$0.09 each 66% savings save $13.44 yearly
Oh, these buns...
Before I go any further, I need to let you in on a little secret about these soft, pillow-y, orbs of happy-belly goodness. Laugh all you want... it's late, and my brain is fuzzy... must be a wrackspurt around... (That'll make no sense unless you're into Harry Potter.)
Ready? Here's the secret:
These buns are far too easy to make. Seriously...
Easy-peasy.
A no-brainer.
A piece of cake.
A walk in the park.
A cinch.
Trust me when I say, "You can do this!!"
Not only do they come together with almost no thought, they taste incredible: slightly chewy on the outside, and melt-in-your-mouth soft on the inside. The first time I made them, I was sold. I'll never need another hamburger bun recipe as long as I live.
My husband and I like our hamburger buns toasted with sesame seeds on top. Our children, however, do not... they like the plain-jane variety. So, instead of buying two different packages of buns, I can easily customize this recipe to meet the different tastes of my family. Toppings are obviously not limited to sesame seeds. You can get creative with cheese, dried onions, garlic, etc.
These buns pair perfectly with burgers, sloppy joes, pulled pork or chicken. They are also great eaten plain (just ask my mischievous bun-sneaking children.)
Using whole wheat flour gives these buns an added nutritional boost, and they still remain soft and amazingly delicious. They cost a fraction of the store-bought equivalent, and don't have any added preservatives, or un-pronouncable ingredients.
You're gonna love 'em!
Printable Version
(Note: Recipe adapted from All Recipes (Sally). As with most of my "bread-type" recipes, I incorporate whole wheat flour that I grind at home. These buns are great with all-purpose, half-and-half, or all whole wheat. The ones in the photos above are half all-purpose and half whole white wheat flour.)
*Makes one dozen
INGREDIENTS
1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup butter
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (or just over 4 cups whole wheat flour)
2 1/2 tsp. yeast
2 Tbsp. sugar
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 beaten egg
DIRECTIONS
Warm the milk, water, and butter in the microwave to the temp. of a warm bath (NOT hot). Stir until butter melts completely.
In a large bowl, mix together the flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Mix in the milk mixture, then add the egg. Dough should be only slightly sticky. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic (8-10 minutes).
Divide the dough into 12 balls, and place them on a large, greased baking sheet. Lightly press down on the top of each ball of dough, so that the top is more flat than rounded. They will puff up more during rising and baking. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
Cover with a dishtowel, and let rise 30-40 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.
Bake for 12-14 minutes, until golden brown on top. Serve as desired, and store for 3-5 days on the counter, or 4-6 months in the freezer.
~ Savings ~
Cost Breakdown:
1 gallon milk - $3.62 = 256 T = $0.012/T = $0.192
1 lb butter - $2.50 = 32 T = $0.078/T = $0.313
25 lb. flour - $7.20 = 94.5 C = $0.077/C = $0.347
25 lb. sugar -$13.94 = 945 T = $0.015/T = $0.030
26 oz. salt - $0.44 = 48 T = $0.004/T = $0.002
2 lb. yeast - $4.68 = 48 T = $0.098/T =$0.082
1 dozen eggs - $1.79 = $0.15/egg = $0.15
Total Recipe Cost = $1.12
Cost per Bun = $0.09
The Contender:
Nature's Own Hamburger Buns (8 ct.) = $2.24
Price Per Bun = $0.28
Savings:
66%
"Over a year" scenario:
Make Soft Hamburger Buns 6 times = $6.72
Buy equivalent Nature's Own Hamburger Buns (8 ct.) = $20.16
*Money Saved = $13.44
I totally laughed at wrackspurts! I sure do adore Luna. I made a HP reference at lunch the other day and no one got it :-(
ReplyDeleteI think your butter cost is only $.312 (1/4 c = 4 T) which makes this an even better deal. Thank you sharing - I can't wait to try them!
ReplyDeleteOh, wow, you're right! My bad... it was late at night when I wrote the majority of this post, so my math skills must have been lacking. Thank you for catching it! The updates are now included. :)
DeleteI swear I was just googling a recipe for hamburger buns this morning.. its like you're a mindreader!! Gonna give these a try tomorrow. Thanks! :-)
ReplyDeleteI'm happy to help! I hope you enjoy it. :)
DeleteOh I can't wait to try these. I've never been able to find a hamburger/hot dog roll recipe that I like and that is easy. I love that these don't even have to rise- my kind of recipe since I'm not so great at planning ahead. :)
ReplyDeleteCould you use instant milk to make these? I am new to baking.
ReplyDeleteAfter adding enough water to the instant milk to make it liquid, it should work fine. :)
DeleteHi, I just wanted to say thank you for this recipe. I just made some and my kids and I really enjoyed them.Just like you said they are very easy to make, thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you liked them, Sarah. :)
DeleteI found your blog from pinterest and made this recipe into hotdog buns last night. I realized after I was shaping the buns I had forgotten the egg and they still turned out super tasty! I can't wait to try it again with the full ingredients! Thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteHi Andrea! What great recipes you have here! And a print button! I need to learn how to add that to my blog! Thanks for sharing! Blessings from Bama!
ReplyDeleteHi! I love your blog! Could you freeze these? would you recommend freezing the dough or the finished product?
