la buona cucina americana: Sandwich Buns

You can get lucky and buy hotdog and hamburger buns as good as anything you are used to. Or you can buy an innocent looking package of buns and they will be as sweet as Italian breakfast brioche. That really bothered me. So I wandered around the internet and found a recipe to make them at home, then of course had to alter the recipe to be made with Italian ingredients.

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I made these miniature. I had just found packets of tiny hotdogs that were 25 grams each, four to a 100 gram package. I thought they were really cute, so making the buns for them was even more apt. This recipe made twelve each of tiny buns. If you made them normal sized, I think you could make sixteen of them. Naturally, most people will want to make all one kind, not both kinds.

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These are a bit firmer and breadier than buns I bought in USA supermarkets. I would not hesitate to use them for any sandwich for which a soft bun is all right. That would include lobster rolls (oh sigh) or crab or shrimp rolls (which we can do here depending on if crab meat is available. It’s real bread, just a soft bread without a crunch crust.

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I have always preferred the style of hotdog buns with smooth top and bottom and rough sides. Before making these I had no idea I had any sentiments about hotdog buns, but I apparently do. Anyway, I put them close together so they would come out that way.

Hotdog or hamburger buns

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup (250 ml) milk
1/4 cup (125 ml) water or you may need a bit more
1/4 cup (50 g) butter
2-1/4 cups (300 g) 00 flour, farina di grano tenero
1-1/2 cups (200 g) bread flour, farina di grano duro, or farina di Manitoba
1 (.25 ounce) package instant yeast which is also, handily, 7 g just as you find it in Italy
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 teaspoons salt
1 egg
1 egg for egg washing

DIRECTIONS:

In a small saucepan, heat milk, water and butter until very warm, 120 degrees F (50 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together 1 3/4 cup (230 g) flour, yeast, sugar and salt. Mix milk mixture into flour mixture, and then mix in egg. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each addition. You might need a bit more water if the weather is dry or the flour is. I use the dough hooks on my Braun multi-mixer. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes, or you can do most of it with dough hooks and just do the last bit by hand.

Divide dough into 16 equal pieces. Shape into smooth balls, and place on an oven paper covered baking sheet. Flatten slightly. Cover, and let rise for 30 to 45 minutes. It may be the difference between all purpose US flour and the mix of two Italian flours, but mine definitely needed more rising time that that predicted by the recipe.

Make an egg wash of an egg and a bit of cold water, then brush it over the surfaces before putting them into the oven. That’s how you get that shiny, golden crust.

Bake at 400 degrees F (200 degrees C) for 10 to 12 minutes, or until golden brown.

For Hot Dog Buns: Shape each piece into a 6×4 inch (10 X 15 cm) rectangle. Starting with the longer side, roll up tightly, and pinch edges and ends to seal. Let rise about 30 to 45 minutes. Bake as above. You could also make Philly steak sub rolls, but I think it would make about 6 and take from 12-15 minutes to bake. Try and tell me what you get—- I am on a DIET and cannot do it.

It takes less than 1.5 hours, and for most of that you are doing nothing. This is a worthy project! At my market prices, it costs about one euro, too. Stick them into a plastic sack and tie it tightly with a twistie and in the freezer they’ll stay fresh at least a month.

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Gnam gnam!

In Italiano:

Questi sono i panini per hamburger e wurstel come sono dalla vera cucina americana. Non somigliano tanto quelli venduti nel supermercato. Provateli!

Panini per hotdog e hamburger

ingredienti:

250 ml latte
125 ml acqua (o possibilmente di più)
50 g burro
300 g farina 00 di grano tenero
200 g farina di grano duro
una bustina (7 g) lievita di birra in polvere
2 cucchiai di zucchero
1 cucchiaino di sale
1 uovo
1 uovo per la glassa

Preperazione: circa 15 minute e poi 40 lievitazione e poi 12 minute di cottura. Meno di 1.5 ore per un pane buono, morbido e sano!

Riscalda in una piccola padella il latte, l’acqua e il burro fino a 50 gradi.

In una ciottola grande, mette 230 g di farina e aggiunge il liquido, battendo fortamente. Aggiunge l’uovo and mescolare bene. Man mano, aggiunge il resto della farina, battendo ogni volta di incorporarla bene. Poi, su una superficie spargata di farina, lavorate la pasta fino a è lisce e elastica.

Per panini di hamburger, dividete la pasta in 16 pezzi, facendo palle. Distribuiscete i panini sulla carta da forno su una placca. Copriteli e lasciateli a lievitare 30-45 minuti.

Quando sono pronti, riscalda il forno a 200° C.

Mescolate l’uovo che rimane con un po’ di acqua con una forchetta per fare una glassa e poi con un pennelino aplicatela su i panini. Infornateli per 10-12 minute, fino al sono dorati.

Per fare i panini do hotdog, dividete la pasta in 16 pezzi, e fa un rettangolo di 10X15 cm. Iniziando da lato più lungo, rottolarli stretti e poi sigillarli bene gli estremità sotto il panino. Finite e infornateli come di sopra.

Sono ottimi per il congelatore, metteteli in un sacco di plastica, siggilatela con i twistie, e i panini rimangono freschi per almeno un mese. La ricetta costa circa un euro qui in Umbria.

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