This recipe makes delicious homemade hamburger potato buns. These buns are soft and can be used to make hamburger buns, sandwich bread or slider buns.Recipe makes 8-9 regular size buns or 16-18 slider buns.
3cupall-purpose flour (430 grams)( I use King Arthur Unbleached All Purpose Flour, bread flour or combination of both
1/4tspsalt
1/8tspground black pepper
2eggs
5tbspbutter, softened (70 grams)
Yeast Mixture
3/4cupbuttermilk (180 ml)(make your own buttermilk - add 1 tablespoon vinegar to 3/4 cup milk, let sit 5 minutes)
1tbsphoney
2 1/2tspactive dry yeast
1/2 cup mashed potato or use leftover mashed potatoes (120ml)(you'll need 1 large potato, peeled and cubed, cooked till very soft in 1 1/2 cup of water with 1/2 tsp of salt)
EGG WASH
1egg
1tbspwater
TOPPINGS
poppy seeds, sesame seeds, coarse salt
Instructions
HAMBURGER POTATO DOUGH
Mashed Potato
Cook one large peeled and cubed potato in 1 1/2 cup water seasoned with 1/2 tsp salt, cook until fork soft. Mash the potato with 3 tablespoons potato water using a fork. Spoon mashed potato mixture into a 1/2 cup measure.TIP: alternatively, use 1/2 cup leftover mashed potatoes
Yeast Mixture
Pour mashed potato (1/2 cup, 120 ml) into buttermilk ( 3/4 cup, 180 ml) and stir well. Let cool until the mixture is warm, not hot.
Into the warm to lukewarm potato buttermilk mixture whisk one tablespoon honey, one packet of active dry yeast (about 2 tsp 1/2 tsp), and one tablespoon flour. Whisk well and let sit for 5-8 minutes until foamy on the top.
Yeast Potato Dough
Meanwhile, measure flour (3 cups, 430 grams) into a bowl of your stand mixer, stir in salt (1/4 teaspoon) and ground black pepper (1/8 teaspoon), and set aside.
Make a well in the flour, add eggs (2 large, room temperature eggs), soften butter (5 tablespoons, 70 grams), and pour in all of the yeast mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon till combined (30 seconds).
Using a mixer with a hook attachment, knead yeast dough for 8 minutes until a soft dough is formed. If the dough appears too wet add up to 1/4 cup flour, adding flour by tablespoons. This dough is smooth; it will not form a ball in the stand mixer.
Dump the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it for 30 seconds to a minute until it comes to a ball.
1st PROOF
Return the ball of dough to a lightly oiled bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour. See the notes on how to let it rise in the oven.
Once the dough has risen, invert the bowl with the risen dough onto a lightly floured parchment sheet or silicone mat.
SHAPE THE HAMBURGER BUNS
Weigh the dough and divide it into equal portions. Divide the dough into 8-9 pieces or more if you want smaller buns. I weigh 125 grams of dough per large bun.TIP: This recipe makes about 8-9 regular-size hamburger buns or smaller 16-18 slider buns.
Shape each piece of a dough into a ball. Transfer onto a baking sheet lined with a parchment or silicone mat. Cover buns with kitchen towel and let rise for 45 minutes. Preheat oven to 375F.
EGG WASH
Whisk together egg (1 egg) and water (1 tablespoon). Then brush risen buns with an egg wash. Avoid using excessive amounts of egg wash or it will drip down the sides, and there will be puddles of egg wash which will later in the oven turn into scrambled eggs.
TOPPINGS
If using toppings, sprinkle buns brushed with egg wash with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, sea salt, or leave plain.
BAKE HAMBURGER BUNS
Preheat oven to 375F.
Bake in the preheated oven until golden brown.Large buns for 18-20 minutes.Small buns for 15-16 minutes.
Remove from the oven, and cover freshly baked hot buns with a dry kitchen towel for 15 minutes. Remove the towel and let cool completely.
Potato Hamburger Buns can be prepared ahead of time and frozen until ready to use, up to 2 months.
HOW TO CREATE DRAFT FREE WARM SPOT FOR DOUGH PROOFING
Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Place the pot with hot water on the bottom rack in your oven and place the bowl with the yeast dough above or on the same rack. Close the oven and let the dough rise as directed in the recipe.
Notes
CAN I FREEZE HAMBURGER BUNS? Yes, buns freeze for up to 2 -3 months.
CAN I USE SWEET POTATO INSTEAD OF YELLOW POTATO? Yes, you can.
HOW MANY HAMBURGER BUNS THIS RECIPE MAKES? This recipe yields about 8-9 medium to large hamburger buns.