Burger buns: the lactose free recipe for magic sandwiches

It happens that I have a friend who’s a genius of breadmaking.

Genius calls unruliness.
Yes because the myth (we can not know how far the legend goes and where start the reality) tells that it has placed the preservation of the dough rising from the air current of the terrace door to the health of the feverish son who was, in spite of himself, used as a human shield in the defense of the bakery in progress.

[For social workers who read me: I was joking.]

Because when there is passion there can not be love,
and nothing is sinful if done with love. Pizza love.

In short, this friend of mine made the big mistake to delight us along one of our sunday brunches with something amazing.

Of those things that at the moment when you ignore their existence you can assert that you have lived well, but you wonder how it was possible.

Of those things that become your recurring dream, the secret fantasy of which it is impossible to free yourself. You two hand in hand and baguette in the armpit in front of the Eiffel Tower; along with New York drooling on Tiffany’s window on 5th Avenue; together while you roll on the hills in fallow. Of those you eat spaghetti with meatballs that also like Lilli and the Wanderer.
Of those that like you nobody ever.
Of those things that are called burger buns with pulled pork and cabbage salad.
Of those things that the palatal orgasm is here in just a moment.

The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it. And I do not say that but Oscar says so.

Please keep calm, one thing at a time.
Today I speak about the burger buns, these dreamy puffy buns to be tasted without anything else, perfect to enclose succulent burgers or pulled pork, Nutella and everything else.

Yes, I told you that my friend, whom we will call Andrea, gave me this recipe to plunder my everlasting insatiable thirst for these crazy burger buns.

Because in the end, those who do for themselves do for three. Plus the amazing fact is that they are quick and easy to make homemade.

As Pino d’Angiò would say:

Give me a sandwich

And it’s music for my ears.

Burger buns (lactose free) – the recipe

INGREDIENTS (serves 20 burger buns)

• 290 g of vegetal milk
• 50 g of sugar
• 8 g of bread machine yeast, or dry active
• 450 g of bread flour
• 8 g of salt
• 75 g of vegetal butter

Egg wash:

• 50 g Egg
• 50 g Milk

While you’re tasting listen: Better way, Ben Harper

PROCESS

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine milk, yeast an sugar and mix on low with a dough hook until yeast is completely dispersed in the milk.
2. Add dry ingredients in small amounts until evenly dispersed.
3. Add butter all at once and increase speed to medium. Knead until dough forms a smooth ball and pulls away from the sides of the mixer, about 20 minutes.
4. Remove dough from mixer and place in a greased container. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator.
5. Chill the dough for about one hour, or up to 24 hours. The point of this step is just to get the dough cold enough to work with. This takes about an hour, depending on your batch size, but you can leave the dough in the fridge overnight if you want to divide up the work.
   Working quickly, divide dough into 45 g portions. (This is the correct amount for our small slider buns—if you wish to make larger buns, scale the weight accordingly.)
6. Form buns giving little folds. Transfer each bun quickly to a greased pan, and repeat with remaining portions. Be sure to keep everything loosely covered during this time so dough does not begin to dry out.
7. Once all buns have been formed, spritz with nonstick spray or oil, wrap tightly (without letting the plastic wrap touch the buns), and place in a warm (about 77 °F / 25 °C) area to proof. Buns should take about 120 minutes to double in size. At this point, they are ready to glaze with an egg wash and then bake.
8. While your buns are proofing, preheat the oven and prepare your egg wash
   Preheat oven to 347 °F / 170 °C
9. Combine milk and egg and mix thoroughly. Glaze buns with egg wash.
10. Wrap the entire baking tray with aluminum foil. This essentially creates a high-humidity environment so that the buns undergo oven-spring (expand) but don’t brown. Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and continue baking until the buns are golden brown, about 10 minutes.
11. Remove from oven and allow to cool to room temperature. Once buns are cool, wrap them or place in an airtight container until needed. For best results, reserve in a ziplock-style bag for two days before using. This allows the crust to reabsorb moisture from the crumb, giving the whole bun a softer texture. If you like a crisper bun, reserve for two days as described, and then toast.

Tableware: La Fornacina Keramik Studio

Ph. Sara Cartelli
© The Eat Culture