Cheeseburger Buns

I have lots of recipes to post this week; at Nobody's request, here's the first one.

I adapted this Taste of Home recipe for "kid-friendly" buns by using my own homemade bread recipe and adjusting the filling ingredients, but there is no reason you couldn't use frozen rolls or bread dough. I'm not sure how many rolls that would make, though.

The recipe is for a basic cheeseburger flavor. Feel free to experiment with other cheeses or filling ingredients. Mushroom and Swiss might be a good combination to try.


Cheeseburger Buns

Buns:

2 cups water or milk at 105° to 110° F.
2 Tablespoons bulk dry yeast (or individual 2 packets)
2 Tablespoons sugar or honey
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
2 Tablespoons olive oil (or oil of your choice)
5 to 5-1/2 cups flour

Combine warm water, yeast and sugar in bowl of standing mixer (or large bowl if mixing by hand). Let stand for 10 minutes to proof.

Add salt; stir. Add oil; stir. Add flour: I use a Bosch Universal mixer and can add it all at once. If you are using a KitchenAid, other mixer, or mixing by hand, add flour a little at a time. Using the dough hook attachment, knead dough until soft, smooth and elastic. That will take about 4 minutes in a Bosch, about 10 minutes in a KitchenAid and who knows how long by hand.

Turn dough out into a well-oiled bowl. Cover and let rise in a draft-free place (inside the microwave is good) until doubled in volume, about 1 hour. While dough rises, make filling (below).

Heat oven to 400°F.

After dough rises, punch down and knead lightly by hand about 5 times. Divide into 16 portions.
Roll or hand-pat, one portion at a time, into circles 4 to 5 inches in diameter.

Place about 1/8 cup (give or take) of filling on rolled out dough and bring edges of circle together to form a bun. Pinch edges together to seal and place seam side down on baking sheet that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, or preferably, lined with parchment paper.

Bake at 400°F. for about 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers.

Filling:

1-1/2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 pound to 1/3 pound processed cheese, such as Velveeta
1/4 cup to 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/4 cup chopped dill pickle or dill pickle relish
1/2 cup ketchup
1/4 cup beef broth (from bouillon is fine)
1 Tablespoon yellow mustard
1 teaspoon Montreal steak seasoning or similar seasoning blend

Brown meat and onion until no longer pink. Drain meat, rinse with water to remove fat, then drain again.

Return meat to pan, add remaining ingredients and heat over medium heat, stirring frequently until cheeses have melted. Use for filling in Cheeseburger Buns. Freeze any leftovers for use in chili, soup, Sloppy Joes or other similar recipes.

Makes 16 filled buns.

*****

A Little Thing To Save Money and Time: Set aside half of the cooled buns, wrap them individually in two layers of plastic wrap, then freeze. On days when you're busy and tempted to hit the drive-thru, pull these out of the freezer instead. Remove the plastic wrap, re-wrap in a paper towel and heat in the microwave for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes. Serve with a salad or heated frozen veggies for a quick and easy meal that's much cheaper than drive-thru.