4th of July

[Les]

We are having a group over for the day. The wife wants to BBQ hamburgers and hot dogs (I wanted pizza but she seems to win these things).

Question. I want to make the buns out of simple yeast dough. Are there any tricks to get the perfect shape and texture? I don't want biscuit shapes for the hamburgers and bread loaves for the hot dogs. Any insight would be appreciated.

Thanks,

Les...

[Jed]

Re: 4th of July

Hey Les,

I'll be happy to read any experienced bakers response to your question...

I put together a batch of burger buns a couple of weeks ago. I picked the best looking recipe with a quick computer search, and was only so / so happy with the results.

Enriched recipe, pretty high hydration, just enough heat, not to much... ????

I guess these are the things that will help the bun, but a voice from the experienced ones will help!

Thanks,

JED

[CanuckJim]

Re: 4th of July

JED, Les,

The best bun and roll recipes I've ever encountered are in Reinhart's The Bread Baker's Apprentice. My personal favorite for burgers is his formula for Kaisers, because they turn out absolutely ketchup and topping proof, meaning they don't fall apart.

Jim

[pjones]

Re: 4th of July

A few weeks ago I used Reinhart's BBA recipe for White Bread variation #2 (i think) and made hamburger buns and hotdog buns. I have 3 kids and they had to look good and taste good to replace those Wonder bread style buns, but that was my goal. I had no good directions for shaping. I just guessed with the hotdog buns with the shaping and they turned out great. I will always have them in the freezer from now on, and the kids liked them. The hamburger buns were shaped like a dinner roll just larger. The did not pass the kid test because they were too tall not the flat round shape like the store bought. I will try again with the hamburger buns this weekend.

Any suggestions for shaping hamburger buns?

Paul