Hamburger Buns

The other night we decided to have hamburgers for dinner. I thought this would be the perfect time to use my new bread making skills and make the buns. I found a recipe by King Arthur Flour that had great reviews, so I thought I would give it a try.

You can find the original recipe here at Beautiful Burger Buns.

I started by proofing the yeast. I always do this step first because if your yeast doesn’t work it’s a lot easier to find out now than two hours later.

Next I mixed together the butter, egg, and some water in the bowl of a stand mixer.

When the butter and egg were well mixed I added the sugar, salt, and a little bit of flour. I mixed until the flour was well incorporated.

Then I dumped the yeast mixture into the bowl and mixed that in well.

After that I started to add the remainder of the flour, ½ cup at a time. Here is the first one . . .

Second . . .

Third . . .

After the third ½ cup the dough was getting very stiff and dry so I decided to add some more water to keep things moist.

Forth . . .

Fifth! After all the flour had been added the dough looked smooth and had formed a nice ball.

I finished kneading the dough by hand to make sure everything was homogenous and elastic.

I love to see the before and after pictures of the dough rising. I think the science behind rising dough is quite amazing and you can see how it works in The Whole Picture

After the dough was done rising, the recipe says to divide it into eight equal pieces. Since I don’t have a kitchen scale, I just eye balled it. 

 

Forming the dough into smooth balls for the buns was harder than I expected. I really had to manipulate the dough to smooth them out. They started out pretty rough

but ended up smooth in the end. I found that pulling the top around the sides seemed to work well.

You can see here how not all of my buns were the same size.

After I smashed them down they turned out ok. The recipe said to press the dough down more in the middle. I wasn’t sure about this but they seem to cook up more in the middle so this was an important step.

Butter, Butter, Butter! These little buns got lots of butter coverage. And thank goodness, I’m sure all the butter coverage made them so delicious.

These buns turned out better than I expected. They were very light and fluffy. All the butter made them very moist and delicious as well. The buns were very large though. I think the next time I make them I will try to do smaller one.

I thought I had taken a picture of the finished product but I can’t find it. I guess you will just have to make them and see how they turn out for yourself.

King Arthur Hamburger Buns

Ingredients:

1 ¼ to 1 ¾ cup warm water

2 tablespoons melted butter plus more for brushing

1 large egg

3 ½ cups all-purpose flour

¼ cup sugar

1 ¼ teaspoon salt

1 package active dry yeast

Directions:

Add the yeast and a pinch of sugar to a bowl. Add ½ cup warm water and stir until the yeast is dissolved. Let sit for 10 minutes or until the mixture is foamy.

Add ¾ cup water, 2 tablespoons butter, and egg to the bowl of a stand mixer. Beat together on low until all incorporated.

Add 1 cup of flour, the sugar, and salt to the bowl. Mix until the flour is well incorporated.

Add the yeast mixture to the bowl and mix well.

Begin to add the remaining flour, ½ cup at a time, mixing until each ½ cup of flour is fully incorporated in the dough before adding more. More water should be added ¼ cup at a time if needed to keep the dough moist and elastic.

Place the dough in a large container and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise until double in size, about 1 hour.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide into eight equal pieced. Use a kitchen scale if available.

Roll each piece of dough between your hands until smooth. Then flatten each dough ball into a 3 inch diameter. Flatten the middle of the dough slightly more to create a dimple.

Brush each piece of dough with melted butter, then cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise until double in size, about 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 375°. Before placing the dough into the over to make, brush the tops again with the melted butter.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes or until the tops of the buns are golden. Brush the tops of the buns one more time with melted butter right when they come out of the oven.

Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

Pie Crust

The rules for making pie crust are exactly opposite of those for making bread. For example, all the ingredients need to be as cold as possible. Also, you want to try and knead the dough as little as possible because you don’t want any gluten forming.

After all the things I’ve learned about how to make good bread, it was fun to make pie crust and to try and do the exact opposite. So, I decided to share it with you guys to see what you think.

This recipe comes to us from this cookbook, which is my new favorite. I got it for my birthday and have loved it ever since.

Here are the ingredients that you will need:

1 cup butter

2 ¼ cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons vinegar

½ teaspoon salt

Start by cutting some butter up into small cubes and place in the bowl of a stand mixer.

Then dump the flour on top of the butter.

Use your hands to make sure each tiny square of butter is well coated with flour and that no butter squares are stuck together, and then place the bowl in the freezer.

Meanwhile, pour the vinegar into a large measuring cup and dissolve the salt in it. Then place the measuring cup in the freezer and let everything chill for about 10 minutes.

Remove the bowl from the freezer and using the paddle attachment mix the butter and flour together until it resembles coarse cornmeal.  

When the mixture reaches the coarse meal stage, keep the mixer on and slowly pour in the vinegar mixture.

Keep mixing until the dough forms a ball. It should only take a few minutes and you don’t want to over mix this part.

Dump the mixture out onto a lightly floured surface.

Divide the dough mass into two sections and then press each section into a disc shape. Try not to knead the dough.

Wrap each disc in plastic wrap and let rest in the fridge for 30 minutes before use. Or place in the freezer for use at a later time.

White Bread

I have been LOVING what the dry milk and potatoes does to the bread. The fluffiness and moister they provide reminds me of good ol’ white bread. So that is exactly what I decided to try next.

