Welcome to the EGGhead Forum - a great place to visit and packed with tips and EGGspert advice! You can also join the conversation and get more information and amazing kamado recipes by following Big Green Egg to Experience our World of Flavor™ at:
Facebook  |  Twitter  |  Instagram  |  Pinterest  |  Youtube  |  Vimeo
Share your photos by tagging us and using the hashtag #BigGreenEgg.

Want to see how the EGG is made? Click to Watch

Split top bun recipe - 3/30 results Pic Heavy

mkc
mkc Posts: 544
edited November -1 in EggHead Forum
Sorry for the delay in posting the followup on the original thread here (for those who want the recipe):

http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=857304&catid=1#

The rolls in the pan before rising

buns1.jpg


After rising (1 1/2 hours)

bunsrisen.jpg


Baked 13 minutes with a lightly greased sheet pan on top to "direct" the rising. Once the sheet pan started lifting, it was tilting off the buns so I removed it and finished baking, another 8 minutes until I had the color I wanted. These buns rise A LOT when baking, so you want to monitor that sheet pan or you'll end up with lopsided buns.

bunsbaked.jpg


Cooled 5 minutes then out of the pan, here's the underside

bunsbackside.jpg


and the top side

bunsout.jpg


They looked good, but when I went to separate them, they had a bit more moisture and were harder to separate than expected. Next time I'd bake for an additional 2 minutes or so.

bunsdone.jpg


bunsdone2.jpg


The flavor was more JJ Nissen than Country Kitchen (seemed less sweet). I don't know if it was baker's special dry milk or the potato flour (probably the milk; I had that stored at room temperature while the potato flour has been frozen. The milk likely suffered some oxidation even though it was kept in an airtight glass container). Both of those ingredients were purchased from King Arthur flour last summer. Next time, I'll try the regular nonfat dry milk and instant mashed potatoes listed as alternatives in the recipe since they're much more readily available to the casual bun maker.

Anyway, the lightness was much better even if the flavor wasn't exactly where I wanted to be initially. However, these toasted up very nicely and even lighter than the Reinhart version I did last time. Plus the flavor was much better after toasting.

They are much more delicate to handle right out of the pan, so be patient separating them and definitely do that before doing the slicing to split each bun. Don't slice too deeply - only about 2/3 of the way because they will open up even more on their own. At a 3/4 depth slicing I had one self-split into 2 separate pieces. Not good for hotdogs but the regular dogs thought it was a great treat :P

I will be doing the store-bought dry milk and instant potato version in a week or so. We have a lot of buns in the house right now :blush: Oh, and I do store them in a plastic bread bag in the fridge to keep them from getting moldy.

Michelle
Egging in Crossville, TN

Comments

  • cookn biker
    cookn biker Posts: 13,407
    Thanks Michelle! Alot of good information. They look terrific!!
    Molly
    Colorado Springs
    "Loney Queen"
    "Respect your fellow human being, treat them fairly, disagree with them honestly, enjoy their friendship, explore your thoughts about one another candidly, work together for a common goal and help one another achieve it."
    Bill Bradley; American hall of fame basketball player, Rhodes scholar, former U.S. Senator from New Jersey
    LBGE, MBGE, SBGE , MiniBGE and a Mini Mini BGE
  • Ricklesss
    Ricklesss Posts: 391
    Thanks so much for posting that!
    Though I didn't buy Pearls, I do have some all beef dogs I like a lot, and can't wait to try this recipe.
    I'm very impressed with your slitting the buns with a knife technique, what the heck kind of knife did you use??
    They aren't ragged one-iota!
    Super job!
    Please post again, when you use the store bought dry milk and instant taters? (pretty please?) :)
  • hornhonk
    hornhonk Posts: 3,841
    I agree with Ricklesss...pretty please? You deserve a medal,mkc. ;)
  • I thought KA dicontinued selling the hotdog pan. I could KISS you!!! Only kidding! For the last 7 years I have been having friends and family mail rolls to me from Boston to Charleston, SC. They would probalby kiss you as well! I'm buying on today.....
  • Mainegg
    Mainegg Posts: 7,787
    those look awesome!! now all you need is some crab meat or lobster meat to stuff them with ;)
  • pattikake
    pattikake Posts: 1,175
    They look wonderful. Great job.

    Patti
    Wichita, KS
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    Oh, you people in Main... you would have to say that.

    Dang it!! Now I have to go over to the store and get some french bread and some crab salad.

    GG
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    MKC's pan looks bigger than the one the web page in the previous post???

    GG
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    Sure appreciate the follow up post. These look really good.

    Hopefully you will do another follow up with the different ingredients.

