Burger Buns

I love burgers. Better yet, I love home-grilled burgers and the amazing barbecue smell that fills the whole neighborhood. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. What trumps it all is home-grilled burgers with homemade buns.

Seriously, the best barbecue experience ever.

I don’t know why I waited so long to make my own buns. How very stupid of me. These brioche burger buns do take some time and planning, as you might have guessed, but they’re not too difficult to master. Mine were perfect on the first try.

The outside is firm and perfectly golden brown, but the inside is soft and flaky. It’s a delicious way to sandwich a burger, a chicken breast, or some grilled veggies. It doesn’t get much better than this.

The downside to all of this is that you’ll never be satisfied with store-bought, over-processed buns ever again. For that I do apologize, but I promise we will all better off for it.

It’s only the beginning of July and we’ve got plenty of summer ahead of us (hallelujah!). So get outside, grill yourself a burger, and bake up these buns. I promise you’ll love the outcome.

Burger Buns
From Smitten Kitchen
Makes 8 buns

3 tablespoons warm milk
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/2-1 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 egg, beaten and mixed with 2 tablespoons water
Sesame seeds (optional)

Combine the warm milk, water, active dry yeast and sugar in a small bowl and stir with a spoon to combine. Let sit for about 5 minutes until the yeast and sugar are dissolved.

In another small bowl, whisk together the eggs.

In a large bowl, sift together the bread flour, 1/2 cup all-purpose flour, and salt. Add butter and use your fingers to cut it into the dry ingredients until the bits are small and the mixture is grainy. Add the eggs and yeast mixture and mix with a dough hook (or a wooden spoon) on low until combined. Continue kneading on medium speed until dough is smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes (or you can turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead by hand).

Add more all-purpose flour a tablespoon at a time if necessary. The dough should be quite sticky, although workable. Keep in mind that the more flour you add, the tougher the buns will be. I added almost the full cup of all-purpose flour. The dough was still sticky, but I just floured my fingers frequently while working with it.

Gather dough into a ball and place in a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place and allow to rise until doubled, 1 to 2 hours.

Punch down dough and let rest for a few minutes. Divide dough into eight equal pieces and shape into balls. Place on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. Spray some plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and place over the shaped buns. Return to a warm place and continue to rise for an additional 1 to 2 hours.

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Brush buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.

Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool completely on a wire rack.

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