Hamburger Buns

3 3/4 cups bread flour (or try 1 1/2 cups bread flour, 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour, and 3/4 cup oats)
1/4 cup white sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cups milk, slightly warmed (probably not necessary for my bread machine)
1 beaten egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1. Place all ingredients in pan of bread machine according to manufacturer's directions.
2. Select dough setting (2 hours 20 minutes for me).
3. When cycle is complete, turn out onto floured surface. Will be sticky!!
4. Cut dough in half and roll each half out to a 1" thick circle.
5. Cut each half into six 3 1/2" rounds with inverted glass as a cutter (I used our big pint glasses).
6. Place on well-greased baking sheet far apart and brush with melted butter.
7. Cover and let rise until doubled, about one hour. (Really only need to let rise for about 15 minutes - they do most of their rising in the oven.)
8. Bake at 350° for 9 minutes.
Note: Oven temperatures vary so check after 9 minutes to see if done. Some reviewers baked these anywhere from 12 to 30 minutes.

Source: recipezaar.com

Try #1 - June 20, 2010 (Father's Day!)
These came out great, despite the fact that I totally screwed up! I couldn't fathom how I should roll the dough out to 1 inch thick, so I did it to about half that. Turns out the 1 inch dough would make a single bun (that you then slice in half), rather than a bunch of half buns... duh, makes sense, but I'm so used to pre-sliced hamburger buns that I just figured I was making the halves separately! I also didn't bother to let them rise for an hour... my family was hungry. I let them sit for about 15 minutes, but they seemed to finish rising in the oven. Bake time was closer to 10-12 minutes.

Also, for the flour I used just a little over 2 cups bread flour, just under 1 cup whole wheat flour (all I had left), and 3/4 cup oats. Worked great! I think you can be fairly flexible with the amounts (but probably always keep at least 1 to 1/2 cups bread flour) as long as you have 3 3/4 cups total.

So, summary: Using different flours - fine. Rolling dough to 1/2 inch - fine. Only letting rise for 15 minutes - fine. Maybe next time I'll try the actual recipe! :)

Try #2 - July 10, 2010
Used 1 1/2 cup bread flour, 1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour, 3/4 cup oatmeal. Rolled them out thicker - still not quite 1 inch, but much closer to hamburger bun size. Turned out great!

Try #3 - January 23, 2012
These are still awesome. I really should have read my previous notes, because letting them rise for an hour did nothing. They only rose once they were in the oven - so 15 minutes resting time it is. I wonder if it has anything to do with the multiple flours I use...