The closest grocery store to my apartment is a Whole Foods and while I love their produce and organic offerings I really hate their pre-packaged hamburger buns. They aren’t really a texture that I enjoy and they taste…well…odd. Yes, I do realize that I sound like a picky 6-year-old. There is a silver lining to this predicament though as my dislike of the aforementioned product resulted in my initial foray into baking homemade hamburger rolls.
I’ve been slowly addressing my bread baking aversion over the last few months and trying to work through the I-hate-to-get-covered-in-flour anxiety. I think the experiment is going well so far. Of course it helps that the KitchenAid dough hook does most of the hard labor for me, but every little bit helps and honestly I think it’s easier to bake a scrumptious freshly made hamburger roll than to navigate the treacherous Fresh Pond Mall parking lot. Fear of messy flour or no fear at least I wont get run over by an enraged housewife in a very large hybrid SUV.
I enjoyed Rachel Rappaport’s original recipe for hamburger rolls so much that I eagerly bookmarked her latest roll incarnation to try at a later date. These Onion Studded Hamburger Rolls were wonderful and had a light onion flavor that was just excellent when paired with my favorite Barbecue Pork Burgers recipe. For a laugh make sure to click on that link to see a three-year-old post from way back in the beginning of Erin Cooks. In the pork burger recipe I no longer use red onion. I like to saute a small white onion in butter until it’s soft and translucent and then stir that into the pork mixture. I didn’t really enjoy having crunchy raw onions inside my burger. I also like to top the burgers with a bit of sharp cheddar and I always skip adding extra onions.
Note: In celebration of Coconut & Lime’s Five Year anniversary Rachel is holding a contest. You may either create an original recipe using the ingredients coconut and lime or make one of her recipes and post the results to your blog. For the complete rules and information about the prizes being offered please click here. I’ve entered this post and I hope you’ll consider finding a recipe of your own to try.
Onion Studded Hamburger Rolls
Adapted from the original recipe by Rachel Rappaport which can be found online at Coconut & Lime.
Yield: Six rolls big enough to each accommodate a large hamburger. The recipe can easily be doubled.
2 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1 tablespoon butter
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 oz active dry yeast
For the onions:
1/3 cup finely diced onions
1 teaspoon butter
For the egg wash:
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon water
To sprinkle: sesame, caraway or poppy seeds (optional)
Stir together the milk, water, butter, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil then remove from heat and allow the mixture to cool to lukewarm. Meanwhile, saute the onions in the butter until soft and translucent — do not brown. Allow to cool.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and yeast. Pour in the milk mixture and stir until the dough starts to come together, adding more water if the mixture looks dry or more flour if the mixture looks wet. Add the onions. If you have a stand mixer, use the dough hook to mix for about 8 minutes. If not, knead the dough on a floured surface for about 10 minutes. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover with a towel and wait until it has doubled in size, about 1 hour. Punch down the dough and divide into 6* even portions. Make tight balls out of the dough by pulling the dough towards the bottom and gently stretching until a ball with a smooth top forms. Place seam-side down on a baking stone or metal baking sheet. I actually just used my silpat and baking sheet. Allow the rolls to sit for a minute. Flatten each dough ball with your hand or the back of a large spatula until it is about 3 to 4 inches wide.
Cover the rolls with the towel again and set aside until they have just about doubled in size, about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400º. Whisk together the water and yolk to make the egg wash. Brush onto the tops of the rolls. Sprinkle with seeds if using. Bake for about 15 minutes or until golden brown on both the top and the bottom and when tapped, they sound hollow. Allow to cool, then slice.
*If you want extra large rolls, divide into fourths.