Awesome Hamburger Buns

By pknaub

Ingredients

• 1 cup water, lukewarm
• 2 Tbs unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 egg
• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tsp salt
• 1 Tbs Instant yeast
• 1 Egg yolk (+ 1 Tsp water)
• Sesame seeds

Preparation

Step 1

1) Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients—by hand, mixer, or bread machine—to make a soft, smooth dough.

2) Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 hour, or until it's doubled in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round 1" thick (more or less); flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until very puffy.

4) If desired, brush buns with melted butter. Or brush lightly with egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water), and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

5) Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 12 to 15 minutes, till golden. Cool on a rack.

King Arthur Flour


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Remarks:
If you wish, you can also add 1 Tsp onion powder and 1/2 Tsp dried minced onions to the dough. In the original recipe, the buns were not glazed nor sprinkled with sesame seeds, so that's up to you if you want to add that kind of finishing or not...

Serving suggestions:
Split and use for burgers (see recipe here) or sandwiches. When making hamburgers, try buttering the split sides of your buns and frying them (buttered side down) until they are golden brown and warmed through.