Healthier Hamburger Buns
And here is the promised recipe of the hamburger buns from my red lentils and celery root vegetarian burgers. Not suggesting you have to go for home-made all the time. But, if you ever have the time, I strongly recommend these buns. There is truly no comparison with store-bought ones and, healthwise, home-made gives the advantage of letting us play with different types of grains. I also added sourdough, more for the taste than for the rise.
MULTI-GRAIN HAMBURGER BUNS
very freely adapted from Volger’s “Veggie burgers every which way”
You need: 2 and 1/2 cups bread flour (or all-purpose), 1 and 1/2 cups light rye flour, 1/2 cup whole-wheat flour, 1 cup milk (or rice milk), 1/2 cup water, 50 g fresh yeast (or 2 and 1/2 tea-spoon dry yeast-1 package), 2/3 cup (180 g) sourdough, 2 table-spoon olive oil, 1 table-spoon honey, 2 and 1/2 tea-spoon salt. If you do not have sourdough: omit 1 and 1/4 cup (ca 160 g) flour. Garnishing: 1 egg (or 3 table-spoon rice milk), sesame seeds, poppy seeds or flakes.
How to: dissolve the yeast in the luke-warm milk and water. Let’s stay for 5 minutes than add the sourdough (if you have it) and the honey. Add all remaining ingredients. Knead for 15 minutes by hand, or, 8-9 minutes by machine. Form the dough into a loose ball and let rest for 1-2 hours (until it doubles) in an oiled bowl, covered with plastic foil or with a wet kitchen towel. Remove from the bowl and shape into 12 rounds (I find this “buns shaping” video helpful). Place on parchment covered oven trays and let rest, loosely covered with plastic foil, for another 1-2 hours. Once they have risen again, brush with the egg mixed with a little water and sprinkle with your favorite cover. Bake at 356 degrees (Fahrenheit, 180 Celsius) for 18-20 minutes (check the bottom: ready when it’s golden-brown).
CONSIDERATIONS: I was very happy with these buns and I am sure I will use this method next time I make them. They rose wonderfully and were perfectly fluffy inside. The addition of sourdough gave depth to the flavor, but of course it can be omitted (adjusting the flour amount). Totally loved the light multi-grain feeling. I used light rye and a little whole-wheat but different combinations can also be great, and I personally look forward to experiment even more. Now my problem is: how will I, or will I ever, go back to store-bought hamburger buns? Yes, home-made bread is addictive. Just give it a try…
This is going to YeastSpotting.
Barbara Elisi
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