Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns

A lot of times when I want to make hamburger, hot dog, or sub sandwich buns, I just make my French Bread recipe and make it the shape or size I want. These work great and its a super easy recipe. I especially like them for subs--fresh ones or hot ones like meatball subs! This summer, though, we've eaten a lot more hamburgers and hot dogs than we normally do. Maybe its the heat. Grilling is much nicer than heating up my kitchen. So over the past few months I've tried a new bun recipe. We've really enjoyed it. It takes after real hamburger or hot dog buns like you'd buy in the States--only better since its homemade! Make some time to try these! They are great! I've adapted this recipe from King Arthur Flour's site. All these pictures are of hot dogs, but you get the idea!

Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
1 cup lukewarm water
2 Tbs butter, cut into small cubes
1 large egg
3 1/2 + cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/4 tsp salt
1 Tbs instant yeast

Place water in bowl. Should not be more than 115F. Add diced butter and stir til nearly dissolved.

Add yeast, sugar, and salt. Allow to dissolve for just a minute. Stir in egg and one to two cups of the flour--you can do this with a hand mixer or just use a wooden spoon and do it by hand.

Add additional flour 1/2 cup or so at a time. When you can no longer stir, start kneading the flour in until you have a soft, smooth dough. Probably 6-8 minutes of kneading.

Place in a greased bowl and cover loosely with a damp towel. Put in a warm place to rise for 1-2 hours--until it is doubled in size. Punch dough gently to deflate. Divide into 8-10 pieces depending on what size buns you want. 10 works great for regular sized hot dogs I think. 8 makes really large sized buns for hamburgers or hot dogs.
For Hamburger Buns: Shape pieces into round balls. Place on greased or lined baking sheet a few inches apart. Slightly flatten with the palm of your hand.
For Hot Dog/Sub Buns: Take each dough piece and slightly elongate it. Using a rolling pin, roll dough out--about 5 inches by 3 inches or so. Starting on one of the longer sides, roll it up (same as French Bread). Place seam side down on baking sheets, a few inches apart.

Cover and let rise another 45 minutes to an hour, until noticeably puffy and larger. Bake buns at 375F (195C) for 15-18 minutes, until golden. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

You can rub some butter over them as they cool if you want them to have a satiny, buttery crust, but I don't find this necessary. Slice, stuff, and enjoy!