King Arthur Flour Hamburger Roll Recipe...(pix)

Dyal_SC · March 12

So, @EddieK76 and @Griffin were referencing some homemade hamburger rolls in Griffin's recent burger post. As to not to hijack Griffin's post, I thought I'd start another thread. @jfm0830 is who got me to try this recipe. He, Griffin, Eddie and I have been friends on another forum for years. We haven't really discussed this topic in depth before, but I thought it might be a good topic to discuss on this forum. Eddie and I were texting back and forth earlier today, and both came to the conclusion that the recipe in general produces a roll that is more dense (almost more heavy or "biscuit-like") than the hamburger rolls to which we are more accustomed. This is the recipe to which I'm referring.

I'm not sure if any others on this forum have had any experience with this recipe, but I would love to know if you have. I plan on trying it later this week with less flour. I'll weigh it on my next attempt, instead of relying on measuring it with "cups". Eddie and I were slightly disappointed because of the dense texture of the roll....if any of you have any recommendations regarding "weight" vs "volume", we'd love to hear it. Thanks in advance!

Browninggold · March 12

I've made those a couple of times. Mine turned out like yours kind of too dense. Here's a blog on those buns. I'm going to look through that for suggestions/ideas http://www.kingarthurflour.com/blog/2011/05/16/countdown-to-summer-beautiful-burger-buns/

Eggcelsior · March 12

Definitely give the weight option a try. Scooping a cup of flour can have a variation of 4 to 5.5 ounces depending on settling and your scooping prowess. The recipe calls for 14.75 oz of flour; this is on the light side. If you don't have a scale, try sifting the flour. This incorporates air, lightening the overall volume.

I worked in a bakery for 2 years in college. All bread and cakes were done by weight, not volume. This is how it's done in all bakeries outside of your kitchen.

jfm0830 · March 12

Dyal this is going to sound like I am being defensive in a moment, but I am not. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes. That is why there are so many recipes and types of food and that is a great thing about this hobby. I have been baking those hamburger rolls for 5 or 6 years now and any time I have made them, people always say they are the best burger buns they've tried. I agree they have a different texture than commercial rolls, and to me that is a good thing. Your mileage may vary as to whether that is a good thing or not. To me the buttery and sweet flavor of the buns, PLUS their slightly denser texture all make them superior to store bought rolls.

@Eggcelsior is right on about the weight option. I took several classes at the King Arthur Four HQ in Vermont to learn baking. At first I learned how to bake specifically so I could make my own hamburger and hot dog rolls. The first class I took they had us scoop out 1 cup of KAF all-purpose flour. The "official" weight of 1 cup of their All-purpose flour is 4.25 oz per cup. Out of the 20 people in the class, 3 got it right and the rest of us were over or under by up to an ounce. The only way to be precise is to measure out the main ingredients, which is why KAF gives weights for these items in their recipes as well. The first thing I did when I got home from that class is buy a Salter Zero Tare Digital Scale. If you don't have scale yet, buy a zero tare model where you can put a plate or bowl on the scale, zero it out and then weight your ingredient after the container has been zeroed out of the equation. Another thing that can affect the recipe is the amount of humidity in the air. This can affect the rise, which can affect the texture. I'm guessing it is a whole lot more humid in S.C. in the Winter than it is here in MA. So you also need to tweak recipes by adding a little flour or water to get the consistency of the dough right.

There is another reason that the homemade version of the rolls may seem too dense. I do believe that most commercial bakeries add either chemicals or otherwise aerate the buns to get that light texture. The cynic in me always thought they did it because more air=less ingredients=lower cost to them. Until I met you I never knew people actually liked the lighter texture. A few years ago I sent you some packages of some side split New England Style Hot Dog Rolls. I felt bad because I had to send you a commercial version so they wouldn't spoil while shipping. You loved the rolls and specifically commented on the light airy texture they had. My FIL and I had a bit of a giggle over that one, because that is not a good feature for us. We like the denser homemade version of those hotdog rolls. Most commercial hamburg or hotdog rolls do not hold up well to chili. My FIL, who used to be a commercial baker for 8 years, spent that summer trying to achieve a homemade version of hotdog rolls similar to the ones I sent you. He never could do it.

So there is my 22 cents worth. Do try making the recipe by weight. I always do my recipes by weight. When I enter the recipe into my recipe software, I always add the weights of the ingredients if the original recipe doesn't provide them. Don't sweat the small stuff like 1/2 tsp of salt. If the recipe doesn't have the weights for certain items, KAF has this handy chart.

