Having troubles with my hamburger buns

[Busagi]

Hi, well, as it's said in the title I'm having troubles with my hamburger buns. I've tried a lot of recipes like these ones: Possibly the Best Burger Buns Ever « Parsley, Sage, Desserts and Line Drives and light brioche burger buns | smitten kitchen and Le Pétrin: Un Hamburger Parfait Commence avec Un Bun Parfait. In fact, I have the same troubles with each one: a too crusty outside that is not golden brown at all and the inside is too dense. Maybe I add too much flour (I always use much more than the recipe cause the dough is always too sticky, maybe it's because I don't knead the dough enough or it's because of humidity (I live in Guadeloupe)). Is there anyone who could help me
(PS, sorry for the spelling mistakes, I'm French.)

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Good morning from North Wales, if you go to the thread Julia's White Bread there is some good info, clic on the link to Paul Hollywood and watch the vid of his white bread you will see your prob.When you knead your dough use oil instead of flour, the flour will make your dough heavy.
When you take your buns out of the oven wrap them in a tea towel right away.

 

[Busagi]

Thx for your answer. I've seen in the comments of a hot-dog bun recipe (similar to the hamburger buns recipes) someone who was in the same case as me, the author answered him that he propably let the bun rise too much, so do you think the author was right?

 

[Josie1945]

Hi Busagl,
Welcome to DC.

Josie

 

[Busagi]

Thank you Josie

 

[dcSaute]

several things come to mind with the 'too dense' and the 'hard crust'

even tho the recipes are for hamburger buns, not every hamburger bun is the same. for example, I like to make a pretzel style hamburger bun - it's a nice change - and I could easily say "it's the best hamburger bun ever" but a lot of folks won't agree with that.

flour - use an all purpose type - not a high gluten/high protein flour or 'bread flour'

breads with lots of egg and lots of fats don't tend to the 'light side' - they are usually more 'rich' and moist. if you are adding more and more flour to make up for a sticky dough, it can change the recipe outcome.

using too much flour can make things dense - but it also makes the bread go to the dry side. you can judge whether the buns were soft or too dry - tricky to see from here....

kneading is important to the crumb structure. longer kneading times makes for smaller more even size holes.

over-proofing and under-proofing can lead to the same thing: dense bread. under- because the yeast has not had time to make it rise; over- because the CO2 holes made by the yeast collapse. there is a 'finger poke test' for proofing - the link to a video I have is broken - perhaps you can find one with google.

the thickness of the crust is most often a function of baking time. longer baking - thicker crust. also affected by the moisture content (aka 'hydration' - ratio of water to flour) - wet sticky doughs crust over faster/thinner. are you wanting a crunchy thin crust or a soft thin crust?

you may need to play with the baking temp to get it done faster - my soft rolls / buns on a stone are done in about 8 minutes - I brush the tops with melted butter to keep them from getting hard.

hope this helps a bit - it's always a trick tweaking recipes to get the desired results!

 

[Busagi]

Thx a lot for the video and all your advises (dcSaute it was very informative). I'll try again and I'll tell how it was. dcSaute what baking temp do you use? I want a soft thin crust

 

[Busagi]

How can I get it?

 

[Painless Cooking]

All recipes are not the same; try to get recipes that have been tried by someone you know. You didn't say if you had a problem with the mixture rising; yeast does go bad if it is old. Another problem is getting too much liquid in your recipe for you to have to use so much flour so be careful and make sure you are measuring exactly. If this recipe calls for kneading, turn your dough out onto a floured work space. Knead it until you feel a snap feeling. For most recipes you will let it rise at this point until it doubles in size. Shape into small rolls and place in greased sheet pan and let rise again before baking.

The following is simple recipe that is very easy to make; I use often

1 ½ Cups buttermilk
¼ Cup solid shortening
¼ Cup sugar
1 Teaspoon salt
3 Cups flour
½ Teaspoon baking soda
1 Package dry yeast
Slowly heat the buttermilk, shortening, sugar and salt only to warm to touch; stir to help short-ening soften.
Stir in the yeast.
Sift together flour and baking soda; stir into warm mixture until a soft ball forms.
Cover bowl with towels and set in a warm place to rise until mixture doubles.
Punch dough down, using a little flour to keep from sticking shape into 8 hamburger buns.
Can make in smaller rolls for dinner rolls.

 

[joesfolk]

Once you get a feel for dough you won't have any problem knowing when you have a really good dough before baking it. But it does take practice to get to that point. It just has a particular feel about it that I really can't explain but as for the hard crust thing, either buttering the rolls while they are still warm or letting them cool in a plastic bag will ensure a soft crust. Also, brushing the tops with an egg yolk wash before baking will ensure a beautiful golden crust.

 

[Busagi]

Thank you for all your advises, i've tried the recipe another time and it was a success compared to what I used to get before.

I added more water in my dough (even if it was sitcky), I let it raise just enough, I baked it at an higher temperature and I brushed the top of my buns with egg yolk for golden crust. As you can see not perfect but a success

 

[taxlady]

That's a nice looking bun Busagi. I'm glad you are having good results.

 

[FrankZ]

That bun looks good enough to throw a fresh ground grilled cooked chuck burger on.

 

[Claire]

My choice in burger buns is based on carb counts. Bread is always the killer for me when preparing a meal. Most carbs are easy: A half-cup or cup of most starches (rice, pasta, potatoes) come close enough for my purposes (I'm talking cooking for a husband who has needs). But bread just gets me every time. It amazes me that a slice of this bread can be 70+ grams and another slice of another loaf can be 15. And they don't look that much different!

 

[Bolas De Fraile]

Well done, for me bread making is a 40 yr addiction. Recipes are only a part of the art. Practice, understanding the ingredient, your oven and the conditions you work in IMO are paramount.
Bread making and patisserie are alchemy not cooking.

 

[Addie]

Once you get a feel for dough you won't have any problem knowing when you have a really good dough before baking it. But it does take practice to get to that point. It just has a particular feel about it that I really can't explain but as for the hard crust thing, either buttering the rolls while they are still warm or letting them cool in a plastic bag will ensure a soft crust. Also, brushing the tops with an egg yolk wash before baking will ensure a beautiful golden crust.

I have the same problem explaining bread dough. It is a thing of a feel in the dough. The dough will be smooth and not stick to your hands. After you make the dough a few times, and you get it right, you remember that feel and will always look for it. You will be amazed at how wrong your first attempts were.