Hamburger Buns

Heath and I decided to go out one night, and his parents agreed to keep the boys. I told them not to worry with dinner before they came- that we would grill them a burger for dinner before we left. Then it hit me. I didn't have any buns! I had wanted to try them ever since I saw this recipe at The Sisters Dish- so I figured it was a sign that it was time to break down and give it a try. Even though I make yeast breads quite a bit, new recipes still intimidate me. I'll usually think about it for some time before I finally do it. I'm glad I was out of buns that day, because I don't know that I would have ever made them. It wasn't nearly as difficult as I had built it up in my head to be. They had a really nice, crispy outer crust, and the inside was perfectly soft. I snuck a taste before serving them to his parents, and I thought they were pretty good! They seemed to enjoy them too, so I'll probably make this again. Maybe next time with pulled pork!

~Hamburger Buns~

Ingredients:
* 1 cup lukewarm water
* 2 T unsalted butter, room temperature, creamed
* 1 egg
* 3 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/4 cup Castor sugar (very fine sugar, I didn't have any- so I put regular sugar into a pyrex bowl, and attacked it with my immersion blender stick)
* 1 t salt
* 1 T instant yeast
* 1 egg yolk (+1 T water)
* sesame seeds (optional)

Directions:

1.) Sprinkle the yeast into the water and leave for 5-10 minutes, until frothy. Stir to dissolve.

2.) Add remaining ingredients and mix well(I do this in my kitchen-aid). I let this knead in my Kitchen-Aid for ~10 minutes, until it is a soft, smooth dough. You could knead by hand on a lightly floured surface. I leave it in my mixer bowl, cover and let rise for 1 - 1 1/2 hour, until doubled in size.

3.) Divide dough into 8 pieces and shape into a flattened ball.

4.) Place the buns on a greased baking sheet, cover and let rise again for 30-40 minutes until puffy and doubled in size.

5.) Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

6.)Glaze the buns with egg yolk and water mixture, then sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

7.) Bake the buns for 12 - 15 minutes, until golden brown. Remove them from the oven and cool them on a wire rack.