Delicious homemade burger buns and black bean burgers!I can’t believe I have never made homemade burger buns before. First of all, they are super easy to make, and the taste is so much better than the ones you buy at the store!  The overall time to make these bits of deliciousness is about 3 ½ hours, so you will want to time them appropriately, but the active time is ½ hour!!

I toasted the buns before filling them with a delicious hamburger, topped with bacon, lettuce, tomato, red onion and a spicy burger sauce…. YUM!! Next time I will skip the toasting step as it is NOT necessary!

I will never buy store bought buns again! There are no preservatives, and the taste is 100 times better.

I plan on making these this weekend for my children and grandchildren. I think I’ll make some pulled pork.  I’m getting hungry just thinking about it!

I hope you make these and enjoy them as much as my hubby and I did…. What are you waiting for?!

Ingredients

• 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 grams or 1 packet) Instant yeast – I use Red Star
• 1 cup very warm water (115 degrees F)
• ½ teaspoon granulated sugar
• 3 1/2 cups (489 grams) all-purpose flour, divided
• 1 large egg- room temperature
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• ¼ (50 grams) cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon fine kosher salt
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1 tablespoon milk
• Sesame seeds to sprinkle on top of buns

Directions:

• Place yeast into a large bowl of a stand mixer; whisk in warm water and ½ teaspoon sugar. Cover and let stand until mixture is foamy (5-10 minutes)
• With paddle attachment, mix 3 cups of the flour, egg, melted butter, remaining sugar and salt into yeast mixture (just until combined).
• Put a dough hook onto stand mixer and knead the dough on low speed until soft and sticky, about 6-7 minutes.  If dough is too sticky, add a little more flour and knead for one more minute.
• Transfer dough onto a floured work surface; dough will be slightly sticky. Form the dough lightly into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking loose ends underneath.
• Coat inside of mixing bowl with olive oil.  Place the dough in the bowl and turn over to lightly coat with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap or towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about two hours)
• Press dough down to release air bubbles and put on a lightly floured work surface. Make a rectangle with the dough. Pat out to ½“ thickness. Using a pastry cutter slice the dough into 8 equal pieces. If you want, you can use a scale for more accuracy. Form each piece into a round shape.
• Gently stretch the dough rounds into round flat shapes (about ½” thick). Arrange the buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Lightly dust the buns with flour and cover with a cotton kitchen hand towel. The buns will rise one more time for one hour (or until doubled in size).
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F
• Whisk egg and milk in a small bowl until thoroughly combined. Gently brush buns with egg wash so it doesn’t deflate the risen dough. Sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional)

Bake at 375 degrees until lightly browned on top, 15 to 17 minutes.