Big Soft Hamburger Buns

Deb's Recipes's Note:

These homemade buns have a wonderful light-textured soft interior and a delicate crust thanks to the inclusion of both mashed potatoes and cottage cheese. They are very easy to make in a KitchenAid stand mixer and so much better than store-bought buns! The recipe is from Sunset Breads (1995)

• Total Time: 2 hrs 40 mins
• Prep Time: 17 mins
• Cook Time: 2 hrs 23 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 9

• ½ cup instant mashed potatoes
• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 cup small curd cottage cheese
• ¼ cup sugar
• 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg , slightly beaten
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 -4 ½ cups flour (I use part whole wheat flour)

Directions:

1. Stir together potatoes and boiling water; allow to cool at least 5-10 minutes; meanwhile, sprinkle yeast over warm water; let stand about 5 minutes until foamy.
2. Stir together potato mixture, yeast mixture, cottage cheese, sugar, oil, egg, and salt; gradually stir in (KitchenAid stand mixer on low speed #1) flour until a soft dough comes together to form a smooth ball.
3. Knead 9-10 minutes (in KitchenAid stand mixer on medium speed #2) until dough is smooth, elastic, and no longer sticky; add more flour, one tablespoon at a time during the kneading process, if necessary to reduce stickiness.
4. Place dough into oiled bowl; cover bowl and place in a warm place; allow dough to rise (about 1 1/2 hours) until doubled.
5. Punch down dough and knead a few strokes to release air; divide dough into 9 (or 12 portions if you want to end up with not-quite-so-large buns) equal portions; with lightly oiled or floured hands, shape each dough portion into a ball, gently pulling and tucking top surface under until smooth.
6. Place formed buns 2 or more inches apart, tucked sides down, on a greased baking sheet; cover and allow buns to rise (about 30-45 minutes) until puffy.
7. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes, or until buns are light golden-brown; remove from oven and transfer to cooling rack.
8. NOTE: Makes nine 4 1/2 to 5-inch buns or twelve 3 1/2 to 4-inch buns which, once cooled, may be stored airtight in a plastic bag and refrigerated or frozen if desired.

Reviews

[LonghornMama]

Excellent! The best hamburger bun recipe I've tried. Less oil than other recipes which I think is the key, also the addition of potato flakes and cottage cheese gives a perfect texture. Used 1 cup whole wheat flour, the rest unbleached. Tender buns that stay soft even after storing. After mixing the dough in the Kitchen Aid, cottage cheese was no longer chunky and wasn't evident at all in the finished product. Made 12 buns, which were still large, but I always forget to form them a little higher, my buns always end up a little too wide. Would be great for hot dog buns, too. Thanks for sharing the recipe!

[Chef #1092552]

super recipe! SIL declared the recipe a "keeper" which is the highest praise. Made as stated, the buns are HUGE. When I make them again (and I will) I'll scale them down to make smaller buns. They look like they come from a specialty bakery. I did not have a problem with the cottage cheese, but I made them in my stand mixer, so it was completely incorporated into the dough. Great recipe!!!

[YungB]

Excellent buns. Nice and soft. the 4 1/2 cup of flour is spot on. They rose so high and big. I made 10 buns but the next time, I will try 12 buns. However, mine baked up with these little black/brown dots from the cottage cheese. Was wondering if there was a way I could completely dissolve them into the dough? Thank you for sharing this great recipe.