Homemade Hamburger Buns

Homemade hamburger buns? That’s right. You will never go back to those pre-wrapped buns in a bag. These are great – and cheap!

This recipe makes 6 buns, but you can easily double it to make 12 if needed.

1/2 cup milk                                                  $0.08

1/4 cup water                                               $Free(ish)

2 tablespoons unsalted butter              $0.08

2 1/4 cups bread flour*                           $0.68

1 package instant yeast                            $0.33

1/2 tablespoon honey                              $0.15

3/4 teaspoon salt                                       $Free(ish)

1 egg                                                                 $0.12

Total Cost for 6 buns:  $1.44

(but, knowing that you made your own hamburger buns = priceless.)

Take the egg out of the refridgerator and set aside. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a saucepan, heat the milk, water, honey, and butter until butter melts. Whisk together well and remove from heat. Wait a minute or 2, and carefully add the egg. Whisk well to combine.

In the bowl of your stand mixer (fitted with the dough hook)**, mix 1/2 of the flour and all of the yeast and salt.

Slowly add the milk mixture to the flour mixture. Stir in the rest of the flour, a little bit at a time. Beat the dough until it sticks together well and begins to form a ball.

Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces, and shape into smooth but slightly flattened balls. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. (At this stage, you can brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle the buns with anything you like – we used sea salt on our last batch.)

Let rise for 30 minutes to an hour (the buns will double in size).

Bake for 10-12 minutes.

ENJOY!

*We used 1/2 bread flour and 1/2 wheat flour. I suppose you could use all of one or the other, too. I think all-purpose flour would make a more biscuit-y bun, but use what you have.

**If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can easily make this dough in a large mixing bowl. You will need to turn the dough out onto a floured surface a knead for a few minutes before shaping into balls.