Remember that time when you made great burgers with all the toppings then tried to put it on a cheap, wimpy bun. It's not fun. The bun can't hold everything, it starts getting soggy and falling apart as half way through. And, the bun doesn't have any flavor.
You now have no excuse for that to happen. This is like a brioche bun. It's light and airy but still enough heft to hold up to a messy burger without falling apart.
Not only will this hold up to whatever you put on it, but the flavor is light and buttery. Use it for burgers, pulled pork or my crispy chicken sandwich.
They are easy to make, but it does take 3-4 hours due to a fair about of rising time.
Ingredients:
Yeast:
1/2 cup milk @ 95-105f
1 tbs instant yeast
2 tsp honey
Tangzhong:
20 g bread flour
2 tbs water (27g)
4 tbs whole milk (60g)
Dough:
320 g Bread flour (or lightly fill 2.25 cups)
1 whole egg, room temp
3/4 tsp fine sea salt
4 tbs granulated sugar
3 tbs unsalted butter, softened
Egg wash:
1 whole egg
splash of whole milk
Directions:
To get the yeast ready, combine the warm milk, yeast & honey, stir then let sit to bloom, about 10 min.
Combine tangzhong ingredients in a sauce pan and heat till it forms into a thick paste. Once the heat is up, it will take 30-40 seconds. Set aside to cool.
After the yeast is ready, in the bowl of stand mixer, whisk the tangzhong and milk/yeast mixture together until smooth. Add the egg and whisk until incorporated. Add the flour. Fit stand mixer with dough hook and mix on low speed until all flour is moistened, 1 to 2 minutes. Let stand for 15 minutes.
This reset helps to strengthen the glutton structure.
After the rest time, add the sugar and salt then mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes. after 5 min, with mixer running, add the softened butter, 1 tablespoon at a time. Continue to mix on medium-low speed for 5 minutes longer, scraping down dough hook and sides of bowl occasionally (dough will stick to bottom of bowl).
Shape dough on a lightly floured surface till a round ball. Add to a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel. Put in a warm spot till doubled, 1-1.5 hours.
Punch down and divide into 6 pieces (95-105 grams).
Shape by stretching and folding, turn over, then pull toward you keeping the dough on the board, turn 90 degrees, rotate, repeat till a nice ball shape. Place on a sheet pan, with a lightly greased piece of parchment paper.
Place another baking sheet on top and let sit for an hour to rise, 30-45 min.
If it is warm, it may take less than 30 min. Check periodically so that the buns do not rise too much.
Make the egg wash and brush the buns.
Bake at 375 for 16-18 min on the middle rack till deep golden brown. You may want to rotate the pan 1/2 way through to brown evenly.
Transfer to a wire rack to cool.
Notes:
Servings - Makes 6-7 buns
Grams vs Cups
If you notice, the recipe calls for the flour measurements in grams. If you use 2.5 cups of flour scooped with a measuring cup, you will get somewhere around 430 grams of flour. Significantly more than the 320 grams required.
You can make these the day before. Let sit for a few hours before transferring to a sealed bag or container.
Original Recipe - Greatest Dinner Rolls (joshuaweissman.com)
For slider buns, form into 50g pieces and bake 14-16 minutes.
Measurements for 4 buns:
Ingredients:
Yeast:
1/3 cup milk @ 95-105f
2 tsp instant yeast
1.25 tsp honey
Tangzhong:
13.5 g bread flour
1 tbs + 1 tsp water (18g)
2 tbs + 2 tsp milk (40g)
Dough:
213 g Bread flour
1/2 whole egg, room temp (save reset for egg wash)
.5 tsp fine sea salt
2 tbs + 2 tsp granulated sugar
2 tbs unsalted butter, softened
Egg wash:
1/2 whole egg
splash of whole milk