The weakest link – the hamburger bun
I used to be obsessed with perfection. But over the years I’ve realized what a treacherous mate that mindset can be. Thankfully I’ve mellowed, I now understand that perfection is transitory… if it comes my way I’ll grab it, but I’ll never, ever, become its slave. Since we know where our meat comes from and how it it’s butchered, we feel comfortable eating things like steak tartar and medium-rare burgers. A good burger is a sum of its parts though, and if any part is lacking then it just isn’t perfect. I’m of the opinion that the weakest link is consistently the bun. Think about it, how often have you had the perfect burger, with the perfect toppings, and then had a lame bun that collapses, slides off, or just tastes awful? It happens all the time and we just accept it.
I decided to make my own hamburger buns because I couldn’t stand the thought of shelling out $5.00 for a really bad set of buns. I threw the dough together in the morning, let it rise for 6 hours in the refrigerator, formed the buns using my new and fabulously trusty cylinder technique, then they rested and rose for another hour or so and then I baked them.
They tasted fresh and yeasty with an excellent consistency and crumb. They held up really well with no collapsing, slipping, or sliding. Bread baking is so ephemeral, it requires a unique confluence of ingredients and weather. As I recall it was a perfect day…not too hot, not too cool, and no humidity. As for the ingredients, I only measure the liquid and the yeast, I add the rest until I’m happy its look and feel. I think I’ll continue to make my own burger buns, but I doubt that I’ll get this lucky again.
Vanessa’s Burger Bun
printer-friendly version
1 cup water
1 cup whole milk
2 teaspoons yeast
1/2 cup melted butter
2 eggs
1 teaspoon of sugar
2 teaspoons salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
Unbleached white flour
Place all of the ingredients, except for the white flour, to the bowl of a stand mixer. Using a paddle attachment mix well on medium low until well combined and no longer lumpy. Begin to add the white flour slowly, adding 1/2 cup or so at a time with the mixer running on a low speed. Once the dough clears the sides of the bowl you can stop the mixer, scrap the dough off the paddle and fit the dough hook onto the mixer. Let the mixer work the dough on a low speed for 7 – 10 minutes. The dough should be very sticky. Once the dough has been worked well you can stop the mixer, remove the dough from the bowl, coat the inside of the bowl with a thin coat of olive oil and then place the dough back into the bowl, cover it with saran wrap and let it rise for at least 6 hours in the refrigerator, overnight is okay too.
2 hours before you want to bake the buns remove the dough from the refrigerator and roll it into a big fat cylinder, the diameter of which will be the diameter of the buns. Slice the dough into pieces remembering that the thickness of the piece determines the thickness of the bun which will need to be split through the middle after baking.
Arrange the buns on a cookie sheet lined with a silpat. I arranged them so that they would touch each other after their last rise and bake. Now cover them with a clean towel and let them rise for an hour.
Preheat the oven to 375°F. Bake them until they are golden brown and their internal temperature is at 210°F, mine took about 10 minutes.
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25 Responses to “The weakest link – the hamburger bun”
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Hmmmm. We just ate burgers from 100% grass fed/finished beef a la Rockin J Cattle Ranch. No spices or fixins, just a slice of cheddar from the Windsor Dairy on top. That’s all they really needed! I agree with you about the buns. We did without tonight, much to the chagrin of the neighbor kids who ate with us. I’d just rather have no bun at all than some processed white thing that isn’t even real food.
MaryBeth
Dinks With Kids
You are so right about the bun being the weakest link. We make fabulous burgers (either 10% grass fed beef or bison) at home and I have no idea why I never thought of making my own buns. Thank you so much for posting this. I love your idea and the buns look fabulous. I can’t wait until our next burger night. :)
Nothing beats homemade baking!
It look’s to good to be through I am definitely going to try this
Those are exceedingly lovely buns!
Earlier ths spring we made turkey “sliders” with homemade buns. We had so much fun eating those little burgers!! It never really occurred to me that part of the joy probably stemmed from the flavor of those home-baked buns…
One of these weekends I’ll have to tackle another batch. Maybe full-sized this time!
How true that a bad bun can ruin a fine hamburger. Yours are beautiful and I like your cylinder technique!