Master Weight Chart

Jim

jerryp · March 12

Have you considered cake flour?

Eggcelsior · March 12

@Dyal_SC - just to clarify, when I said "your kitchen" I was making a generalization about home vs professional baking, not you vs everyone else. I reread my comment and noticed it looks like the latter with the way I phrased it.

Eggcelsior · March 12

jerryp said:
Have you considered cake flour?

Cake flour is low protein(gluten) so they might not have enough chew(imagine trying to eat a cake sandwich - it would be too "tender" and fall apart). A mixture may work though. Another option is to use potato flakes/flour or a southern AP flour. Southern wheat has a lower protein content than it's northern counterparts. This is why KAF bakes up so well in breads.

Dyal_SC · March 12

Yeah, I figured it was the weight factor. @jfm0830, I'll give the 4.25 oz per cup a try on my next attempt. :) Thanks a lot!

jfm0830 · March 12

Dyal_SC said:

Yeah, I figured it was the weight factor. @jfm0830, I'll give the 4.25 oz per cup a try on my next attempt. :) Thanks a lot!

@Dyal , they still are going to be a somewhat denser, even measured by weight. If you haven't done so, go back to the KAF website and reprint the recipe by weight. Their recipes typically have checkboxes for ingredients measured by Volume, Ounces or Grams. As I mentioned you should weigh all ingredients other than tiny amounts like 1/2 tsp.

Griffin · March 12

They look great, if looks count for anything. I really need to get a scale...correction...a digital scale not the dinky littly one that Mrs. G got from somewhere or other. Both for baking and sausage making.

@jfm0830 - didn't you do some New England type hot dog buns at one time?

jfm0830 · March 12

Griffin said:

They look great, if looks count for anything. I really need to get a scale...correction...a digital scale not the dinky littly one that Mrs. G got from somewhere or other. Both for baking and sausage making.

@jfm0830 - didn't you do some New England type hot dog buns at one time?

@Griffin - Make that a ZERO TARE digital scale. Like I said with a zero tare scale you can put your container on the scale, zero out it's weight with the push of a button and start weighing the ingredient. You can also do cumulative weights. Put a big bowl on the scale, zero it out, measure ingredient 1, zero out the scale, add ingredient 2, zero out the scale etc. I don't do this very often because if you go over it can be a problem extracting the overage. I use them sometimes for burgers too. Measure out the total batch of meat, divide that number by x patties and then weigh out the individual patties. Once again by having a zero tare scale, you can do the weighing on a plate or bowl and zero it out of the equation. Then you don't have to keep cleaning the scale, just throw the container in the DW.

RE: N.E. Style hot dog rolls, I still do make them all the time whenever I have the time. While I bake more now, the whole reason I got into baking was so I could "roll my own".

Griffin · March 12

I got you on the zero tare option. I work in a lab and couldn't imagine a scale that didn't have a tare function.

Z_Eggineer · March 12

Dyal_SC said:

So, @EddieK76 and @Griffin were referencing some homemade hamburger rolls in Griffin's recent burger post. As to not to hijack Griffin's post, I thought I'd start another thread. @jfm0830 is who got me to try this recipe. He, Griffin, Eddie and I have been friends on another forum for years. We haven't really discussed this topic in depth before, but I thought it might be a good topic to discuss on this forum. Eddie and I were texting back and forth earlier today, and both came to the conclusion that the recipe in general produces a roll that is more dense (almost more heavy or "biscuit-like") than the hamburger rolls to which we are more accustomed. This is the recipe to which I'm referring.

I'm not sure if any others on this forum have had any experience with this recipe, but I would love to know if you have. I plan on trying it later this week with less flour. I'll weigh it on my next attempt, instead of relying on measuring it with "cups". Eddie and I were slightly disappointed because of the dense texture of the roll....if any of you have any recommendations regarding "weight" vs "volume", we'd love to hear it. Thanks in advance!

OMG, we just made these this weekend too after King Arthur's got recommended to me by fellow eggheads and it was on sale (used/warehouse) on Amazon.com. We loved them and used WEIGHT. You can get decent digital scales for $10 and are good for coffee measuring too.

