Hamburger Buns with Fresh Milled Flour
Or Hotdog, Slider and Bratwurst Buns
These hamburger and hotdog buns with fresh milled flour will be the highlight of your next cookout. They pack so much delicious whole wheat flavor compared to their store-bought counterparts. They can also be made into bratwurst and slider buns by adjusting how you divide the dough. These buns bake up perfectly, freeze easily and thaw like they were never frozen. I like to keep a supply in the freezer for easy weeknight meals like sloppy joes and grilled hamburgers. You never know when you’ll need a last minute meal or have surprise dinner guests.
How to shape the buns:
For hamburger and slider buns, hold a piece of dough in your hand, moving in a circle tuck the edges under until the top is smooth, then lightly roll on the counter. Place on the baking pan and press down with a measuring cup to flatten to 1/2 inch thick. Cover with a towel and let them rise again until puffy, 45-60 minutes.
For hotdog/bratwurst buns, lay out a piece of dough in a long rectangle, 8 inches long, fold the ends in 2 inches to center and then roll up, stretching out a bit until they are about 6 inches long, pinch seam, place seam side down on baking sheet, lightly press down. You don’t have to press them down as much as you do with hamburger and slider buns.
How many buns:
This recipe makes one of the following:
- 12 hamburger/hotdog buns
- 8 bratwurst buns
- 16 slider buns
Feel free to mix and match how many hotdog and hamburger buns you make on the same tray. Don’t mix slider and bratwurst buns with any other buns because they’ll require different baking times due to the size difference.
Decide what buns you’re going to make then weight the dough in grams and divide the total weight by the number of buns you’re making to get the grams per bun. Divide the dough roughly, then weight them individually and adjust to the correct weight for uniform baking.
Freeze for later:
I freeze these buns in packs of four. I place them in these bread bags, then inside a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature for 3-4 hours before dinner.
Hamburger Buns with Fresh Milled Flour
Ingredients
- 420 grams hard white wheat
- 120 grams milk 1/2 cup
- 150 grams water 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons
- 4 tablespoon butter
- 63 grams honey 3 tablespoons
- 9 grams sunflower lecithin 1 tablespoon
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- 10 grams instant yeast 1 tablespoon
Instructions
- In a 2 cup measuring cup add the milk, water and butter, heat for 1 minute or a little longer until the butter is just melted. Add that to the bowl of a stand mixer, set aside to cool for 5-10 minutes.
- While the butter is cooling, mill the wheat berries.
- To the stand mixer with the butter mixture, add honey, and sunflower lecithin. Give it a quick whisk. Add the flour and mix with the dough hook just until it comes together and there's no dry flour remaining.
- Cover and let rest (autolyse) for 20 minutes.
- Add the yeast and salt to the bowl. With the dough hook, knead for 10-12 minutes, until it passes the windowpane test. While the dough is kneading prepare a proofing vessel with a little olive oil. Add the kneaded dough and let rise until doubled. While it’s rising, prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.
- Once risen by double, divide the dough into equal pieces based on the buns you are making and shape into desired bun shape, instructions in blog post. Place on prepared baking sheet. Cover lightly and let rise until puffy and barely touching. Near the end of the second rise, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the internal temperature of the buns is at least 190 degrees. Remove to a wire rack to cool completely.