The Best Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Shifting from producing loaves of bread with a tried and true recipe to hamburger buns (or dinner rolls for that matter) is as simple as can be. Fundamentally we are only reshaping the dough and then baking it in the oven rather than allowing the bread machine pan to define the shape and the machine to do the baking for us.
The taste of summer – a burger with all the fixings piled high on a toasted whole wheat bun
Whole wheat buns are a great combination with burgers – instead of squishing into thin disk of wheat paste they hold their shape without being too dense and add a heartiness to a burger that just isn’t there with store bought fare. Baking your own not only provides unrivaled freshness but also allows you to determine the size of the buns… Baby buns for the wee folks, mama buns or even the papa buns that hold the largest burgers.
The process is so easy that you can’t go wrong and after you’ve had these you won’t want to return to store bought fare so get some fresh whole wheat flour and get baking.
Here we are using the standard Baler-Twine bread recipe, but setting the machine on the dough cycle instead of the bread cycle. If your machine’s dough cycle stops after the first rise reset it to the dough cycle and let the machine kneed the dough again before shutting it off and removing the dough.
Click title post for the full recipe.
- 1 1/2 cups warm water
- 2 large eggs
- 1 tbsp white vinager
- 4 tbsp vegetable oil
- 5 1/2 cups whole wheat flour very fine grind
- 4 tbsp sugar
- 1 1/2 tsp bread machine yeast
- 1/2 tsp salt
- Add liquid ingredients (water, eggs, vinegar, oil) and mix in bread machine pan (paddles already in place)
- Add the whole wheat flour
- Distribute evenly over the surface of the flour the yeast, salt and sugar
- Return the pan to the machine
- Set the machine on the dough cycle. Allow it to complete the cycle and if the machine doesn't end with a second knead, reset the machine and allow it to complete the kneading before turning the machine off and removing the dough pan
- Dump the dough onto a floured surface. Cut the dough into portions that are about half the size you want for the final buns and roll them into shape.
- Place them on a baking sheet - I prefer using a silicon baking mat to line the sheet or you can use a bit of flour to keep the buns from sticking.
- Cover with a clean dishtowel and let the buns rise until roughly doubled in bulk. If your house is cool turn the oven on for a few minutes to allow it to warm off before turning it off and letting the buns rise in there.
- When the buns are nearly doubled in bulk preheat the oven to 425F. If you were using the warm oven to help the buns to rise remove them before turning on the oven again.
- Once the oven reaches temperature bake the buns for about 30 to 35 minutes.
- Allow to cool before cutting and fire up the bbq.