Z_Eggineer · March 12

jfm0830 said:

Dyal this is going to sound like I am being defensive in a moment, but I am not. Everyone is entitled to their own tastes. That is why there are so many recipes and types of food and that is a great thing about this hobby. I have been baking those hamburger rolls for 5 or 6 years now and any time I have made them, people always say they are the best burger buns they've tried. I agree they have a different texture than commercial rolls, and to me that is a good thing. Your mileage may vary as to whether that is a good thing or not. To me the buttery and sweet flavor of the buns, PLUS their slightly denser texture all make them superior to store bought rolls.

@Eggcelsior is right on about the weight option. I took several classes at the King Arthur Four HQ in Vermont to learn baking. At first I learned how to bake specifically so I could make my own hamburger and hot dog rolls. The first class I took they had us scoop out 1 cup of KAF all-purpose flour. The "official" weight of 1 cup of their All-purpose flour is 4.25 oz per cup. Out of the 20 people in the class, 3 got it right and the rest of us were over or under by up to an ounce. The only way to be precise is to measure out the main ingredients, which is why KAF gives weights for these items in their recipes as well. The first thing I did when I got home from that class is buy a Salter Zero Tare Digital Scale. If you don't have scale yet, buy a zero tare model where you can put a plate or bowl on the scale, zero it out and then weight your ingredient after the container has been zeroed out of the equation. Another thing that can affect the recipe is the amount of humidity in the air. This can affect the rise, which can affect the texture. I'm guessing it is a whole lot more humid in S.C. in the Winter than it is here in MA. So you also need to tweak recipes by adding a little flour or water to get the consistency of the dough right.

There is another reason that the homemade version of the rolls may seem too dense. I do believe that most commercial bakeries add either chemicals or otherwise aerate the buns to get that light texture. The cynic in me always thought they did it because more air=less ingredients=lower cost to them. Until I met you I never knew people actually liked the lighter texture. A few years ago I sent you some packages of some side split New England Style Hot Dog Rolls. I felt bad because I had to send you a commercial version so they wouldn't spoil while shipping. You loved the rolls and specifically commented on the light airy texture they had. My FIL and I had a bit of a giggle over that one, because that is not a good feature for us. We like the denser homemade version of those hotdog rolls. Most commercial hamburg or hotdog rolls do not hold up well to chili. My FIL, who used to be a commercial baker for 8 years, spent that summer trying to achieve a homemade version of hotdog rolls similar to the ones I sent you. He never could do it.

So there is my 22 cents worth. Do try making the recipe by weight. I always do my recipes by weight. When I enter the recipe into my recipe software, I always add the weights of the ingredients if the original recipe doesn't provide them. Don't sweat the small stuff like 1/2 tsp of salt. If the recipe doesn't have the weights for certain items, KAF has this handy chart.

Master Weight Chart

Jim

How to you get yours that awesome brown color?

jfm0830 · March 12

Z_Eggineer said:

How to you get yours that awesome brown color?

The recipe calls for an egg wash where you use 1 eggwhite. This helps hold on the seeds and gives it good color. The last time I made these, I was out of eggs and used butter and the color is nowhere near as good.

Browninggold · March 12

I wonder if using the KAF Cake Enhancer or Vital Wheat Gluten would give it different texture. I use one or the other when baking bread. I'll give it a try next time I make hamburg or hot dog buns

BENTE · March 12

i started making hamburger buns several years ago and finally gave up. i told yousaturday what i do when i want a good bun and they are always good. i would like to make my hoagie rolls better. they seem to be lacking in "lightness" also. but that is whats fun about baking finding the little tweeks that will help you out....

EddieK76 · March 12

I like the crunchy exterior and light interior....One of the restaurants here called "Bubs Burgers" makes his own buns and his are exactly like that....Bubs was featured on Man v. Food once before.

But I'm gonna keep trying these out and someday I'll master it :)

Charlie tuna · March 12

We are kind of stuck on Chabata rolls since they freeze and stay very good. For pulled pork we grill them inside buttered and they are hard to beat on burgers, and steak sandwiches.

caliking · March 12

This is a great thread!

I'm with @jfm0830 on this one. I like dense bread - we have practically stopped buying bread from the grocery store because of the texture, which we feel is not dense enough. Breads form other countries/cultures/cuisines are not as light as American commercial bread. I'm working on baking more bread at home in my cheapo breadmaker I bought years ago, but for now we enjoy even the packaged bread mixes a lot more than the grocery store variety.

Browninggold · March 13

Try a Zojirushi bread maker..pretty awesome I gave my 12 yo Breadman to my daughter

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King Arthur Flour Hamburger Roll Recipe...(pix)

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