    GG
  • mkc
    mkc Posts: 544
    Ricklesss wrote:
    I'm very impressed with your slitting the buns with a knife technique, what the heck kind of knife did you use??

    Please post again, when you use the store bought dry milk and instant taters? (pretty please?) :)

    Wustof bread knife' saw gently. Wait until they're cool before separating and cutting the split in the middle. To separate just pull them apart gently, use your fingers to help keep the crumb from tearing too much.

    I'll definitely post the next chapter :)

    -M
    Egging in Crossville, TN
  • mkc
    mkc Posts: 544
    Inside dimensions at the top of the pan are 5 3/4" by 15", outside is 6 1/2" by 15 1/2" (same dimensions as listed on the KAF website).

    http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/items/bun-pan-new-england-hotdog

    The recipe I typed in on the other thread is not on the website anywhere I could find. I'd bought my pan at the KAF store in Vermont (we visit every year), and they handed me the recipe at checkout.

    Michelle
    Egging in Crossville, TN
  • mkc
    mkc Posts: 544
    Mainegg wrote:
    those look awesome!! now all you need is some crab meat or lobster meat to stuff them with ;)

    Yes, from the truck that's parked at the Kennebec Ice Arena on weekends ;)

    Of course he also has great prices on steamers, too... Just a couple more months...

    Michelle
    Egging in Crossville, TN
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    Thanks for letting me know, the pan sure looks bigger.

    I did get the recipe you posted and thank you.

    Kent
  • mkc
    mkc Posts: 544
    Grandpas Grub wrote:
     
    Thanks for letting me know, the pan sure looks bigger.

    Everything's bigger in Texas :silly:

    I'm sure it's just the way I photographed it.

    -M
    Egging in Crossville, TN
  • MKC, those are some great looking New England buns. You did an excellent job with them.
  • Grandpas Grub
    Grandpas Grub Posts: 14,226
     
    :woohoo: :laugh: :laugh:

    Made me laugh.

    Got a couple of great mine is bigger than yours Texas stories I will have to share some time.

    GG
  • Little Chef
    Little Chef Posts: 4,725
    NICE!!! :laugh: I miss the split top buns from New England! Please keep us posted on this!
  • The buns look great ! Your photos and documentation should remove any doubts folks have on the success of making them. What is the "Rienhart" method you mentioned ? The recipe you posted is not the same as the one KA has on their web site. Seeing the success you had, I will use the same recipe. Thanks
  • mkc
    mkc Posts: 544
    Grill Sergeant wrote:
    What is the "Rienhart" method you mentioned ? The recipe you posted is not the same as the one KA has on their web site. Seeing the success you had, I will use the same recipe. Thanks

    For the last experimental buns I made, I used the "variation 1" recipe for soft white bread from Peter Reinhart's Bread Baker's Apprentice (fantastic book for the bread baker). Peter noted in the recipe that it made outstanding hamburger and hot dog buns. I scaled it down to 3/4 of a recipe so that each bun would be 3 ounces of dough since that was his recommendation for portion size (the original recipe is about 37+ ounces and 12 buns; the bun pan makes 10 buns, hence the scaling).

    They came out a little to "rich", although they were very tasty. Here's is the thread on that experiment:

    http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=845172&catid=1#


    All of this was inspired back when RRP discovered split top "coney" buns at a non-New England grocery store. A couple of links to recipes were posted and I tried the one from the blog that was mentioned by Carolina Q. While those buns didn't work out as well, that blog was the "ah ha!" moment in homemade split top bun history because forming each bun separately (rather than just filling the pan with a rectangle of dough) leads to the correct shape and side texture which is key to a split top bun (especially when lightly grilled/toasted). Here's that whole thread that started it all (no bun photos, though)

    http://www.eggheadforum.com/index.php?option=com_simpleboard&func=view&id=839696&catid=1#

    Of course, Hungry Celeste did suggest the Reinhart variation 2, which uses buttermilk. I will probably throw that into the mix soon (just how many hot dog buns can 2 people and 3 cocker spaniels eat????). It's not that I'm unhappy with the current results, but I want to find as simple/easy a recipe as possible with readily-available ingredients.



    It's the least I can do for all the great folks here who taught me to smoke cheese, dry age beef, make better ribs than I can get at a restaurant, duplicate a Honeybaked Ham at home, make my own buckboard bacon, whip up some awesome green chili, grind my own burger, approach pizza nirvana,.... and a whole lot more!

    Michelle

    Oh, and yes, the recipe I have doesn't seem to be on the KAF website anywhere. It came with the bun pan, which I bought back in 2005 or 2006 at the KAF brick and mortar store in Vermont. I even tried searching for it online and did not come across any sites that had it posted.

    -M
    Egging in Crossville, TN