A delicious recipe for homemade burger buns. Using a Japanese milk dough these buns are light, fluffy and buttery. Recipe below...
INGREDIENTS
Makes 6
Tangzhong:
3 tablespoons / 45g water
3 tablespoons / 45g milk
2 tablespoons / 20g bread flour
Dough:
0.5 cups / 120g milk
1 tablespoon / 9.5g instant yeast
2.5 cups / 320g bread flour
1 teaspoon / 7g sea salt (fine)
3 tablespoons sugar / 37g granulated sugar
1 whole egg
1 egg yolk
3 tablespoon / 42g unsalted butter (softened)
METHOD
1. Make the Tangzhong by mixing all ingredients over a low heat, continuously stirring until a paste is formed. The Tangzhong is key to creating the soft fluffy texture.
2. Warm the milk until it reaches around 30°C / 86 degrees Fahrenheit (room temperature is also fine), then add in the dried yeast. Mix and leave in a warm place to activate for 10 minutes.
3. Mix the rest of the dry ingredients then add the milk and yeast, whole egg, egg yolk, tangzhong and unsalted butter.
4. Knead the dough for around 10 minutes or until smooth. If using a mixer, do this on a low speed.
5. Once smooth, place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave to prove (rise) in a warm area until roughly doubled in size (1 - 2 hours).
6. Once doubled in size tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 6 equal portions (roughly 100g each).
7. The key to a uniform bun is the shaping process. Turn the dough upside down, flatten into a disc, then pinch the outside of the dough and fold it in on itself, into the centre. Repeat this about 6 times around the perimeter of the disc.
8. Then roll the dough in your hands (as if holding a warm mug) to help get a tighter round shape.
9. Place each shaped piece of dough onto a flat baking tray (with lightly oiled baking paper on it), leaving some distance between the buns so they don’t stick. Cover with a deeper baking tray so the dough doesn’t dry out. Set aside to a warm place and leave until doubled in size (1-2 hours)
10. Once doubled in size, preheat an oven to 190°C / 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Make a simple egg wash mixture by mixing an egg with a splash of milk. Brush this over the top of the buns to help get a golden top.
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11. Once the oven is up to temperature, bake for around 17 minutes, or until a nice golden brown colour. If the buns are browning too quickly place some foil over the top so that they do not burn. Once baked, leave the buns to cool until room temperature before eating.
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12. Optional step - once out of the oven, immediately brush with some melted butter before leaving to cool.