hamburger buns

My interest in breadmaking started almost ten years ago. I was still single and living with an aunt when she bought her first bread machine. The idea of not having to knead the dough by hand sounded very appealing. It was also about that time when I got hold of a basic roll recipe which we use for making Filipino breakfast rolls called pandesal. I was also inspired by another aunt to make my first ever loaf of challah bread. Since then, I really haven't paid much attention to the bread aisle at the grocery store. It has been years since I bought supermarket hamburger buns. I use a basic recipe that I shape into classic dinner rolls, hamburger and hotdog buns or just whatever shape of bread I need to serve for a meal. Very easy and fast to knead in the bread machine then taken out at the end of the dough cycle for the shaping. Homemade burger buns always make our favorite hamburger dinners at home more special.

As shown in the pictures, these homemade burger buns are far from perfect. Some of them came out almost square :-) but that's to be expected with any home baked bread. The more irregular they look the more homey they seem to be.

BASIC ROLLS
2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups unbleached bread flour
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 cup nonfat dry milk
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg at room temperature
1/4 cup or 1/2 stick margarine (softened)
1/2 cup milk mixed with 1/2 cup water
(add 2-3 tablespoons more if mixture is too dry)

Pour the liquid ingredients into the bread machine bowl. Add the dry ingredients adding the yeast on top of the flour. Press dough setting. At the end of the cycle, transfer the risen dough to a floured surface or board. Flatten gently then fold a few times and let rest for a few minutes. Cut into pieces then flatten into rounds. Let rise for 25 minutes. Brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake at 350F for about 15 minutes or until tops are slightly toasted.