Beer Burger Buns with Oats and Honey

When I'm not busy (or lazy...) to go the center of Athens I always pass by my favorite TAKIS BAKERY, near the Acropolis, to get some delicious bread stuff. This guys has been around since the ‘70s and they know what good bread is! They have great selection of breads and various rolls. That's the place where I used to get my luxurious burger buns.

 

Unfortunately I live quite far away from the center , and lately I've been ending up  buying this horrible spongy version of a burger bun from the supermarket next door. But seriously, how much of a bad burger buns can one eat?

So I made my own, very handsome buns... It wasn't planned at all, like the whole burger situation the other day, which you can read about it here, but the buns came out perfect, they were little sweet, beautifully soft and wonderfully chewy.

 

You can make larger batch, and stuck them in your freezer for up to 2 months. And anytime you feel like having burger night simply defrost the buns, toast and serve! So, good bye supermarket buns!

Beer Burger Buns

(makes 10 burger size buns) 

355 ml lager or dark beer

3/4 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

1/4 cup honey

30 g butter

1 egg, plus 1 egg extra for glazing

3/4 cup whole wheat bread flour

7 g dry active yeast

1 1/2 tsp sea salt

about 2 cups white bread flour, plus more for dusting 

oats, black and white sesame seeds, or poppy seed, for sprinkling the buns

 

Method :

1. In a medium saucepan, bring the beer to simmer, be careful so it doesn't overflow. 

2. Place the oats, honey and butter in a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading attachment. Pour the hot beer over the oat mix and let it sit for about 30 min. Stir the mixture a couple of times.

3. Set your mixer on a low speed. Beat in the egg, whole wheat flour, yeast and salt. Add white flour, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing until smooth after each addition. Switch off the mixer, cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and let the dough sit for about 20 min. It will absorb some moisture and it will be more elastic and easier to knead.

4. Uncover the bowl and kneed the dough on medium low speed for about 12 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly oiled large bowl, turning it few times to coat with oil. Cover the bowl and place in a warm place until the dough doubled in size, that will take about 2 hours, depending on how warm is your kitchen. During the winter time I put the bowl next to a hot radiator.

5. Tip the risen dough out of the bowl into a lightly floured work space and kneed gently to deflate the air.
6. Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Shape each piece into a ball by tucking the edges of a dough under itself. Place the dough ball seam side down on a un-floured surface and roll it to seal the seam, then place on the baking sheet lined with a baking paper. Repeat with the remaining dough, placing the balls 5-8 cm apart. They will expand quite a bit. Cover the dough balls and let them rise for about 1-2 hours in a warm place.
7. Meanwhile preheat your oven to 200C. Beat the remaining egg with 1 tbsp of water.
8. When the buns had risen, brush the top of each one with an egg wash and sprinkle with oats, sesame seeds or poppy seed. Bake for 20 minutes, rotating the sheet halfway through.

 

 

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