Soft and Chewy Hamburger Buns

Posted on | May 20, 2013 | No Comments

A couple weekends ago, we hosted a Mother’s Day / early birthday celebration at our place. Between the rain, hail, sunshine, and incessant wind, our options for hamburger buns were limited so I decided to try making some from scratch.

It was a great idea (if I do say so myself… and I do). There was something really therapeutic that came from kneading the dough by hand and watching it rise, first in the bowl and then as individual rolls.

They were soft, chewy, and the perfect vehicle for our hamburger patties. After doing some searching, I followed this recipe for Light Brioche Burger Buns from Smitten Kitchen, making a few substitutions to suit the type of flour that I had at home.

3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour (I used 3 cups AP flour + 2 tsp vital wheat gluten)
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (I used 1/3 cup spelt flour)
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

Unlike in the original recipe, I never found my dough to be too tacky, likely because I used spelt flour (it was all I had at home!). I made 5 large buns, and 6 mini slider buns. All were delicious, especially with that egg wash.

The regular sized hamburger buns went into the oven for 15 minutes, the smaller ones for about 12. We grilled up some chicken and beef patties with caramelized onions, tomatoes, baby spinach, and chutney.

Easy. Done. I may never buy store-bought hamburger buns again. Next? To conquer the art of sourdough hamburger buns…

Asian-Style Baked Meatballs

Posted on | May 6, 2013 | 1 Comment

There are two sets of opinions on meatballs at home.

I think they’re fabulous. Always have. As a child, spaghetti and meatballs was my favourite dinner. Screw the pasta, screw the pasta sauce. The meatballs were all I cared about. What?

He thinks they’re boring. For some reason, he claims that he doesn’t care for meatballs, yet lists hamburgers as one of his favourite meals.

To me, meatballs are miniature burger patties in disguise.

Oh yes, hamburger purists, I DARE.

Armed with this secret knowledge, I knew it was only a matter of time before I enlightened my partner and showed him the ways of meatball deliciousness. One night when he was out for his run, I married some asian flavours with some lean ground beef and had dinner ready in less than an hour. I almost had time to pat myself on the back, but he came home too early and would have seen me do it.

When the words, “you should make this every week!” crossed his lips, I knew that I had won.

Never mind the fact that I would have to be the enabler of this meal next time.

It’s all about picking your battles.

Asian-style Meatballs

Ingredients

1 lb lean ground beef
1 egg (or 2 egg whites)
1T Oyster sauce
1t Fish sauce
2t soy sauce
1/2 cup “binder” (I’ve used a mix of bread crumbs/oat bran and I’ve also used all oats as well – both work well!)
1/4 c spring onion (whites and dark green tips), minced
salt, pepper to taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
In a medium size bowl, mix all ingredients together until fully combined.
Form meatballs. Mine were just a bit bigger than golf balls and bake for 25 minutes.

While the meatballs were baking, I also chopped up a wide variety of vegetables (carrots, bok choy, broccoli, sweet peppers) and sauteed them for a few minutes until they were soft. Sometimes I lower the heat and cover for a few extra minutes to ensure they cook evenly. Just before serving, I mixed some Oyster sauce with a bit of cornstarch dissolved in water to make a sauce. I also served these with a side dish of sauteed snow peas and enoki mushrooms.