Food Processor Hamburger Buns

Given that flour costs a dollar a pound - or less - why do those horrible industrial hamburger buns, which are nothing but flour and air, cost so much?

Here is my latest favourite recipe. It has everything I want: the size is just right, the texture is light, and the taste is bland, so as not to overcome what's inside.

And last but not least, the quantity is just right for kneading in my rather small and not very powerful Hamilton Beach food processor.

The recipe is adapted from Paul Hollywood's Floury Baps recipe.

INGREDIENTS

375 g unbleached, all-purpose flour

2-1/4 tsp instant yeast

1-1/4 tsp salt

30 g sugar

30 g butter, cut into smallish cubes

250 ml (1 cup) cold water

INSTRUCTIONS

Place dry ingredients into food processor bowl fitted with the metal blade, and process a few seconds to mix. 

Add butter, process to small crumbs.

Pour water (cold!) through feed tube while running, then continue mixing until all is mixed and a cohesive ball forms around the blade.

Transfer to counter, knead a minute or two until nice and smooth.

Transfer to lightly oiled bowl, cover and leave an hour or so, until double in bulk.

Transfer to counter, cut into 8 pieces and shape each into a ball.

Move the balls to a floured surface and leave 10 minutes, to relax the dough.

One ball at a time, flatten with rolling pin on a floured surface, and transfer to a baking sheet covered with parchment.

Turn oven on to 220 C or 450 F, with the rack in the middle.

Sprinkle with flour, cover and leave about 45 minutes, or until about double in size.

Bake 10 minutes, turn pan around, and bake 5 to 10 minutes more, until nice and brown. If you have a thermometer, it should register 205-210 degrees C.

Cool in pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a rack to finish cooling.

DIY Hamburger Buns

Whenever I make a batch of multigrain bread, I set aside a small amount of dough for hamburger buns.

Once the dough has fermented in the fridge for about two days, I weigh it and take out whatever I want to turn into buns. I divide the rest in two.

I make the 2-oz portions into balls, then cover and rest 30 minutes. Then I flatten them with a rolling pin, to about 4 inches in diameter.

Because of the extra deflating, they are not ready to bake until the main loaves have been taken out, so that works out quite well.

They don't rise a lot before baking, but that's okay because they literally puff up in the oven, leaving a nice air pocket inside for the components of your burger, be it carnivore or not. 

This also means that your buns are not so full of calories. At 75 calories per ounce, mine average under 150 calories each.

You could also use them as mini pitas while they're still hot.

I use the same hot stone and steam method as my freestanding loaves to bake them, at around 450 degrees F.

To keep them soft, throw them in a plastic bag as soon as they're cool.

This works with any bread dough that I have ever used.