Buns! But Suzanne, they sell those at the store in handy packages. I was almost into your bread thing and now you have to go and be perfectly ridiculous. Okay, which one of you said that? Homemade buns are SO GOOD. Plus, like if you’re snowed in? You can’t go to the store and get buns so you need to know how to make them. You might have a cheeseburger emergency. It could happen! Even if you never get snowed in, they are still better than store-bought buns. And don’t we want to be better? Of course we do! And besides, if you are already baking homemade bread, you already know how to make buns because it’s that easy.

And if you aren’t already baking homemade bread, stick around. I’ll talk you into it eventually.

Homemade buns come with endless possibilities. Want onion buns? Stick some onion in the dough. Want herb buns? Toss some herbs in. Cheese buns, garlic buns, “garden buns with minced carrots and parsley, sun-dried tomato buns, hot pepper buns–you can do anything because this is a Grandmother Bread recipe. Generally (other than for oil and egg), I use one cup for add-ins to the dough. (Always include your add-ins with the water-yeast (or milk-yeast) mixture, before adding flour.) To replicate the texture of store-bought sandwich buns, this is one of those recipes where I add egg, oil, and milk. When using egg and oil particularly, you’ll need more flour than in the original recipe as you are adding to the liquid.

Read more about Grandmother Bread here. See Grandmother Bread with Egg and Oil (and Milk), too.

If you want to make whole wheat buns, use homemade dough enhancer. You can also make sourdough buns.

How to make Homemade Hamburger & Hot Dog Buns:

Start with the one-loaf standard Grandmother Bread recipe, with extra flour. (Add-ins: egg, oil.)

1 1/2 cups warm milk* or water
1 teaspoon yeast
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 egg*
1/3 cup oil*
4 cups flour

*Any time you add egg or oil to Grandmother Bread, calculate the add-ins in the quantities listed here. Per one-loaf standard recipe, add 1/3 cup oil and 1 egg, with about 1/2 cup more flour. Per two-loaf standard recipe, add 2/3 cup oil and 2 eggs, with about 1 cup more flour. When using milk, replace the water in the recipe with an equal amount of milk.

In a large bowl, combine milk or water, yeast, salt, sugar, egg, and oil. Let sit five minutes. Stir in the first cup and a half of flour with a heavy spoon. Add the next cup of flour a little at a time as needed, stirring until dough becomes too stiff to continue stirring easily. Add a little more flour and begin kneading. The amount of flour is approximate–your mileage may vary! Continue adding flour and kneading until the dough is smooth and elastic. Let dough rise in a greased, covered bowl until doubled. (Usually, about an hour.) Uncover bowl; sprinkle in a little more flour and knead again.

Shape into hamburger or hot dog buns (or even sub rolls!). Brush egg white over the tops if you want to add sesame seeds, minced garlic, or sauteed minced onions. Let rise again about 30 minutes.

Bake at 350-degrees, approximately 20-25 minutes. (Baking time depends on size of buns.) If I add cheese to the top of the buns, I pull the buns out after about 10 minutes and top with shredded cheese then put them back in the oven.

You can, of course, also make buns without adding egg, oil, or milk, using the traditional Grandmother Bread recipe (and standard flour measure). The texture is more rustic and I love buns this way, too. However, if you have little kids who might whine expecting more of the store-bought texture to their hamburger and hot dog buns, or just if you prefer that texture, egg, oil, and milk is what will do it.

Here, have a hamburger on a bun made with traditional Grandmother Bread.

Or would you like a shredded pork and swiss on a sesame seed bun?

Or maybe a hot dog? (Homemade buns elevate the simple hot dog to gourmet!)

Makes anywhere from six to ten buns, depending on size of buns. (Double the recipe if you need more!)

See this recipe at Farm Bell Recipes and save it to your recipe box.

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