IF YOU FEEL LIKE BAKING.....HOW ABOUT HOMEMADE BURGER BUNS?

...why not make yourself a supply of homemade burger buns to keep in the freezer? I am always disappointed with storebought burger buns, even wholewheat ones.

BTW, before I go on, I'm sorry my blog posts have been so few and far between lately. I've a.) been fighting a cough; b.) been doing all DH's chores as well as my own because he was gone for 10 days; c.) we've had 4-- count'em-- 4 family members in and out of hospital in the last few weeks (all will be okay); and d.) been working hard on recipes for the book I'm working on, which doesn't leave too much time for other cooking.

Back to the buns-- it's winter wonderland here on Denman Is. today (read "snow"),



and that always makes me want to bake. I don't know many people who bake their own burger buns, but it's really easy and cheap, and they are so superior to storebought. So, this weekend is perfect for baking. You can double or triple the recipes (but , if you double the recipe, do NOT double the yeast; and if you triple the recipe, only double the yeast.

Try one of these-- my four favorite burger (and hotdog) bun recipes:

Printable copy of all four recipes

BRYANNA’S FLUFFY BUT HIGH-FIBER HAMBURGER & HOTDOG BUNS
Makes 8 hot dog buns or 6 hamburger buns (can double recipe)

You can mix and rise the dough on the dough cycle of your bread machine, or knead by hand or with a stand mixer.

1 c. warm potato cooking water OR warm water with 1/2 T. potato starch or 1 T. instant potato flakes
1/2 T. dry active yeast or 1 tsp. instant yeast
1/2 T. lemon juice
2 T. oil
2 T. organic unbleached sugar
1 1/2 c. whole wheat flour
about 1 1/4 c. unbleached white flour
2 T. wheat bran
2 T. soy flour or chickpea flour
2 T. oat bran
2 T.  ground flax seed
3/4 tsp.  salt
Topping:
Soymilk (or other nondairy milk) for glazing
tops
OPTIONAL: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, or dried onions
cornmeal to sprinkle on the baking sheets


The easy way: Just follow the directions for your machine (use warm soymilk), and set on the Dough cycle. After the dough has finished kneading, let it rise for at least 10 minutes, or take it out whenever convenient before the cycle is done.

If you have no bread machine, you can make these by hand, in a mixer with a dough hook, or in a food processor.

IF YOU ARE MAKING THE DOUGH BY HAND, stir the yeast into the warm liquid in a large mixing bowl.   Let stand 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice, oil, and sugar and mix well.  Add the whole wheat flour, 1/2 cup of the
unbleached white flour, bran, soy or chickpea flour, oat bran and ground flax seed, and salt and beat for 3 minutes with an electric mixer, or 300 strokes with a heavy wooden spoon.  Add the remaining flour (3/4 cup unbleached) and knead the dough for a few minutes right in the bowl.

TO USE A MIXER WITH A DOUGH HOOK, follow the directions for making by hand, but add all the flour at once and knead for 3 minutes.

TO USE A FOOD PROCESSOR, dissolve the yeast in the warm liquid with the sugar in a large measuring cup.  Let stand 5 minutes. Add the lemon juice and oil. Mix the flours, salt, bran, soy or chickpea flour, oat bran and ground flax seed in the dry processor bowl.  While the machine is running, add the yeast mixture and process until the dough forms a ball on top of the blade.

With either of the three above methods, let the dough rise, right in the bowl it's made in (or a greased bowl, if using a food processor) for about 10 minutes.

Hamburger Buns: divide into 6 pieces, flatten and stretch each piece into a circle about 4” in diameter and place on a greased cookie sheet that has cornmeal sprinkled on it. You can also divide into 8 pieces, if you prefer a smaller bun. Allow to rise for about 40 minutes, brush with soymilk, and sprinkle with optional seeds, or dried onions, if you like. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Hot Dog Buns: divide into 8 pieces, roll between your hands until you have a 6 inch rope (or long enough for your favorite brand of veggie” wieners” or “sausages”), place on a sheet with cornmeal sprinkled on it. These should be placed fairly close together, so they will rise more up than out. Let the buns rise for 30 minutes or until a nice hotdog bun shape. brush with soymilk, and sprinkle with optional seeds, or dried onions, if you like. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Bake for15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Cool on a rack—if you like soft buns, cover with a clean tea towel as they cool.

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BRYANNA’S LIGHT AND TENDER HIGH-FIBER BURGER BUNS
makes 9 large buns OR 12 medium buns

Whole grain, but not heavy, not too sweet, tender but not spongey.
NOTE: you can mix and rise this dough in a bread machine (use the dough cycle), if you prefer, or knead in a large food processor— follow the directions that come with your machine.

1 c. leftover soft mashed potatoes
OR 1/2 c. instant mashed potatoes (you can get an organic brand) mixed with
1 c. boiling water
2 tsp. regular baking yeast (or 1 1/2 tsp. instant) mixed with 1/4 c. warm water
1 c. drained, mashed medium-firm tofu
1/4 c. soymilk
1/4 c. ground flaxseed
1/4 c. wheat bran
2 T. unbleached sugar or Sucanat
2 T. oil
1 T. powdered egg replacer
1 T. nutritional yeast flakes
2 tsp. salt
2 and 1/2 c. unbleached flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
soymilk for brushing
sesame or poppy seeds, or onion flakes for garnish

If using the instant mashed potatoes, mix them with the boiling water and set aside to cool a bit.

