get the perfect buns

I bet you are expecting to hear about some amazing new exercise I found to craft my flat, lifeless butt (thanks, Mama’s DNA) into a Kim Kardashian badonkadonk. I bet you are wondering what miracle I found that a women’s magazine has not already tried to tout.

You are wrong.

Oddly enough, this post is not about exercise and your butt. It is actually about baking buns. This may be the antithesis to having a trim and firm buttocks, but I do not care. I like carbohydrates.

I have been working on tweaking these babies for a couple weeks now and I’m now satisfied with them. They are light and airy like a brioche yet firm and hearty like any good sandwich or burger bun should be. I ate my Black Olive & Goat Cheese Turkey Burgers on these buns and man oh man was it delicious.

Now the perfect buns require yeast. But don’t be afraid! If you are afraid of using yeast, I will have a yeast tutorial next week. Yeast is far easier than most people think and I have the utmost confidence in your bun-making skills.

Please make these. You need my buns.

The Perfect Buns (makes 8 )
1 cup warm water
3 T milk
1 1/2 T sugar
2 1/4 tsp (1 envelope) yeast
1 egg, beaten
2 1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 cup wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 T butter, melted
In a mixing bowl, combine warm water, milk, sugar and yeast. Set aside and allow yeast to activate and get foamy, about 5 minutes. Beat an egg and set aside. In another mixing bowl, combine flours, salt, and butter. Add the flour mixture to the yeast mixture and then add the beaten egg to that. Using a dough hook or mixing by hand, combine everything together to form a sticky, tacky dough. It will be messy, but worth it! When the dough has formed a ball, set in bowl, cover, and allow to rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 1 – 1 1/2 hours. When the dough has rise, punch down and remove from bowl, placing on a floured surface. The dough will be sticky. Knead the dough lightly and divide it into 8 equal parts. Roll the parts into balls (flour your hands to facilitate the process!) and set aside to rise another 15 minutes. Bake at 400* for 15 minutes or until lightly brown and fluffy. *Note: these are divine with purely all purpose flour (3 1/3 cup) but I tried out wheat for a little added health and fiber.*