Best Ever Homemade Buns

Want an artisan quality bun for your gourmet burger, sandwich, or bbq? Try this easy fail-proof recipe out:

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm milk (use whole milk if you have it!)
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg
1/3 cup oil (canola works fine)
4 cups flour (bread flour is preferred, the higher gluten content of bread flour means it will be more like store-bought bread.)

Directions:

1. In a large mixing bowl, combine milk, yeast, salt, sugar, egg, and oil. Let sit five minutes.
2. Add one cup of flour at a time until dough becomes more ball like but still sticky.
3. Add a little more flour and begin kneading.
4. Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic.
5. Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled, about an hour.
6. Shape into hamburger or hot dog buns. The dough should make about 8-10 buns, but it's up to you how big you want them. Brush egg white over the tops if you want to add sesame seeds, minced garlic, or sauteed minced onions.
7. Let rise again about 30 minutes.
8. Bake for 20 minutes at 350 degrees.
9. Let cool completely then cut in half.

These buns are WOW! Great texture, just like the store, but with the freshness you can only get with homemade bread. You can also freeze these. I'd cut them in half before you freeze them to make for easier enjoyment. Simply pull them out of the freezer a few hours before you want to eat them and they'll be nice and fresh tasting.

P.S. the picture above has my North Carolina style smoked pork. I'll do a post on that soon!