By Dennis Weaver
How to Make Hamburger Buns and Sandwich Rolls
(with
a Salted Water Roll or Other Bread Mix or with a Recipe)
Consider making your own hamburger buns or sandwich rolls for that next picnic or family outing,. They are easy and
so much better than what you buy from the stores.
Our Salted Water Roll Mix makes fantastic burger buns and sandwich rolls but you can
use any bread mix or bread recipe. The Salted Water Roll Mix comes with a
packet of black and white sesame seeds plus Pink Himalayan Salt to put on the
top of the buns and that is a very nice touch. The salt adds a nice spark
to your burgers. If you use another mix or recipe, consider adding coarse
salt to your buns.
- Mix the bread according to the package directions or
recipe. If you are using your bread
machine, set the machine on the “dough” setting so that the machine will
mix your bread for you, let it rise and then beep when it is time to bake.
If you are making bread the old-fashioned way, follow the directions and let the bread rise in an oiled bowl as you would for other bread mixes or recipes.
If you are using the Salted Water Roll Mix, you can skip the first rise step and immediately form your rolls and place them on the pan. - Divide the dough into eight equal pieces. If you are using a two-loaf mix or recipe, divide the
dough into 16 pieces.
- Form a round or oval roll with each piece. Place them on a greased baking sheet or a baking
sheet lined with parchment paper with
room to expand. With the flat of your hand, flatten each roll. The
elasticity in the dough will tend to make the rolls spring back. Let the
dough relax for a few minutes and press a second time.
- Cover the rolls with plastic wrap or a proofing bag
and let rise until doubled—45 minutes to an hour or so depending on the
mix and the room temperature. Salted Water Rolls will not get as
puffy as most mixes or recipes.
- If you put seeds or seeds and salt on your rolls, whisk with a fork one egg with one tablespoon of
water. Just before baking, brush the tops and sides with the wash and then
sprinkle with seeds. The wash will keep the seeds in place.
- Bake the rolls
at 350 degrees for about fifteen minutes or until done. Immediately remove
them to a wire rack to cool. Serve them fresh. Day old rolls
are not nearly as good.
The Story of the Salted Water Rolls
The original salted water rolls came
from Delaware. Once the rolls were formed, they were dipped in boiling
salt water. They were then topped with seeds and coarse salt and
baked. The resulting rolls were soft and moist but a little chewy–like a
bagel but not nearly as dense and firm. They have a slight pretzel-like
flavor.
To develop this mix, we worked with
an old baker from Delaware that worked in one of these bakeries. He said
that water rolls were their best-selling product.
If we were
going to have a successful commercial product, one that sold well not just
tasted good, we knew that we were going to have to eliminate the boiling water
step. We worked for months in development to get there. In the
process, we discovered that we didn’t have to let the dough rise twice like
with other breads. That was a real advantage, cutting out a step and prep
time. It made it an easy mix for casual bakers at home.
For trials, we made dinner rolls,
sandwich and burger buns, and loaves. We took the baked products to the
store, gave them to customers, and asked them what they thought. (We even
tried making the bread in a bread machine but we never could get it quite
right.)
Finally, we had a product.
We hope you enjoy this mix as well
as we do. It’s equally versatile as a sandwich bread, as dinner rolls,
and as sandwich and burger buns.
Bake everything better.
Get a free copy of How to
Bake: The Art and Science of Baking. It’s a great reference book
with great recipes and 318 pages. Choose PDF, Kindle, Nook, or I-Pad.
