Cheese Burger Buns

We have just returned from a nine day trip to Montana and Wyoming.  Gorgeous. Mind boggling. Peaceful. Inspiring. A photographer's paradise.

 To say that Yellowstone National Park is huge is an understatement! Our rental car logged in over 1200 miles, touring through Yellowstone National Park and the Grand Tetons.

My husband shot a lot of video, and my camera capture a few hundred images of geysers, lakes, mountains, wildlife and thermal pools.  It will take a while for us to edit and organize images from our trip.

Craig and I were so impressed with the friendliness of the locals. Every shopkeeper, food server, or park employee greeted us with a friendly smile.  The weather couldn't have been more perfect, averaging 75 degrees.  Those of you who live in Montana or Wyoming-- you do live in one of the most scenic areas in our country.  I'm not so sure I could handle your winters, since I've never lived in snow country.  I do thank you for your warm hospitality, and a lifetime of memories!

My vacation continues until July 22nd, and I'm looking forward to sharing with you a few recipes that I'm back logged on sharing with you.  Since July 4th is two days away, I thought I'd start with homemade hamburger buns. 

Craig and I love to grill outdoors.  Burgers are still high on my list of favorite barbecue dinners.  We finally bought a new gas grill, for the times we don't have to patience to wait for briquettes to turn that perfect temperature.

Homemade hamburger buns aren't very difficult to make.  They have a much better texture than most commercially made hamburger buns.  "Brand X" buns feel gummy, to me.  I like a bun that is dense enough to hold up against ketchup, mustard and/or barbecue sauce.  Don't you?

This recipes comes from one of my favorite recipe websites, "King Arthur Flour".  I admit that I have an addiction to shopping on this website.  I had an unopened bag of their Vermont Cheese Powder, and I was thrilled to see a recipe that I could make with this.  NOTE: It's not a requirement to use this particular cheese powder. The recipe includes how to adapt this to freshly grated cheese.

The only change I made, in their recipe, was to use Rapid-Rise Yeast instead of Instant Yeast.  I have both types of yeast (of course), but I find that Rapid-Rise yeast lives up to its name.  I wanted homemade buns in just a little over an hour.  The egg-based bread dough was super easy to make.  My bread machine broke, years ago.  I never replaced it, because my Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer does a great job of mixing and kneading dough.

The dough doubled in about 45 minutes-- I helped that process to speed up, by placing the dough in a slightly pre-warmed oven.  I turned my oven to WARM for 3-4 minutes, then turn it off.

I pressed the dough into a flattened it, and cut it into eight pieces.  I then shaped them into balls...

...flatted them a bit, covered them and let them double for about 30 minutes.  I am using King Arthur Flour's hamburger pan, but you can easily shape these on top of a parchment lined baking sheet.

These rolls baked in about 15 minutes.  They smelled so good, with that aroma of cheddar cheese.

We fired up the new gas grill, and used some homemade barbecue sauce to flavor the burgers.There was no need to add cheese, since the flavor was in the buns. 

The texture of these buns were perfect-- they had a beautiful crumb, and a nice balance of fluffy and tender bread.

I'm a fan of mustard and ketchup with my burgers. Once in a while, I like a good barbecue sauce as my only sauce.  I'll share this sauce, soon, because I made it for a brisket that we slow-grilled a couple of weeks ago.


Sure, I'll still buy burger buns when I don't have 1-1/2 hours to spare, making my own.  But they won't taste nearly as good as baking your own.  If you love cheese, then you'll enjoy this Cheeseburger Bun.   The recipe comes from King Arthur Flour, so you can't go wrong.

I'm glad to be back home, and I'm ready to get back to my own cooking.  While it's a treat to take a break from cooking and washing dishes-- I got tired of eating out for nine days, and eating food that wasn't exactly memorable.  Sorry, West Yellowstone, but the choice of good eats isn't that great.  I still love you, though!


You can view a printable recipe card at the end of this post.
 

