I was happy to hear via my Facebook page that Alex, winner of Best Recipes Ever from Canadian Living and CBC cookbook giveaway, successfully made Paprika Chicken last night for her family and the kids liked it! Makes me so happy knowing that a prize is making a difference in someone’s kitchen.
A little while ago I was trying to find a great hamburger bun recipe and I stumbled across this one by Canadian Living. I believe they are the same buns Anna from Anna’s Table made when she won the Hot Pepper Challenge at Food Network Canada. Congrats Anna! So I had to give them a shot.
I made half the recipe and wanted to finish off my breadmaker yeast. I dissolved half a tbsp of sugar in water warm and then sprinkled 1 tsp of yeast on top. I let it stand for 10 minutes until it got frothy. I heated 1/2 cup of milk, 1 tbsp of butter and 3/4 tsp of salt in a small sauce pan until the butter melted. I let sit for a while.
In my mixer using a paddle attachment I added 1 cup of flour.
I admit, I went off the recipe map here. I did not have time to bring the milk and butter to room temperature so instead of adding it to the yeast, I added it to the flour which helped bring down the temperature.
Then I added the yeast mixture. I beat in a cup or two of flour, a bit at a time until smooth. I changed to a dough hook and let the mixer knead the dough for 10 minutes.
It got all nice and elastic which is what you want. I placed dough in a greased bowl, turning to make sure the dough itself was greased all over. I covered the bowl and let rise for 90 minutes.
I punched down the dough and divided it into eight pieces but if you actually need 16 hamburger buns, feel free to double this recipe. That is a lot of buns!
I shaped the dough into a ball, stretching and pinching the dough underneath to try and make smooth tops. I placed them 2″ apart on a parchment-lined baking tray. I covered and let them rise for 45 minutes.
They did puff up nicely! I whisked an egg yolk with some water and brushed on top. I could not find my sesame seeds (which sent me into an organizing-frenzy… more to come on that) so I put them in a preheated 400F oven for 17 minutes until they were golden brown. My oven tends to run hot, 20-25 minutes would have been too long.
They did not get as huge as Anna’s did but they were light, soft and lovely. I used them to make homemade filet ‘o fish sandwiches and these were infinitely better than any store-bought buns I could have picked up. Absolutely worth the effort and next time, there will be sesame seeds on top!
I give this recipe four and a half out of five wooden spoons.
Those look awesome and yummy. I don’t do enough cooking but always enjoy what you’re sharing and the ideas.
Suzie, once again you have the most perfect buns!! lol…These look so good, so fresh. Those store bought ones are like icky sponges, I am definitely going to make these next time we decide to do burgers. We have a COBS bakery nearby that has amazing burger/sausage buns, but wow they’re way overpriced.
I just read a little tip on a few websites the other day but haven’t tried it yet to see if it actually works. They recommend lightly oiling your dough hook prior to using the kneading function. It’s supposed to keep the dough from climbing up the hook during kneading. If the hook is slippery, the dough should stay more in the bowl and less sticking to the hook. That dough climbing and sticking drives me bonkers.
Thanks peabeapatch! Ava, it’s so true, store-bought buns are the worst, aren’t they? You will love these and save money. It rocks!
I had no idea there was any hope for fixing the sticky dough hook issue, OMG, I am totally going to try that next, thanks Ava! It drives me bonkers too, LOL.
Perfect! I’ve been thinking of trying to make my own burger buns this summer. 🙂
They look fluffy and delicious! 😀