Brioche | Homemade Hamburger Buns
Have you always wanted to make your own $18 restaurant-style burger at home? Well, the key to this is not only making a juicy, grilled- good quality meat burger, that's medium-well, but it's having the most beautiful Brioche bun to serve it on! Do those pale, blah, under-sized buns at the market really suffice?
Just like most baked goods, recipes that take time and labor of love, are the ones that are most rewarding in the end. In all honesty, these are actually super easy to make and not scary at all! It just takes a bit of patience.
If you're planning to make burgers for lunch, just be sure to get up a bit early to mix your dough and you'll have fresh buns, right on time!
Avoid fretting when you make the dough. It's a bit sticky and messy, but just trust the process. I tried my darndest to make sure I got your back, every step of the way.
These also make the best buns for sliders (approx. 16 small buns), or super large buns for BBQ pulled pork sandwiches, crispy chicken sammies, crab cake sammies and much more!
Kneading and rolling the dough is really relaxing for me. Bread baking is usually a weekend activity at home and I usually put broadway music on blast and have, what I like to call, Showtune Sunday. I hope you enjoy making them! You got this!
Be sure to tag me and share your photos on social media, if you make these beautiful buns! #greggysbuns #greggysbrioche #greggysdigest
Buns, Bootypops and Besos x 1,000...
Greggy
Brioche
by Greggy Soriano
Yield: 8 large buns and 16 small buns
1 cup warm water (108-110F)
4 tbsp. warm milk (110F)
2 tsp yeast
4 tbsp sugar
2 1/2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
1 tsp. Pink Himalyan Sea salt
1 Tbsp. baking powder
5 tbsp unsalted butter, softened
2 large eggs
1 egg plus 1 tbsp. whole milk or evaporated milk, beaten for egg wash
sesame seeds, toasted (I like to use Japanese Toasted Black Sesame) and/or other ingredients like: caramelized onion, poppy seeds etc.
Directions:
In a small bowl, mix the warm water, warm milk, yeast and sugar in a bowl, making sure the yeast is dissolved in the water. Set aside and allow the yeast to bloom after 8-10 minutes. The yeast mixture should be bubbly and slightly risen.
In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, add flour, baking powder and 1 tsp salt into a large mixing bowl. Lightly mix the dry ingredients for a couple of seconds. Grab room temperature butter with your fingers and add it to the mixture in small clusters.
Add the eggs to the yeast mixture and mix with a fork to beat up the egg. Mix it into the flour mixture.
The dough should be very wet and sticky. Keep kneading with a paddle attachment. Avoid using a dough hook, because this is a wet dough. Knead for 5 minutes in mixer.
Place sticky dough onto a generously floured surface, knead for another 5 minutes and roll into a big ball.
Place ball of dough in a greased bowl, covered with a tea wet tea towel and set aside to rise for 1-2 hours, depending on how warm and humid the weather is. I like to put it out into the garage in the Summer time. If it’s winter and super cold, I create a makeshift proofbox in my oven by covering the bottom vents with foil with sheet pans on top, then placing a sauce pan of boiled water on the bottom rack (or on top of the sheet pans) with the bowl of dough on the top rack and closing the oven. Once the water has cooled after an hour, I place another batch of boiling water in the makeshift proof box.
After the dough has risen doubled in size, punch it down and divide into desired count. You could do 8 large or 18 small.
Roll into tight round balls by placing a piece of dough on a non-floured surface, then adding a generous sprinkling on top of the dough. You do this so that the dough clings to the table. Start by cupping your hands, like a claw on top of the dough and move in a circular motion, until it form a perfect ball. The ball should come together and be smooth and bouncy. Use a bench scraper to scrape the bottom and lift the dough to transfer. Transfer onto a parchment-lined sheet pan.
Cover the sheet pans with a tea towel and spritz the towel with water. Set in a warm and humid area and allow the dough balls to rise for another hour or two.
Preheat the oven to 350F and Brush the buns with egg wash. This is the point where you can sprinkle with sesame seeds, spices, caramelized onion etc.
Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops are golden brown. It bakes best when you switch the pans in the oven at the 13-minute mark. Cool on a wire rack and enjoy! Store unused Brioche in a large zipper bag and in a bread box to keep soft and fresh.