As a burger aficionado, I also believe that many otherwise great burgers are ruined by lousy bread (buns). When we decide to have a home-cooked burger (and we usually use ground bison), we usually make a trek to our local bakery (in Baltimore, about 25 miles away) to purchase fresh, professionally made buns.
With the price of gas now, we may very well try your method for baking our own.
Thanks for sharing.
You have some great looking buns. How did they turn out the second time you tried the recipe? Just as perfect?
Oh what great looking buns! I’ve made homemade buns before and they were awesome, so much better than storebought. And you are so right, why shell out $5 for crappy, almost stale buns when homemade is easy (if you plan for it). This settles it, the next batch of burgers I make will have some homemade buns!
I love to make my own buns. I haven’t bought bread or buns in months. And I’m so with you on the importance of knowing where your meat comes from. Nice post.
Hi Vanessa, this is my first time here and I chanced upon your blog from your hamburger buns entry from Food Gawker! I’ve been thinking if these can be homemade and you’ve proven it! I’m so gonna try these!
They look great! This is amusing since 1. my husband bakes lots of different types of bread and 2. he always eats burgers without a bun since he never really likes them! I think we have an obvious solution! (note that I rarely even think of taking the baking angle). BTW, I made a wonderful “Tuscan brisket” with a roast from Carrie & Eric the other night!! We’re lucky to know them!
you’re on Serious Eats!!
hi!
These look great. I agree in general that the buns are the weakest link. Although if people put iceberg lettuce on a burger, then the lettuce automatically becomes the weakest part in my book.
My husband loves potato buns, and I love onion buns, so I’ve often thought about trying to create some marital harmony hybrid, but it has so far only been idle speculation. These look very promising though.
They look fabulous. I love making my own bread and will definitely try these out.
They look great, but what about a recipe that doesn’t require a stand mixer?? I know here in europe, with counter-space at a low and kitchen aid mixer prices over 350 euros, I’d like to hear more about how I could do this with existing hardware like a food processor or even just a bowl…
Recipes are great, but varying techniques are important too!
Susan Wild/Yeast: the cylinder technique is proving effective for biscuits, buns, dinner rolls, and who knows what else.
Nate, yes I do have lovely buns, thank you. My burger buns look good too…(heh, heh, I couldn’t resist!). I haven’t done them again yet, but I will and when I do I’ll let you know.
Mrs Ergül and all my other new readers and commenters…WELCOME! I’m yelling because I’m sure you can’t see me waving at you. Thanks for reading and commenting.
MadLisa, give up that recipe for Tuscan brisket, give it up now, please.
Andy, I know, isn’t that tres cool!
Erin, potato onion sounds divine!
Jim, I understand where you’re coming from. Frankly, it’s been over a decade since I’ve made bread without a stand mixer. I’d think the recipe would be the same but in the beginning you’d either mix by hand or with a hand mixer. As you add flour you would come to the point that you’d have to dump it out on the counter and knead and work it until it’s right. One reason I like the stand mixer is that I can make a much wetter dough and that makes for a more flavorful bread and a better crust. Give it a try and let me know how it works for you. I’ll post more about this later. Thanks for your suggestion.
gotta say, this is a creative post. i honestly never would’ve thought of making my own burger buns – but – i’ll echo everyone else’s comments – if a bun is good, it can just elevate the awesomeness of a burger!
Loving the cylinder technique! Will give it a go on my next batch of rolls.
Thanks for the recipe!
I actually made these this past weekend. They are great! I ended up adding about 5 cups of white flour at the end. It yielded several dozen, which was nice and convenient. I froze most of them, so I have them on-hand when I make hamburgers or salmon burgers etc.
Yummy!
That is such a great idea! Thanks so much for sharing the recipe, I can see a lot a flavor variations for these, I can’t wait to try!
i’m so impressed and will try these buns! surely not a weak link!
Thanks for this, we had some jolly good sausage sandwiches at the weekend and these were just perfect!
[...] 29, 2008 · Leave a Comment From What Geeks Eat…1 cup water1 cup whole milk2 teaspoons yeast1/2 cup melted butter2 eggs1 teaspoon of sugar2 [...]
Just came across your site looking to compare some carnitas recipes…so glad I did! Great recipes on here…can’t wait to try them! Inspiring!