No Knead Cheese Burger Buns

BM# 51 -- Baking Marathon: Day 8

Bake of the Day: Breads -- No Knead Cheese Burger Buns

Today I have the recipe for some delicious burger buns that requires minimal hands-on time thanks to the no-knead method of preparing them. They are soft but sturdy enough to hold a veggie burger and all of its accouterments.

The ingredients are beaten in a mixing bowl for just 2 minutes and after that it is very very easy to make these soft, cheese-scented buns that are perfect for any kind of burger.

I made couple of changes to the recipe: I added some wholewheat flour and then used a soy milk no-egg wash instead of the traditional egg-water wash. Soy milk gives the same nice golden brown crust as egg wash would. Do try these easy to make burger buns - they taste so much better than the store bought ones.

Ingredients: Makes 6~8 buns

All purpose flour - 1½cups
Whole wheat flour - 1¼cups (or use 2¾cups of all purpose flour)
Vermont Cheese Powder - ⅓cup (alternates: freeze some of your favorite cheese and grind it into a powder. Or omit it completely and add a little bit more flour)

Instant Yeast - 2½tsp
Sugar - 1tbsp
Salt - ¾tsp
Onion powder - 1tsp (optional, but tasty)
Softened Butter - 4tbsp
Egg - 1 large (I used 1tbsp egg replacer whisked with 3tbsp water)
Lukewarm water* - ⅔~¾ cup

Topping:
For egg wash - 1 egg beaten with 1tbsp water.
OR Vegan Egg wash - 2tbsp soy milk
Sesame & Poppy seeds - as needed

*Use greater amount of liquid in winter or in drier climates and lesser amount in summer or in humid environment.

Method:

• Combine all the ingredients and beat at speed, using an electric mixer (hand mixer with dough hook should work), for 2 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and let it rise for 60~90 minutes, until noticeably puffy.
• Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 6 ~8 pieces. Round each piece into a ball and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet. Gently flatten the buns a little.
• Cover the buns and let them rise for 60~90 minutes, until noticeably puffy. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
• Brush each bun with the egg wash (or soy milk) and sprinkle with seeds. Bake the buns for about 20 minutes or until they're a light golden brown and the interior temperature is 200°F, measured with a digital thermometer.
• Remove the buns from the oven and transfer them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Check out the Blogging Marathon page for the other Blogging Marathoners doing BM# 51.

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