Hamburger Buns

Tonight we are barbecuing hamburgers and veggie burgers for supper, so naturally I decided to try making my own burger buns. Surprisingly,  I have never tried this before, we usually just use store bought buns, but I wanted to try my hand at making some. There are actually many recipes for this, and you can adapt regular dinner roll recipes and simply shape them differently (this works for hotdog buns too). I decided to try a simple recipe for my first time. They turned out ok, but didn't rise all that well while baking, despite rising nicely beforehand. I also may have baked them a bit too long, so they are more crisp rather than soft and chewy, but still tasty. Because they did not rise well, they were cut thin, and a bit tricky to slice in half. Next time I will choose a less humid and rainy day to try them, but they certainly went well with the hamburgers and veggie burgers barbecued tonight, which I will feature in tomorrow's post.

Hamburger Buns
1 1/2 cups warm water
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 package (8 grams) active dry yeast
1 large egg
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

In a large bowl, stir the sugar into the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over top and let stand undisturbed for ten minutes until bubbly. Stir to dissolve yeast. Add eggs, oil, and salt. Work in enough flour until dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Turn onto floured surface and knead for 8 to 10 minutes until dough is smooth and elastic.  Shape dough into balls the size of tennis balls. Flatten slightly and place two inches apart on a baking sheet. Allow to rise for about an hour, or until doubled in bulk. Bake at 375◦F for about 20 minutes.