It seems whenever we decide to maker burgers, I forget to get hamburger buns when at the grocery store. Then burger night comes around and we are deciding between using regular bread slices or a naked burger, until now.
A few months ago, I made a hamburger bun recipe from Heavenly Homemakers. They turned out okay, I was still learning how to make different bread recipes. I hadn't quite figured out how the dough should feel, how to roll it out, etc.. I decided to try these again since I had more practice making bread.
I started by preparing the yeast the way I normally do for all the other bread recipes I make, then went upstairs to put my little guy down for a nap. When I pulled up the recipe on my computer realized I had already started the yeast and was not following the directions. Instead of starting over I just used the other recipe as a guide. I used less flour, less water, reduced the amount of salt, and added wheat gluten. These hamburger buns were light and fluffy, not what you usually find using whole wheat.
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
1 1/4 cups Warm Water, divided
1 pkg Active Dry Yeast
2 tsp Olive Oil, divided
2 Tbs Honey, divided
4 cups Whole Wheat Flour
2 Tbs Vital Wheat Gluten
1 tsp Kosher Salt
1/2 cup Milk
2 Tbs Butter
All-purpose flour, for your surface.
- In a small bowl mix one cup of warm water with one teaspoon of olive oil and one tablespoon of honey. Sprinkle yeast on top and let sit for 10 minutes or until yeast is foamy.
- Put the flour, vital wheat gluten, and salt into the bread maker and set aside.
- In a small saucepan warm the milk and the butter, until the butter is melted, make sure the temperature does not exceed 120 degrees.
- Turn on the bread mixer, on dough setting, prior to pouring in the liquids. First pour in the milk mixture, next the remaining tablespoon of honey, followed by the yeast mixture.
- Mix dough for a bit, if it is too dry add in the remaining 1/4 cup of water or more depending on how dry the dough is. You don't want it to be too sticky either so add a little water at a time.
- After mixing dough in the bread mixer for about 5 minutes, remove and knead on a floured surface for a couple of minutes, until dough is no longer sticky. Add extra flour if needed.
- Put the remaining tsp of olive oil in a large bowl, roll dough around in the bowl until the whole thing is covered in the oil.
- Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour, or until dough has doubled in size.
- Punch down the dough until all the air bubbles are gone. Roll out on a floured surface to approx 1/2 in thick. Use a glass or cup or a small bowl to cut out the circles. Just make sure it is between 3-4 inches, depending on how big you want the hamburger buns. Knead and repeat until all the dough is gone
- Place the circles on a baking sheets covered with parchment paper. Loosely cover with the plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes and preheat oven to 350.
- Uncover and bake for 15-20 minutes. They should feel a bit soft on the sides and not too brown on the bottom.
- Let them sit on the baking sheet until cool. Cut open and serve with the burger and dressings of your choice.
Memorial Day weekend always reminds me of grilling out. These Hamburger Buns are the perfect compliment to any type of burger you are serving.
