Beautiful Burger Buns

At least, that's what King Arthur Flour calls them. I happen to agree--they're pretty damn good, actually, if a little difficult to photograph.
I was all ready with my biga to make the Italian bread in my Bread Baker's Apprentice Challenge, when I ran out of time. (Shocking.) Then, I decided making burger buns would actually be easier than taking little three boys to the grocery store--yep, it actually is. The light bulb went off over my head, and I decided to incorporate my ready-to-go biga into the buns. Any time you can add any kind of starter you're guaranteed a lighter texture, more open crumb, and tender bread. Perfect for burger buns, which I like soft and squishy.
A biga, in case you're new to bread-baking, is a simple starter for yeast bread that is usually around 50% hydration. This means that there's half as much water in relation to flour--50g water to 100g flour, for instance. It's fairly stiff, but still quite sticky. Bigas have no salt (like their cousin the pate fermentee, or "old dough") but are kneaded fairly well prior to their rest. My biga is adapted from the Bread Baker's Apprentice, and is a pretty standard one. If you'd like to have more for another project, just increase the amounts evenly, so that the percentage stays the same. You don't need to use more than 1/4 tsp or so of yeast, though--I just used a very small amount.

I also make a version of these with no starter--check out my Honey Wheat Burger Buns.

Biga:
100g all-purpose flour
50g water
1/16th tsp instant yeast
Mix all ingredients together, and knead about 5 minutes, til dough is a little elastic. Place in an oiled bowl and leave at room temperature for 2 hours. Refrigerate overnight, and remove 1 hour prior to use.

Dough:
6.25 oz (175g) warm water
50g honey
1 egg
1 1/4 tsp salt
2 3/4 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp (1 ounce) melted butter
350g all-purpose flour
50g white wheat flour
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt

Place warm water, yeast, honey, egg, and butter in mixer bowl. Break biga into small pieces, and add to mixture. Stir for a few minutes to loosen the biga. Allow to sit for 5 minutes.
Place dough hook on, if using stand mixer. Turn on low speed, and slowly add salt, and flours. Mix until a dough ball forms, and then increase to medium-low. Knead for 6-7 minutes, adding more flour by tablespoon if necessary to get a dough ball that is smooth, tacky, and clings just slightly to the bowl when the mixer is off. The dough should completely clear the bottom of the bowl when the mixer is on. Dough should pass windowpane test.
Return to oiled bowl, cover, and let rise about an hour, til doubled in size.
Deflate risen dough gently. Divide into 8 pieces (more or less depending on size desired) and shape into balls. Flatten slightly until an inch thick and about 3-4 inches across. Place on a greased sheet pan, and brush with melted butter. Cover and let rise another hour, til very puffy.
Preheat oven to 375. Bake buns (brushed with egg wash and sprinkled with sesame seeds, if desired) for 12-15 minutes, til golden. A thermometer should read about 195-200 degrees. Let cool about 30 minutes before slicing and serving.
My son declared these were "the best", and asked if I could make them every time we had burgers. This from the kid who complains about everything I put in front of him and never eats his bun--so you know they were tasty! Buttery, light, and definitely soft and squishy. My new favorite.

This post submitted to Yeast-Spotting.