First thing you should know, cheeseburgers are my favorite food. (No gourmet this gal!) But in all honesty, I have never been able to produce a homemade hamburger as good as say Red Robin’s Guacamole Burger. And for the life of me, I don’t know why that is. But I never stop trying and I am always disappointed with the results. Maybe disappointed is too heavy. Maybe I just wish my burgers were as good as the rockin’ robin can make them! And maybe the real reason I can’t duplicate a restaurant burger is because someone else did the cookin’ of that burger! (Believe me, I’ve gone down that dead end road more than I care to admit.) But even making homemade hamburger buns, using top quality ground beef, and making homemade sauce for the burgers, the overall product is simply not as delectable.

So yesterday when I tried once again to make a superior burger at home, I produced a good imitation, but it still wasn’t as good as the “real” thing. However, the buns were outrageous. There isn’t a restaurant anywhere around that has anything on my buns! Just sayin’!

And even though I seasoned the meat, cut up lettuce, tomatoes, onion, and made perfectly wonderful hamburger sauce and homemade guacamole, I’m still not close to enjoying my own burgers as much as a good old fashioned, fat and sauce dripping off your elbows, much too salty burger that comes from a restaurant or burger stand.

Now I know what you’re thinking. Why keep trying? Why not just go out for a burger once in a while? Well, you’re right. That’s exactly what I should and undoubtedly will do. But darn – I hate when I can’t prepare something at home that’s as simple as a decent cheeseburger. What kind of a cook does that make me? Waaah (pity party happenin’ here folks)

So being the stubborn critter I know myself to be, I will probably just keep trying until either I find perfection or I lose every one of the few remaining wits I still have at my disposal! But now with this recipe, I at least have a really good and simple recipe for delicious hamburger buns. As do you now!

But dang, if you have the secret to homemade hamburger perfection, please share. I am but a “reply” away and would love to hear from you. Or you can email me at chezcarrcuisine@wavecable.com.  

As always, love and peace to all.

BTW – I cut one of the buns in half this morning, toasted each half on the bagel setting, spread them with peanut butter and marionberry jelly, and served them alongside our easy over eggs. Loved every bite. Perfect use for leftover buns.

¾ c. sourdough starter discard

¾ c. lukewarm water

1½ tsp. active dry yeast

1 T. granulated sugar

1 egg, divided

2 T. nonfat dry milk

1½ tsp. kosher salt

4 T. (½ stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

2 T. potato flour (not potato starch)

¼ c. whole wheat pastry flour or regular whole wheat flour

2½ c. unbleached all-purpose flour

1 tsp. water

sesame seeds or Everything Seasoning (recipe below), opt.

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine the sourdough starter, water, active dry yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes.

Using your dough hook, mix in the white of the egg (reserve the yolk for brushing the buns before they go in the oven), dry milk, salt, butter, potato flour, whole wheat pastry flour, and just 2 cups of unbleached all-purpose flour.  Mix all the ingredients together for 2 to 3 minutes to make a sticky, cohesive dough. Then knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5-6 more minutes. Add the rest of the flour or additional flour as needed. The dough should not feel sticky, but there might be a bit that sticks to the bottom of your mixer.

Cover the dough with plastic wrap and let rest in a warm place for about 90 minutes or until about doubled in bulk.  

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and form into a round ball. Using a dough scraper or large bladed knife, cut the ball in half, then each half into 4 equal sized pieces. Let dough triangles rest for 10 minutes. Shape each piece into a tight ball and place them on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, or into the lightly greased wells of a hamburger bun pan. (If you use a silicone hamburger bun mold like I do, (see picture) no greasing required.)  

Press the balls gently to flatten them slightly. If you are using a bun pan, the dough should come close to filling the wells of the bun pan.

Loosely cover the buns with a clean tea towel, and let them rise until puffy, about 90 minutes in a warm place.

Twenty minutes before you’re ready to bake, preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Whisk the egg yolk and water together.

Uncover the buns and gently brush them with the egg yolk mixture. (Brush lightly because you don’t want to deflate the dough.) Sprinkle with sesame seeds, Everything Seasoning, or topping of choice.

Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, or until golden brown and a digital thermometer inserted into the side of one bun reads at least 190 degrees.

Remove from oven and allow to cool on a wire rack before serving. Buns can be stored at room temperature for several days in an airtight container. Freeze for longer storage.

“EVERYTHING” SEASONING

2 T. poppy seeds

2 T. sesame seeds

1 T. dried finely minced onion (I semi-crush the dehydrated onion in my mortar and pestle before adding it to the other ingredients)

1 tsp. granulated garlic

1 tsp. kosher salt

Mix all ingredients together and store in an air-tight container.