Mexican Bolillo (Torta) Oval Rolls

I have often quipped that my breed is a "Bavarian Chihuahua".  When I was much younger, my hair was a dark brown color.  I have dark brown eyes (with flecks of green).  In the summertime, my skin would turn a dark golden color -- hence, my Mexican heritage (from my father) was believable.  Once my hair started to turn white, in my early twenties (and then  gave up the expensive trips to my colorist) I most resemble my mother's Bavarian genetics.  My fifteen years as an Esthetician has weaned me from the need to bake in the sun, slathered with baby oil and iodine-- now that I know about the high risk of skin cancer...and *cough* wrinkles.  Now, I'm lighter-skinned, and proud of it. But, that's another story.

Though my mother taught me how to make many of her German recipes, she could make a wicked good batch of enchiladas-- and I have since learned how to make them (and have yet to blog about them).  I love Mexican food.  Authentic Mexican food.  Not that kind that you find at fast food places.  Of course, I love tacos.  Fish, shrimp, chicken or beef.  It's all delicious.

For Cinco de Mayo (which really isn't Mexican Independence Day, but is observed to commemorate the Mexican army's unlikely victory over French forces at the Battle of Puebla on May 5, 1862.  Still, it's a good excuse to feed my Mexican palate.

I wanted to make something other than more typical taco or enchilada Mexican fare.  I decided to make a Mexican Torta (sandwich).  Rather than finding a local Mexican bakery, I wanted to try making them myself.  Yeast, warm water and honey  is mixed together until foamy....

This is an optional not-so-secret ingredient.  I buy this product from King Arthur Flour.

I added 3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (King Arthur, of course) and then one tablespoon more at a time, until the dough didn't stick to the mixing bowl any longer.

You bread bakers know the drill... oil a bowl, add the dough, turn it over and then let rise for at least an hour.

Personally, I seem to get the best proofing results by turning my oven to WARM for 3 minutes, then turning it off.  Let's make Bolillos!

Photography and bread kneading isn't the best idea, as I'm still cleaning out bits of flour and dough.  I wanted rolls that are about 6"long, and I found that dividing the dough into 7 pieces worked out best for me.  To shape that torpedo end, this is how I used my hands, which seemed to get the job done.

Cover with a clean towel, and let rise for about 25 minutes.  As you can see, I like to use parchment paper instead of spraying a baking sheet with non-stick spray. Your choice.

To 1/4 cup of cold water, whisk in 1 teaspoon of cornstarch, and bring to a boil.

Boil until thickened and clear.

Brush onto each roll.

Me, the Gadget Queen, doesn't have one of those slick razors, for slashing bread.  So, I used a knife, which was a little tricker.  You want to cut in about 1/2" but don't run the knife-- I hand to use an up and down motion.  This slashing give the bread it's traditional look. (After researching several recipes, the majority of Mexican bakeries say that they slash the bread slightly off center. ) Small details.

These are baked at 375F for about 25 minutes; or until golden brown and sound hollow when tapped.

If my "Nana" could see me now.  My first Bolillo bread!

The bread has a beautiful texture-- slightly crusty on the outside, with a tender inside.  They are perfect for making "Tortas".

I will share the recipe for this Chicken Mole (MO-LAY) that  made, on my next post.

...that I drizzled with this homemade tomatillo sauce.

 For dessert, I made a Mexican Chocolate Flan. Any kind of custard is one of my favorite desserts, and this one was fantastic!

We had a terrific Cindo de Mayo dinner, though  I did spend a few hours in the kitchen, but I have an addiction to audible books.  I was listening to a really good "thriller" so it was an afternoon well spent.  The night is still young, and my it's Date Night.  

Psssssssst, it's supposed to be a beautiful full moon tonight.  

ase email me at foodiewife@gmail.com with your shipping address and I'll get this off to you ASAP!

The recipe for the Bolillos rolls is at the end of this post, or click here if you can't view it from my blog.