SIDE NOTE: White flour is white because of the addition of a bleaching agent but it is really just refined flour. Refined flour has the germ and bran removed from the kernel and can be bleached or unbleached.

Cinnamon Challah Bread

I was really in the mood for French toast the other day and remembered, from making challah bread before, Honey Wheat Challah Bread, that it was perfect bread for French toast. So, I created my own version in the hopes that it would be perfect for breakfast.

BREAD SCIENCE: Hydration Station

I've been experimented with my own bread recipes later and I keep having dough that just won't rise. This can be a frustrating experience, especially after waiting a few hours! After a lot of trial and error, I finally figured out what was happening to my dough . . . or should I say what was not happening. I discovered that water or moisture is a key ingredient to bread dough. Why you ask? Well hang on to your hats ‘cause I'm gonna tell ya.

PICTURE SOURCE

Orange Cranberry Bread

Since the last bread recipe I tired turned out so delicious, Whole Wheat Bread, I thought this would be a great recipe to experiment with. And experiment I did!

The first idea I wanted to try was combining oranges and cranberries. What goes together better? Maybe peanut butter and banana, but that is a whole other conversation.

BAKING BUDDIES: Dani’s Breadsticks

Whenever I tell people I have a bread-baking blog the first thing they say is “I have the best bread recipe!” Whether these people are regular bread bakers or not, everyone has their favorite recipe. So, I thought I would start featuring some of these. Maybe one of these recipes will become your new favorite, go-to bread recipe.

Whole Wheat bread

Master Recipe #3: Whole Wheat Bread

Remember you can find this recipe in Bread Made Easy found here.

SIDE NOTE: Technically this bread is light whole wheat because it is not made from 100% whole wheat flour.

This recipe was very intriguing when I read through it because it has such a strange cast of characters. Who knew instant dry milk and potato flakes would be used for making bread? I sure didn’t.

The recipe started out just like any other, proofing the yeast, mixing the dry ingredients together, then the wet, then beating the heck out of the dough.

FUN FACT: This recipe called for bread flour. According to OChef.com bread flour is “a high-protein flour, specially formulated for making yeast breads. The combination of extra protein, a tiny bit of malted barley to help the yeast, and vitamin C or potassium bromate to help the formation of the gluten, helps the dough rise and retain gasses as it bakes, resulting in greater volume and better texture.”

This was the first recipe that gave a range of flour needed, instead of a finite amount. Since my dough is always dry, I just used the minimum amount required. I think it made a difference because this was the first dough that I really understood what the author meant by “shaggy” dough.

The part I struggled with was forming the dough into a smooth loaf shape. The recipe says to divide the dough into two parts. Then, pat the dough out into a rectangle and roll it up like a jelly roll. So, I patted it out,

Then I rolled it up and placed it in the pan. It looked like a wet towel rolled up and not the beginnings of delicious bread.

SIDE NOTE: To roll up like a jelly roll it means you fold the small ends of the rectangle in just a little to even the dough up, and then roll the long side up to create a  roll.

With the second half of the dough, I just rolled it around in my hands until it was a smooth lump, and then placed it in the pan.

Here are the two different methods. When I made this bread again I’m just going to roll the dough around until it’s smooth and not worry about the jelly roll method.

SIDE NOTE: I didn’t have the right size of pans, so my loaves were shorter than I think they should have been. I guess I’ll be making a quick stop by amazon.com to get the right pans for next time.

The bread smelled wonderful the entire time it was baking and it tasted just as delightful when it was done. This recipe is what I think homemade bread should be; soft, fluffy, and flavorful. So far, this has been my favorite recipe out of this book.

PRODUCT REVIEW: Hello, Cupcake! Book

I recently received this book as a gift (thanks Jennie, I really like it!). It’s all about how to make professional-looking cupcakes without being a professional. If you like cupcakes, you need this book!

BREAD SCIENCE: To Salt or Not to Salt

To add salt or not to add salt to your dough, that is the question of the day. Salt is sometimes considered a non-critical ingredient. Many recipes don’t include salt or use a little amount and the bread tastes fine. So, why add salt then?

PICTURE SOURCE

In doing some research, I found there are four benefits to using salt in bread. Keep reading to find out what they are and let me know in the comments if you agree or not.

Cheese Ravioli

This was my first attempt at ravioli with my new pasta toys: the KitchenAid pasta roller, which I reviewed earlier, and the Norpro ravioli maker. I couldn’t believe how much easier it was compared to my first attempt in Ravioli with Sarah.

First, I made the basic pasta dough and rolled it out with the pasta roller.

Then, I made ravioli shapes using the Norpro ravioli maker. You can find step-by-step instructions for how to use the ravioli maker here.

Next, I filled the ravioli with cheese filling (the recipe for this is at the end of the post).

After the ravioli had dried sufficiently, it was time to cook them. Add them to boiling water for 7-8 minutes.

Some of the ravioli burst open while cooking, but the ones that held it together were mighty tasty!

Cheese filling for Ravioli

Fills 24 Ravioli

Ingredients:

1 cup cottage cheese

1 cup shredded Romano cheese

1 tablespoon basil

1 tablespoon oregano

1 tablespoon parsley

1 teaspoon pepper

2 teaspoons salt

Directions:

Mix ingredients all together.

Refrigerate until ready to use.