Honey Wheat Hamburger Buns

Bread Challenge Week 22

Until I started baking bread a few years ago it never actually occurred to me that it was even possible for someone to make hamburger buns in their home kitchen. Seriously. Perfectly shaped hamburgers buns were something that could only be created in some magical place like a large scale bakery or factory. I know, sad right?

In the last few years I have made dozens of types of rolls but never a hamburger bun. Not because I didn’t think I could do it, I have learned that the real magical place is my kitchen and not the large scale bakery/factory churning out millions of loaves and buns all in the same perfect size. I just hadn’t made hamburger buns because it is just so darn easy to by a package of buns from the store. Well after this weeks baking experience that habit is no more.

The Honey-Wheat Hamburger Buns recipe from Prairie Home Cooking, by Judith M. Fertig is wonderfully simple, wonderfully yummy and wonderfully versatile. Needless to say I will be making it again. I have learned that once you go homemade you never go back to the store bought and hamburger buns are no different. It is also worth mentioning that sometimes great bread recipes are hiding in cookbooks that are not solely based on baking, thanks for sharing Ginger.

This recipe is easy to follow, uses regular household ingredients and produces a bun that is soft and chewy while still being strong enough to stand up to all the topping and condiments you can throw at it. I did have to add an extra cup of flour than the recipe called for to make the dough manageable. While baking these the house was filled with the nice sweet scent of honey. After I pulled them out of the oven Luke I couldn’t even wait for them to cool down before we were sampling. We were hooked from the first bite.

I went ahead and made about half the dough into hamburger buns and about half the dough into dinner rolls. The dinner rolls are just about the perfect size for a Maddy sized burger and the hamburger buns are a good size for Luke and I. I decided to brush and egg wash over some fo the buns and rolls and sprinkle on either wheat germ, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds, to get some variety into the large batch and left some of them plain to test out the true recipe. I highly recommend topping the buns. They came out looking so pretty with all their tops covered in different things and if I were making these for a large get-together the buns would have looked beautiful piled high in a basket with all their different tops showing.

Next time I make these I plan to increase the ratio of wheat to white from 50/50 to more like 75/25 to get a bit more of that whole wheat texture my family loves.The recipe makes about 36 buns or 50 rolls, so in just over30 minutes hands on time and 2 hours total you could have fresh hamburger buns coming out of your oven. Make these, you’ll love them. You’re welcome.

Flavor: 5
Hands on time: 4
Total time: 3
Recipe: 5
versatility: 5
make it again: 5
Catherine: 1
Luke: 1
Maddy: 1

Total Score: 30
(what is this Bread Challenge and how are recipes scored?)

Previous Bread Challenge reviews and scores:
Garlic Studded Baguette – Week 21
Quinoa Bread – Week 20
Asiago Herb and Garlic Bread – Week 19
Cranberry Pecan Rye Bread – Week 18
Rotis – Whole Wheat Unleavened Bread- Week 17
Farmhouse White Loaf – Week 16
Honey Whole Wheat Slow Cooker Bread – Week 15
The Easiest Loaf of Bread You’ll Ever Bake – Week 14
Hot Cross Buns – Week 13
100% Whole Wheat Bread – Week 12
Thin Wheat Crackers – Week 11
Irish Soda Bread – Week 10
Double Blueberry Muffins – Week 9
Oatmeal Batter Bread – Week 8
Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls – Week 7
Cheesy Pretzels – Week 6
Light Rye Bread – Week 5
Country-Style Whole-Wheat Pita – Week 4
Carrot Raisin Quick Bread – Week 3
Potato Bread – Week 2
Focaccia – Week 1