Homemade Hamburger Buns

Don't you just LOVE the smell of freshly homemade bread??? mmmm I do! I remember my mom baking bread nearly every week, we would smell the bread and beg mom for a piece the moment it came out of the oven...we would be sooo impatient when she told us no. It had to cool down...
but oh nothing smells better (well maybe the combo of bread and coffee and maybe cookies mmmm I'm getting hungry just thinking about it!)than fresh bread.

Winndixie had a buy one get one sale going on on their pork boneless country style ribs. My hubby LOVES pulled pork and he had asked me if I could make it this past week. I agreed and started to get the crock pot ready the next morning. By the time I had finished and the pork ribs were bubbling away in the crock pot and smelling good...I noticed I had no hamburger buns ore bread for that matter...with three kids at home I really didn't want to pack them all in the car just to get some buns. So decided to make them myself...I've used two recipes so far and both were good but I preferred the last one with the pulled pork and the first one with regular hamburgers.
both are fairly easy and quick to make and even quicker if you own a breadmachine, just follow the recipe and add everything together in the breadmachine then select the dough cycle and voila just pick up at the next step.

hope you enjoy!

Homemade Hamburger Buns (recipe 1)


Ingredients:

• 
  
• buns
• 3/4 to 1 cup lukewarm water
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 large egg
• 3 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
• 1 tablespoon instant yeast
• *For best results (a smooth, slightly soft dough), use the smaller amount of water in summer (or in a humid environment), the greater amount in winter (or in a dry climate); and something in between the rest of the time.

topping

• 3 tablespoons melted butter

Directions:

1.  Mix and knead all of the dough ingredients — by hand, mixer, or bread machine — to make a soft, smooth dough.
2. Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it's nearly doubled in bulk.
3. Gently deflate the dough, and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3" across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.
4. Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.
5. Bake the buns in a preheated 375°F oven for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden. Remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
6. Cool the buns on a rack.

Yield: 8 large buns.

Recipe courtesy of king Arthur flour

Homemade Hamburger Buns (recipe 2)

Ingredients

• 2 cups warm milk (110 degrees F/45 degrees C)
• 1/4 cup margarine, melted
• 1/4 cup warm water
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 2 (.25 ounce) packages instant yeast
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 6 cups all-purpose flour, or as needed

Directions

1. In a large bowl, stir together the milk, margarine, warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for about 5 minutes.
2. Mix in the salt, and gradually stir in the flour until you have a soft dough. Divide into 25 pieces, and form into balls. Place on baking sheets so they are 2 to 3 inches apart. Let rise for 20 minutes.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Bake the rolls for 15 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool slightly, then split them in half horizontally to fill with your favorite burgers.