Brioche Buns
As I approach a blog milestone (100th post to come later this month) I am very happy to report that one was reached last week. After 11 attempts dating back to October 2012, I finally had pictures (from last week’s salted chocolate rye cookies) accepted by both FoodGawker and TasteSpotting! Just when I thought I had taken the perfect pictures they would find something wrong with it, so I was really excited to finally get reposted on their site.
Inspired by Super Bowl foods last month but not wanting to deep fry anything, we made pulled BBQ chicken sandwiches. The bun recipe I use is great for burgers but I wanted something very different for a BBQ sandwich. I was imagining one of those gigantic, soft rolls that help soak up all the BBQ deliciousness. These brioche buns came out perfectly and did a great job of making sure no drop of sauce was lost.
We had these for dinner the night of the Super Bowl and I made the mistake of doing my weekly shopping that afternoon. Usually I go around 8:30 or 9 AM and wander the aisles at a leisurely pace. For some misguided reason I waited until about 2 PM that afternoon and instead walked into a zoo of chicken-wing-needing-velveeta-searching-cheap-beer-stacking shoppers.
Not your typical Super Bowl feast, we had these with a light coleslaw (either no mayo or very little, I can’t remember) and kale chips.
This is probably the easiest type of BBQ for us to have since we don’t have a grill, or space for one even if we had it. Maybe the next place we live…for now we have counter space, something we didn’t have in our last apartment! Once or twice a summer I’ll slow cook ribs in the oven, but it just isn’t the same not being able to finish them on a grill (usually I use the broiler). Yesterday I found some applewood smoked salt while shopping, and I look forward to trying that out soon.
But if you’re looking to make a BBQ sandwich (or just prefer softer rolls for hamburgers), these brioche buns are perfect. Enjoy!
- 3 C bread flour
- ⅓ C AP flour
- 1 C water
- 1 egg
- 3 Tbsp milk
- 2½ Tbsp sugar
- 2½ Tbsp butter, cut into small pieces
- 2 tsp instant yeast
- 1½ tsp salt
- Sesame seeds or other toppings (optional)
- 1 egg, beaten, for eggwash (optional)
- Combine all dough ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer and knead on medium speed for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. It may stick a bit to the bottom of the bowl but should clear the sides.
- Place in a lightly oiled bowl and let rise for 90 minutes, or until doubled in size.
- Once risen divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Working on a lightly floured surface roll out each section of dough into a ball and place on a parchment lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 inches between each ball.
- Dust with flour and cover with plastic wrap, letting the dough rise for another 90 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 F and place a cake pan full of water on the bottom rack when you turn the oven on (this will help create steam).
- When risen brush egg was on top of the buns and sprinkle with any desired toppings.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes, turning halfway through, until the buns are a dark golden brown.