When the yeast has foamed up a bit in the warm water, mix it in a large bowl or bowl of a heavy-duty mixer with dough hook, with the mashed potatoes, mashed tofu, soymilk, groiund flax, bran, sugar, oil egg replacer, yeast, and salt. Mix well.

Stir in the wholewheat flour, then add the unbleached flour. Knead for 5-10 minutes, using as little flour as possible. Place in a greased bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place for 1 1/2 hours. Punch down and divide into 9-12 equal balls. With wet hands, press the balls down on greased cookie sheets (can sprinkle with cornmeal, if you wish) to make buns about 3-4” across. Press down hard in the center of each, so that it doesn’t rise with too much of a “hump’ in the center.

Cover and let rise 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (325 with convection). Brush the buns with soymilk for a shiny glaze and, if you wish, sprinkle with seeds or dried onion flakes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or til golden. Cool on racks.

These can be frozen after cooling— cut them in half horizontally before freezing.

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BRYANNA'S JIFFY BURGER BUNS
Makes 12

These quick, easy buns are very tasty and a little crusty. They are white, but with the addition of bran and golden flax, they have added fiber and nutrition.

4 cups unbleached white flour
1/4 cup ground golden flaxseed
1/4 cup bran
1/4 cup mashed potato flakes (you can buy organic ones in HFS)
1 Tbs. active dry yeast (or 3/4 Tbs. instant)
2 cups warm soymilk
2 Tbs. oil
2 Tbs. vegan sugar or maple syrup
2 tsp. salt

soymilk for brushing tops
OPTIONAL: sesame seeds

You can make the dough in your bread machine, if you have one.  Just follow the directions for your machine (use warm soymilk), and set on the Dough cycle. After the dough has finished kneading, let it rise for at least 10 minutes, or take it out whenever convenient before the cycle is done.

If you have no bread machine, you can make these by hand, in a mixer with a dough hook, or in a food processor.

IF YOU ARE MAKING THIS BY HAND,
stir the yeast into the warm soymilk in a large mixing bowl. Let stand 5 minutes. Add the oil, sugar potato flakes and mix well. Add the 2 cups of theflour, bran, flax seed, and salt and beat for 3 minutes with an electric mixer, or 300 strokes with a heavy wooden spoon. Add the remaining flour and knead the dough breifly right in the bowl.

TO USE A MIXER WITH A DOUGH HOOK,
follow the directions for making by hand, but add all the flour at once and knead for 3 minutes.

TO USE A FOOD PROCESSOR,
Dissolve the yeast in the warm soymilk with the sugar in a large measuring cup. Let stand 5 minutes. Mix the flour, salt, bran, potato flakes, and flaxseed in the dry processor bowl. While the machine is running, add the soymilk mixture, and the oil until the dough forms a ball on top of the blade.

With either of the three above methods, let the dough rise, right in the bowl it's made in (or a greased bowl, if using a food processor) for about 10 minutes.

Divide the dough into 12 equal balls and, on a floured surface, roll into smooth balls and then press down into hamburger-bun shapes.

Place on greased cookie sheets, leaving some space in between, brush with soymilk, and sprinkle with raw sesame seeds, if desired. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, while you heat the oven to 400 degrees F.



Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until nicely browned. Cool on racks.

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BRYANNA’S NO-KNEAD WHOLEWHEAT BURGER BUNS
makes 9-12 buns
These are excellent, especially when you're in a hurry. The dough can be used for dinner rolls, too. I've made some version of these for many years, and they have morphed into this vegan version.

1 T. regular (OR 3/4 T. instant) yeast
1 c. warm water
2 c. warm soymilk
1/4 c. instant potato flakes (you can get an organic kind)
2 T. oil
2 T. maple syrup or unbleached sugar
2 tsp. salt
OPTIONAL: 1/4 c. ground flaxseed
1 T. nutritional yeast flakes
4 c. wholewheat flour (NOT pastry flour)

Soymilk for glazing
OPTIONAL: sesame seeds or other desired topping

Dissolve the yeast in the water. Add to the soymilk in a medium bowl, along with the potato flakes, oil, syrup or sugar, salt, and optionals.

Add the flour and stir with a heavy wooden spoon, or Danish dough whisk, as long as you can (up to 2 minutes, but I’ve made this with almost no stirring, and they turn out well). Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes.

With floured hands, dump the dough out on a well-floured counter and, coating the dough lightly with flour as you go, form the dough into 9-12 equal-sized balls. Place on greased cookie sheets sprinkled with flour or cornmeal and pat the balls down to form 3-4” rounds. Press down hard in the center, so that they don’t make big “humps” in the middle when they rise.

Cover and let rise 30 minutes, while you heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Brush the buns with soymilk and sprinkle with sesame seeds or other topping. Bake 15 minutes. Cool on racks.


Happy Baking!