ven before I started on my journey toward
wellness, I have pursued the perfect hamburger bun recipe.
Why? Well, I love to bake, and even before being diagnosed with thyroid cancer, I have known for quite some time that commercial baked goods aren't all that good thanks to all of the processing and nasty chemicals such as glyphosate laden grains, preservatives, rancid oils, etc. that are in them. And to be honest, the commercial buns are darn near the texture of --cotton? No. Ugh...that abysmal blasphemy known as "Wonder Bread?" Yeah...like that. I remember an episode of 'Good Eats' where Alton Brown was lamenting this very thing in regards to sandwich bread, and he did something I have always wanted to do. He took a loaf of that "bread" and treated it like it deserves to be treated. In utter disgust he crumpled it up like a traffic ticket -- a badly written paper! You get the picture. It was thrilling and very satisfying to watch. Anyway, through the years I have tried many recipes, but I think I have finally found "The ONE"! And it's all thanks to the tangzhong.
Tangzhong
"But I can't make bread!"
Place all ingredient into a small sauce pan and whisk until smooth, turn on the heat to med. low and whisk. When you feel it start to thicken, turn off the heat and keep whisking until it is the consistency of paste. Set aside.
Fit a stand mixer with a dough hook.
In the bowl of the stand mixer, place all the ingredients and mix on "1" speed until the dough comes together. The dough should clean the sides of the bowl and be slightly sticky. If it's too dry then add a little milk. If it's too wet, then add a little flour until the dough only sticks to the bottom of the bowl as it's mixing.
Knead on "2" speed for 10 min. or knead by hand for 15 min. or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces ( a scale helps) and roll into balls.
Flatten into 4" disk with the edges thinner than the middle.
Place onto a parchment lined baking sheet leaving 1/2" between buns.
Brush with oil and cover with a dry towel.
Place in a warm spot to rise until double in bulk. This can take anywhere from 3 to 9 hours depending on room temp. and dough temp. and the strength of the starter.
When the buns are double in bulk, turn on the oven to 375*F and gently brush with egg wash. (This gives them a nice shine, and provides glue for seasonings.)
Sprinkle with "Everything" seasoning, or your favorite seed.
Baking Tip! Adding steam via a pan of hot water at the bottom of the oven, or spritzing the oven with water from a water bottle to create steam will help with the rise immensely.
Bake on the middle rack for 15 min. and turn, then bake for another 10 to 15 min. until the buns are golden brown.
Remove from the oven and let cool completely before slicing in half.
Place in a bread bag, or air tight container. They can be frozen.
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