 

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day

This photo really is a blast from the past. I think it's one of the first photos I took, when my point-and-shoot finally bit the dust and I upgraded to my new camera. I hadn't quite gotten the hang of how to white balance my shots, and exposure.   I never blogged this post, and it's time that I do; please forgive that some of my shots aren't quite as colorful as I'd like.

Artisan Bread in Five Minutes A Day  has been blogged about over and over again.  If you haven't tried this easy way to bake your own bread, this might calm the fears of those of you who shy away from working with yeast.   See that Danish Dough Whisk?  I used it when I blogged about the Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins that I made.  It's become my new "go to" tool for mixing dough.

The idea is so simple and requires only flour, yeast, salt and water.  I only use King Arthur Flour Unbleached Flour, because it has a higher gluten content...and I don't particular want to use bleached flour, now that I'm more aware of how it's made. (If you'd like to know more about bleached flour, click here.) 

I bought a set of plastic food storage buckets at my local restaurant supply store.  I devote these to making my bread/pizza doughs and store them in the refrigerator.  To mix a batch of dough (that yielded 4 lovely loaves of bread, over the course of two weeks), you just dump the ingredients, with water, into the bucket and mix it together.  Just a few minutes...

Two hours later... the dough has risen and it goes into the refrigerator.   The longer the dough ferments, the more flavor that develops.

To bake a loaf, just cut off a piece of dough (I use my kitchen shears)....

Shape it, let it rise 45-60 minutes and get ready to bake your first loaf of Artisan Bread.

I admit that I did invested in a baking stone.  I bought the one that was most highly rated by Cook's Illustrated, which is sold on King Arthur Flour.com.  At $52.95, plus shipping, it's not a cheap toy kitchen tool, but I use my baking stone all the time.  In fact, I just leave it in my oven.  The baking stone is perfect for making homemade pizzas, because I a beautiful crust.  You don't have to buy one, though.  In fact, I'm going to give you the link for the author's website, where you can watch a video and see more detailed pictures on how to do this.

This is the first, of many, loaves that I've made.  Each time I make a loaf, it gets better. Oh!  There's even a whole wheat version in their Healthy Breads in 5 Minutes a Day.   Each cookbook has recipes that starts with the master recipe-- from cinnamon rolls to beautifully shaped breads.

I want to share the love.  Just leave a comment and tell me if you have a favorite bread you like to make...or, if you've never made bread, that you'd like to try this super easy bread making technique. Just tell me if which book you'd want, if your name is randomly picked-- the first AB in 5 cookbook (uses white flour) or the Healthy Bread (uses whole wheat flour).  They are both great books! Oh, the small print-- I'm sorry, but I can only ship within the United States.  I'll pick a winner, this weekend, and announce the winner with my next blog post. Giveaway has ended and a winner has been chosen.

By the way-- the winner of the Danish Dough Whisk is....Kim, of Stirring the Pot!  Congratulations!  Kim email me at foodwife@gmail.com with your mailing address and I'll get it right out to you!

Cinnamon-Raisin English Muffins, Made Easy

During my work week, I'm such a creature of habit. It begins with my alarm going off at 5:10am, stretching out and delaying (until the last possible minute) hopping into the shower so I can try and wake up. For at least two years, I make a cup of Jet Fuel K-Cup coffee in my Keurig, and toast a Cinnamon-Raisin English Muffin, lightly buttered with honey and enjoy it on my way to work-- listening to my daily podcast. 

I stock up on English Muffins, when they are on sale and freeze them.   Then, the unthinkable happened. One Monday morning, I sleepily reached for a muffin. Empty. Nothing.  I checked the freezer, and the familiar plastic bag wasn't there.  Nooooooo! The drive to work, just wasn't the same for me, as I sipped my coffee and made a mental note to stock up, after work.

Necessity is the Mother of Invention, so during my break, I decided to do a little research on how to make my own English Muffins. I found a recipe on "Baking Bites".  That evening, I measured out the water, sugar and yeast.

