May Sourdough Surprises - Hamburger Buns

This month's Sourdough Surprises was a fun one. Being the start of the summer season, we decided to make hamburger buns. Or hot dog buns, but I went with hamburger buns.

Now... I know... buns... enriched rolls... how is that "fun"?

Well, first of all, making them is actually pretty simple.

Combine all of the ingredients...

...and knead it all together until it becomes a nice, smooth dough.

(it takes a while, but be patient - it's worth it!)

Let it rest, shape as desired, and rest again.

Seriously, that easy. I extended the rest times to achieve a richer, fuller, more developed flavor. But with a strong enough starter, you'll get good buns even with a shorter rest.

Then bake!

And then comes the real fun. Filling them.  We had these several different ways.

Started with chicken patty burgers.

Then cheese steaks.

And then, of course, actual hamburgers. Stacked miles high, of course.

Oh, and I also shared some with a friend, who made turkey sandwiches on them.

Now, I wish I could say that they were a huge hit with the whole family, but daddy is still doing his no-carb thing, little miss wouldn't even try them when she heard they were sourdough, and little man will follow suit with little miss... But that's okay. I somehow managed to... ahem... finish them anyway.

An InLinkz Link-up

Sourdough Hamburger Buns
(from Amish365)

2 cups sourdough starter
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup milk, lukewarm
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
3 cups all-purpose flour (up to half of flour could be whole wheat)

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together all of the ingredients except for the flour.
Add the flour, mixing just until it comes together.
Knead until dough is smooth and satiny. Be patient - it will come together. At this point dough may be refrigerated up to 24 hours for a more flavorful bread. Bring dough back to room temperature before continuing with shaping. I just let it rest for a few hours at room temperature.
Shape buns as desired.
Cover and let rise until doubled in bulk. I let mine rise for about an hour and a half or so.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bake buns for 15 to 18 minutes (mine were a little bigger, but were still done in 19 minutes).  Cool on wire rack.

Enjoy!