Let me remind you of this age old adage that one either has the propensity to be a cook or to be a baker. Now, I have said it before, I am a cook who dares to bake!
For me, this loosely translates into spending endless hours in search of a perfect recipe, comparing it with other such recipes in my cookbooks, jotting down notes and finally settling upon a course of action, which is then executed - on the wings of a prayer of course.
One would think that such ministrations would naturally lead to astounding results. Well, lets just say, I am still recovering from one such endeavor on a Thanksgiving morning several years ago, when all the family had gathered and the clover rolls, that should have risen and resembled snow clouds in fact looked like door knobs adhered together with super glue.
At this point I did what any cook/daring baker would have done. I promptly sent my husband to the frozen section of the nearest grocery store for dinner rolls and proceeded to shred the clover rolls recipe with certain barbarity.
I also affirmed that I would stick to my true and tried, dog-eared, curry stained, baking recipes and would venture into the unknown world of new recipes...shall we say... gradually.
So when I wanted to bake some light, warm and rich buns for sandwiches I am planning to prepare , that is exactly where I went! For all you purists out there who are wondering if I've finally gone off my rockers to attempt serving sweet brioche as a burger bun - No worries mate! I removed the honey & drastically reduced the sugar quantity from a regular brioche recipe.
To begin this task, we must first recruit a large mixing bowl or container or paraat , large enough to mix and knead the brioche dough.
Assemble the ingredients - warm water, dry active yeast, sugar, honey, salt, eggs and copious amounts of melted butter ( 1 1/2 sticks or 6 oz).
Put 3/4 cup warm water (110 deg F) into a bowl, add sugar and dissolve. Empty the contents of 1 packet dry and active yeast into it. Stir. Proof the yeast & if it is active it will look something like this in about 10 minutes. If it doesn't, it means it is dead and a trip to the grocers is warranted.
Pool the flour into the utensil. Add the yeast water, salt, eggs, honey and melted butter.
With washed and clean hands, work and knead the dough. (Wow! Look how nice these photos turned out! What a treat to have hubby around to take these - otherwise its just me prancing around with a spatula in one greasy hand and my little digital in the other...smiles)
No doubt about it - brioche dough is a soft gooey dough and I had to fight the urge to empty another cup of flour into this goopy mess (not to mention ignore the palpitations)
Be rest assured, this goop is what we want. The more flour you add to this soft dough, tougher the bread you will end up with.
Cover with a moist cheesecloth (or a cotton cloth) and set aside to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.The dough should now look swollen like the image on the right.
At this point transfer into a container with a lid, not air tight, and transfer to the refrigerator. Once the dough has chilled ( 1 hr minimum, 2-3 hours is great, overnight is aawessome) it is ready for use.
Separate the dough into 2 balls of about 1 lb each. Set aside one for future use in the refrigerator if you are making only 4 hamburger buns. If you want 8 then use the whole lot up.
Move 1 rack to the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 deg F.
Place the chilled dough ball and liberally sprinkle flour all over the dough ball. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and non-stick baking spray.
Using fingers divide into 4 equal dough balls. I use a kitchen weighing scale to make sure they are 4 oz each.
Use your palms and form4 disc shaped dough patties.
Set aside on the prepared baking tray. Make sure that the dough patties are not touching each other or are too close together. Allow the patties to rise in a warm kitchen corner for at least 1 hour. The dough will swell.
Using a fork whip up 1 egg with 1 tbs cold water, using a fork. With a pastry brush thoroughly apply the egg wash onto the dough patties.
Sprinkle each of the buns with 1/4 tsp poppy seeds.
Bake for 25-30 minutes until the buns look golden brown. Allow them to cool completely on a baking rack.
I used the brioche burger buns for Oyster Po' Boys for dinner - these coming up next! They were delicious and the buns had sooo much to do with that.
It had to do with the crunch and the taste of the bread - it was not one of candidates that went all limp and soggy on you when you put a nice layer of mayo and the meat juices ooze out. It actually held its own and the flavors were wonderful - not yeasty, not sweet, just right.
I really hope you make these. You will love it and your family & guests will ooh...and aah...
Recipe for
MAGNIFICENT BRIOCHE BURGER BUNS
Serves 4 -8
Preparation time - 20 minutes
Dough rise time - 3 hours
Baking time- 30 minutes
Shopping list
4 cups all purpose flour
3/4 warm water (110 deg F)
1 packet dry active yeast
1-1/2 tbs white sugar
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs
1 1/2 sticks or 6 oz butter, melted
For the wash:
1 egg
1 tbs cold water
2-4 tsp poppy seeds
Preparation -
Yeast - In the warm water, add the white sugar and dissolve. Pour the contents of the dry active yeast and stir. Set aside for 10 minutes, till frothy.
Dough - In a large mixing bowl or container with a lid, gather the flour. Add the warm yeast water, honey, salt, eggs and melted butter. With washed and clean hands work and knead the dough well (the brioche dough is a soft gooey dough)
Cover with a moist cheesecloth and set aside to rise in a warm place for 2 hours.The dough should now look swollen.
Transfer to the refrigerator. Once the dough has chilled (at least 1 hr) it is ready for use. Separate the dough into 2 balls. Return one to the refrigerator for later use if making only 4 buns. If baking 8 buns, use all of the dough.
Baking method -
Preheat oven to 400 deg F
Place the chilled dough ball and liberally sprinkle flour all over the dough ball. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and non-stick baking spray.
Using fingers divide into 4 equal dough balls. I use a kitchen weighing scale to make sure they are 4 oz each.
Use your palms and form4 disc shaped dough patties.
Set aside on the prepared baking tray. Make sure that the dough patties are not touching each other or are too close together. Allow the patties to rise in a warm kitchen corner for at least 1 hour. The dough will swell.
Using a fork whip up 1 egg with 1 tbs cold water, using a fork. With a pastry brush thoroughly apply the egg wash onto the dough patties.
Sprinkle each of the buns with 1/4 tsp poppy seeds. Bake for 25-30 minutes until the buns look golden brown. Allow them to cool completely on a baking rack.
Enjoy!
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