oven. Sure, it’ll take some practice. Some of your buns will be misshapen. Sometimes they’ll overproof, because you had to go pick up your kid or run to the store, and you got distracted. Sometimes you’ll forget to turn on the oven timer, and you’ll burn the buns, or your oven will be too hot, and you’ll toast the tops to a crisp. Don’t worry; it’s just flour and a few ingredients. Start over and try again. You’ll get it!
I’m often inspired to bake or cook because of an Instagram photo, or a recipe I see while flipping through a book. Most of the time, when I look at a recipe, I only need to grasp the basics and then make it without referring back to the specifics. Or I see a photo and try to recreate a version of what I saw with whatever I have on hand.
Most of the recipes in this book lend themselves to that style of cooking. They are mainly a starting off point or a suggestion. If you can’t find pea sprouts, use lettuce. If you have arugula, but the recipe calls for leaf lettuce, go for it! The greens are simply to provide a nice cool crunch, and a break from all the meat and carbs. Also, most of the cheeses in this book are interchangeable. Cheddar, Swiss, manchego, even American, can be used equivalently on just about any burger, should you like one but not another. Or, just use what you already have!
For the beef, try to use a little less, and get the best you can buy. Go to a butcher or grocery store that carries sustainable, grass-fed beef. You can easily make one pound of good beef stretch into four burgers.
A lot of recipes say, “Add salt and pepper to taste.” I recommend that you salt everything, and salt often. When cooking, add a little throughout the cooking process, not just at the end. This helps flavor the food from the inside, not just the outside. I keep a small bowl of kosher salt nearby, and I throw in a pinch here and there. Using pinches instead of a shaker helps ensure that you aren’t over-salting.
In the baking part of this book, however, you do need to be a little more precise. The measurements and the basic ingredients can be pretty important. You can’t just sub almond milk for regular milk, or oil for butter. But the baking part is also a great place to let your creativity shine! Many people will tell you that baking is an exact science, but don’t let that intimidate you. Most bakers and baking books use the metric system, digital scales, and ratios to write the recipes. If you seriously get into baking, metric is great! I use a digital scale most of the time. But I wanted this book to be as easy for you as possible, so I stuck with the tried-and-true cups and teaspoons. All the recipes here have been tested, but sometimes I didn’t precisely remember the measurements. Did I use exactly a quarter cup of sugar? Did I pack the flour into the cup, or was it spooned in? Don’t worry; the recipes will work, regardless. They’re just buns.
But there are some things that I do and use that you probably should as well, in order to improve your success. Here’s a list of equipment and ingredients that I use when baking and cooking.
Ingredients
Bread Flour
All the recipes in this book use bread flour. It’s higher in protein than regular all-purpose flour, so it forms a smoother, tighter bun. It costs a little more, but it’s worth it. If you use regular all-purpose or a mix of both, your results may vary.
Eggs
I use Grade A large eggs for all the recipes. Try to use cage free, free range eggs, or better yet, find someone with a chicken. Just note that if you are using eggs from a friend or from your own backyard, they may vary in size, from really small to “Is that a goose egg?”
Seeds & Toppings
You’ll save a lot of money on things like poppy seed and sesame seed if you can find them in bulk or in an ethnic grocery store. I get a three-pound bag of poppy seeds from a Russian market for less than the cost of a little spice jar at the grocery store. For pretzel salt (which is a must for the salt-topped buns), I find that online.
Milk
For the recipes that use milk, I always use organic one-percent milk. Whole and two percent will also work, and I’m pretty sure that in a pinch, fat-free would work, too. Almond milk will not.
Salt
Kosher salt or sea salt are the only way to go. Ditch the table salt.
Yeast
All the recipes use active dry yeast. Buy a big bag at Costco, then transfer it to a Mason jar, and keep it in the fridge. I use Red Star brand.
Equipment
Stand Mixer
Just about all the recipes can benefit from a stand mixer with a dough hook. If you don’t have one, you are going to get really strong arms. You can mix by hand, but the dough hook makes quick work, and you can leave the dough in the mixer bowl for the first rise.
Rimmed Baking Sheets
Get four sixteen-by-twenty-inch rimmed baking sheets. The rim helps keep the little seeds and bits from sliding off the sheets and onto the oven floor.
Pre-Cut Parchment
To go with your new baking sheets, also get pre-cut parchment paper to line them. It makes life easier. I’ve only ever seen these online.
Dough Scraper
A rectangle dough scraper will help immensely by letting you divide the dough into smaller pieces. It’ll also help you get the dough off your cutting board, especially with some of the stickier doughs. I have a cheap plastic one, and it’s great.
Pullman Loaf Pan
For the last bread recipe, you’ll need a rectangular Pullman loaf pan, found online.
1.Start with great ingredients if you want great buns! I almost always use King Arthur or Bob’s Red Mill bread flour for all the recipes. Sure, it is a little more expensive, but shop around. I’ve noticed that some stores charge two or three dollars more a bag than other stores. And if you can, buy locally grown and milled flour. You can also buy in bulk!
2.Get pre-cut parchment paper that matches the size of your baking sheets. I get twelve-by-sixteen-inch pre-cut sheets on Amazon. It saves time and frustration, and because they are flat, they won’t roll up on your rolls.
3.Find someone with a chicken, and trade bread for eggs. It’ll make you feel good, and you’ll be like old-timey barterers.
4.Get good equipment.
