divided the dough over 2 rising buckets so I took them out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes apart, allowing sequencing into two baking sessions. Once out, warm up from 38F and completing the rise took about 2 hours, may be a little more.

I put the first 11 buns on a baking sheet on parchment paper to rise, but then put the whole sheet on top of the baking stone for baking. I did not feel like trying to juggle sliding them off it onto the stone. The sheet itself was quite thin so I hardly think it made any difference. I repeated this was the second batch, on a second sheet, immediately after the first set came out.

--dolf

I appreciate it, being a big burger person I am very interested in trying this.  And yours looks great.

I wanted to apologize to you again, for the other day.  I hope I didnt burn any bridges in my tangent.  I was totally wrong for jumping to conclusions.

TT

We're fine. I understand people getting emotional about things. I think you've learned that when you feel like that, it is better to calm down and think before you react :-)


--dolf
I thought I'd been complete enough above, but I suppose if you don't have Hamelman's book, this doesn't work. So, you will find the formula in this PDF document. As presented there, it makes a dozen 3oz buns. Recipe (adapted from Hamelman's "Bread", pp. 258-259):
  1. Mixing: Place all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix on first speed, approx 3 minutes, until incorporated. Dough should be medium consistency. Mix 5 more minutes on second speed until moderate gluten development. Desired dough temperature is 76F.
  2. Bulk Fermentation: 1 hour
  3. Dividing and Shaping: Divide into pieces 3oz each. Preshape as mini-boules and flatten the top somewhat and place on cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Leave room for the dough to expand (leave about 6" center to center). This is where I made a modification to the original which called for resting the boules 5 minutes and rolling out into disks.
  4. Proofing: Let rise until almost doubled and light to the touch.
  5. Baking: Just before baking, brush with egg wash (1 egg + pinch of salt, teaspoon of milk), and optionally sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in preheated 400F oven for approx 15-20 minutes. Remove and let cool (completely) on rack.
When you look at the formula, note a few things:
  • As given, produces dough for 12 3oz buns (before baking)
  • Egg, milk, salt and sesame seeds for wash and topping are not in the formula
  • Assumed mixer friction is typical for a KitchenAid style mixer
  • Tap water temperature is for my situation. Temperature for milk should be same for the overall calculation to be valid. In that case, add 8.7g milk to 8.7g ice and let it melt before using. If your milk comes out of the fridge, it is typically colder than 47F and so this is not necessary. If you let it warm up to about 40F (which might be how it comes out of your fridge), you should be right on.
  • One large egg is about 50g, so that is close enough for this amount.
  • Cost, as indicated is based on my local supermarket prices and using King Arthur Bread Flour. Flour and butter are the major cost contributors. 

 Hope this helps


 
--dolf


See my My Bread Adventures in pictures