ReplyDeleteThanks!
DeleteBoth freeze well. Because I love freshly baked buns best, I prefer freezing the dough then thawing and baking as needed. :)
If you freeze the dough, how does that work? Do you freeze it before letting it rise and then let it thaw and rise or do you let it rise and then freeze? The only time I tried to freeze unbaked rolls it didn't work well for me but I would love to try it again.
DeleteLydia, you can do it either way: Make the dough, then put it in an ziplock bag for the freezer, then bring it out to thaw when you want to use it, allow it to rise, then punch it down, then form the buns and let THEM rise before baking.... OR make the dough, let it rise, punch it down, then freeze, thaw when needed, form into rolls, and allow to rise on the pan before baking. I've done it both ways. Sometimes they take longer to rise because they are coming from a state of being super cold. I hope it works out for you!
DeleteSo super excited to see this recipe what with grilling season coming up and all! I just love your blog and every recipe you post is soooo good and soooo easy! Thank you so much! Keep up the great posts!
ReplyDeleteIs this instant or active dry yeast? Thanks! I've tried lots of hamburger bun recipes, and I'm hoping this will be the keeper. Also, do you have to alter anything else if you use all whole wheat flour (ie add gluten)? And are they really as good? I find the 100% ww flour buns I've made are too dense for burgers. Thanks again!
ReplyDeleteI believe instant yeast and dry active yeast work the same... the one I avoid is the rapid rise, because I'm unfamiliar with how it works. If you end up using all whole wheat, (especially with the white whole wheat) you will want to add gluten to help it rise. Also, you won't need to use as much flour as you would if you were using just AP flour.
DeleteMy favorite is to go half whole wheat half AP. Truth be told, if you make these entirely whole wheat they are going to be a little on the dense side. However, the difference isn't as big as with some recipes. I've made the 100% whole wheat version of these a few times, and they were fine, but yes, denser than my preferred half and half.
Let me know how these turn out for you... especially if you go 100% whole wheat. We love this recipe, and hope you do too!
Love your site!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you offered making them with half whole wheat flour, the extra fiber is important for health in my humble opinion.
If going 100% whole wheat, I'd suggest adding 2 T. wheat gluten flour to 'lighten' the baked product.
you say you grind your own flour... Where do you get the wheat berries from?
ReplyDeleteI get my wheat berries in bulk from an LDS Bishop's storehouse. It's a church-owned and operated facility, and the prices are unbeatable, because they are only looking to cover costs... not make any kind of profit. They are there to serve. Currently a 25 lb. bag of wheat berries runs $11.45. If there's not an LDS Bishop's storehouse in your area, you could try searching online and doing some price comparisons that way. Hope this helps!
DeleteI made them tonight, and they were really small. But other than that they were great! I loved how strong they were and the had an excellent flavor! Thanks for this recipe, i will definitely use it again.
ReplyDeleteHomemade hamburger buns were a life saver for us when hubby was out of work and I was only working a crummy job to keep us afloat. The bottoms of my buns always tend to come out flat and a little hard. Any way to remedy this?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what you mean about the bottoms coming out "flat." All hamburger buns I've ever had have flat bottoms. If you want the bottoms to be softer, you can wrap them in plastic, or put them in a bag before they've entirely cooled off, and the trapped heat remaining from the buns will soften the bottoms.
DeleteHoly moly!!! Made these today and they are AMAZING! You are awesome. Every recipe I have tried from this site has been fantastic. I've made other hamburger buns before and we were never impressed. These are just heavenly! Thank you SO much! I'm excited to finally have a recipe my family loves.
ReplyDeleteYum I made these tonight and they were amazing!
ReplyDeleteHelp! I finished kneading the dough and realized the bowl with the beaten egg still in it was sitting next to the mixing bowl. Duh! I went ahead and formed the buns, but I'm wondering how important the egg is. The dough itself came together and kneaded beautifully! I'll definitely try again with the egg! :)
ReplyDeleteThanks,
Beth
Oops! Sorry about the egg, Beth. I've done the same thing in the past. They should turn out alright. The egg primarily helps keep the buns moist. Good luck! :)
DeleteI just tried these today. Almost the whole batch is already gone, lol. Starting up a batch of 100% whole wheat ones now for my hubby's egg sandwich in the morning. What a great recipe! Thanks!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteDo you think this would work in a bread machine?
ReplyDeleteI've nevr used one, but from what I gather, the answer is yes! Just use the machine for mixing and for the rise.
DeleteThanks, Andrea. I have been using another recipe and we haven't been happy with it. I'll give this a try and let you know how it works out.
DeleteI love your site, and I am finally going to try your bread recipes this weekend. For this recipe, are there two rises, before and after you shape them, or just the one after you shape them? The original instructions don't have two, but you mentioned two in an earlier comment about freezing (or is that just when you freeze it?). Thanks for all the great recipes!
ReplyDeleteSo here's the deal... I typically make the dough, form it into balls, and let it raise only once... usually for time's sake. However, if I plan far enough ahead, I will sometimes let the dough rise, punch it down, then form the dough into balls. When I replied, I must have been in the latter mind-set. It comes down to how much time you want to spend on them. ;) One rise, or two... they will be awesome!
Delete