Then, I unpacked the English Muffin Tins I had purchased some time ago-- with the intention of learning  how to make English Muffins.  NOTE: You don't have to own muffin tins. I've heard that people make them out of foil-- or the dough is supposed to be thick enough that you can do this "free form".

This is a plastic bucket with a lid, that I use a lot for making bread.  A glass bowl and plastic wrap works just as well.  To the sugar and yeast, I add warm water (at about 110F) and stir it; set it aside for 5-10 minutes until it becomes bubbly and alive.

Turn on the oven to WARM for 2-3 minutes and then turn it off.  This is my way of speeding up the proofing process.

See this cool little tool?  It's a Danish Dough Whisk, and this has become a handy little tool. It makes mixing bread dough a breeze.

It's been less than ten minutes, and I've measured out flour, raisins, cinnamon and I'm warming up some 1% milk to about 110F.  The yeast is nice and foamy...

I've dumped in the flour and cinnamon, and now I add the warm milk...

 ...and mix the dough together until smooth.

This is effortless, I tell ya!  The dough is wet, almost like a very thick pancake batter.

Add the raisins, and give the batter a good stir.

Cover the dough and let it rise.  I placed mine in my warm and snug oven.

45 minutes later, we have English Muffin Batter!

The English Muffins are actually cooked, rather than baked. I used my cast iron griddle, that I very lightly sprayed with baking non-stick spray.  I set the heat at medium-high.  If you don't have a griddle you can certainly use a skillet.

I also sprayed the muffin tins with non-stick spray.  So, this is very much liking making thick pancakes.  I've made this recipe, twice, and found that 1/2 cup of dough worked out best.  These do puff up a bit...

You will actually notice a bit of bubbles, which is a sign that it's time to flip the muffins over-- this took about 2-3 minutes.  It all depends on your stove and skillet/griddle.

A couple of tricks that I learned, is that I used a small spatula to spread the batter evenly (if you're using tins).  Otherwise, you can certainly make these "free-form" and use a spatula to shape them.  If you're using muffin tins, they get hot (and I am speaking from personal experience), so having a towel to grab them helps.  Just like making pancakes, I slipped a spatula underneath the muffin, said a prayer and....

The first once was a little messy, and borderline burned.  That's why I suggest starting at a medium heat until you get to know your griddle.

I finally got the hang of it.  Total cooking time was about five minutes per muffin.

The tins slip off pretty easily, so I could check if they were properly cooked.

I do recommend that you test one of the thicker ones.  I didn't do that the first time, and I ended up with a couple of raw muffins. Not good.

See?  It's not ready yet.  You want a toothpick to come out clean.  I let these cook for another minute, and they were done.

From start to finish, I had homemade Cinnamon-Raisin English Muffins in one hour! How fun!

I had to wait about 10-15 for these to cool. 

The moment of truth, as I split one open with a fork.

I know one thing, for certain. I will never run out of Cinnamon-Raisin Muffins again!

I packed up the muffins for the next morning...

I toasted a muffin, and made my cup of coffee...

...and added honey to it. All was right with the world, again.

TASTING NOTES:  Delicious!  It has just the right balance of cinnamon.  It's so easy, that you don't even need to use a stand mixer.  These are just as good-- if not a wee bit better-- than the commercial ones that I pay up to $4.00 a package for.   The biggest difference, though, is that these need to be frozen, if you don't eat them in a matter of a day or two. Otherwise, they will begin to mold (also spoken from experience, after the first batch).  You see, there are no preservatives.

I'm so glad that I finally learned how to make English Muffins. They're less scarey and complicated than I thought.  Next, I'll work on a Whole Wheat version.  I hope that you give this a try, yourself.  Breakfast is an important way to start the day, and these would be a great way to do it.

A printable recipe card is at the very end of  this post. If you have trouble viewing it, click here to see it.

Enjoy,

Debby