Hamburger Buns

Nothing tastes better than a great tasting hamburger on a bun. Going to the store to buy buns may leave you in sticker shock when you see the price for a few buns. Of course, you can go out and eat at a local hamburger place, but what you would spend for one meal, you can make a whole meal for your family and have lots of money left over.  You can easily make your own buns at home, and it's a lot cheaper. 

Ingredients

1 2/3 c. warm water
2 Tbs. honey or sugar
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
1/4 c. dry milk powder
2 Tbs. soft butter or oil
4 1/2 cups flour 
1 1/2 tsp. salt 

In a large bowl, combine warm water, sugar and yeast. Set the yeast mixture aside in a warm location for about 8 to 10 minutes. This will show you that the yeast is alive, and your dough will rise beautifully. 

Add the milk powder, 1 cup flour, butter or oil and beat well. 

Stir in the salt. Stir in the flour, one cup at a time, until you have a soft dough.  When the dough becomes too hard to stir with a wooden spoon, turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead for 7 to 10 minutes, adding more dough as necessary.  The dough should be soft and tacky, but not sticky.   You may not need all the flour, or you may need more. It depends on how much humidity is in the air.

On a lightly floured surface, turn dough out an

Lightly oil the bowl that you mixed the dough in. Place the dough in the bowl, turning it over once so all sides of the dough is coated with oil.

Cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap. Place in a warm location for 60 minutes to 2 hours, or until doubled in bulk.  If you have the time, punch the dough down, and allow it to rise again. This gives you a light and fluffy bread bun

Remove the dough from the bowl and place on a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 8 pieces  for large buns or 12 pieces for slider buns.  Shape each piece of dough into a ball.  With the palm of your hand, flatten each dough ball until it is about 3-inches across.

Place the dough on a lightly greased baking sheet. Lightly oil the tops of the dough and cover with a tea towel or a greased sheet of plastic wrap. Set in a warm location until doubled in size.  This takes about an hour. 

Heat the oven to 350°. Bake large buns for 15 to 20 minutes, or the slider buns for 12 to 15 minutes, until golden brown. 

Run a stick of butter over the tops of the hot buns for a soft, buttery crust.  

Allow to cool and then slice them horizontally for hamburgers or your favorite sandwich filling.