The easiest way to make home-made buns and rolls

     Buns and rolls are a fundamental part of the dinner table. For the past several years I've been honing a method of making these basic foods in a way that is time saving and nutritious and delicious. I use a kitchen scale along with a bread machine to make the dough in about eight minutes of actual work time. The dough can then be formed into any size or shape desired, whether small dinner rolls, hot dog buns , hamburger buns or even hoagies. Then they go into an oven and fill the house with their delicious aroma.

1) Gather the seven ingredients needed to make a dozen 3 3/8” (70g) buns or fifteen 2 7/8” (56g) dinner  rolls:

Ingredient                                volume                                 weight

Water                                      1 cup                                       242g   

Oil of butter                             2 tbsp                                       28g

Egg                                          1                                               53g

Flour                                        3 ¼ cups                                  471g

Sugar                                      ¼ cup                                        42g

Salt                                          1 tsp                                         7g

Yeast                                       3 tsp                                         12g                                                                                    

                                                                                               

     I put the volume there for reference only. Adding ingredients by weight is so much faster and more accurate and versatile. If I want to make half a batch I simply divide the gram weight of each ingredient by 2 (that’s why the weight of the egg, excluding the shell, is there). Try to quickly divide 3 ¼ by two. Uh-oh. Now divide 471 by two. That's 235. Most of us can do that in our heads.

2) Put the bread machine mixer on the scale and turn it on. It will zero out. Now add the ingredients in the order listed one at a time, zeroing out the scale after each addition.

Adding the flour to the bread machine mixer by weight

3) Select the dough cycle on the bread machine and start it up. Most take around an hour to mix the dough. Important: make sure to check the mixing after a minute or two. If the dough is sticking to the mixer, sprinkle in some more flour until it doesn’t stick anymore. Add a bit of water if the dough ball is too dry. 

4) When the dough cycle is done, form the dough into the desired shape and size and place on a greased baking sheet. I prefer to weigh the dough for each bun to roll to get uniform size results. Cover with a piece of wax paper and let rise until double in size, about 45 minutes. I like to use cooking oil spray on the underside of the paper to prevent sticking.

4 optional)  If desired the dough can be frozen for future use. To do this, put the entire cookie sheet of formed rolls into the freezer immediately after forming. I put the sheet in a kitchen garbage bag. When they are frozen, place the rolls into a zipper bag until used. Let them rise a few hours before baking. 

5) Bake for 12-15 minutes in a 375 degree oven. Enjoy. The actual adding ingredient time is about three minutes and the forming process takes another three to five minutes. So that’s fast and easy and delicious.

hoagie and hamburger buns made easy

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