Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

So yesterday Rebecca and I were back in action in the kitchen.  A long time ago I made hamburger buns...tried several different recipes.  But they never turned out that great.  So I wanted to give it another go.  I decided to try the Heavenly Homemaker recipe...again.  The first time I made it was 2 years ago.  And...it was pretty bad.  Hardly any rising.  Flat pieces of "bun".  But my bread baking skills have come a long way since then.  So I tried it again yesterday.  They turned out great!!  I only made a half recipe to experiment.  I ended up with 10 buns and a mini loaf of bread.  I think next time I'll keep the dough a little thicker when I roll it so the buns are even fluffier.  So glad I tried them again.  They taste great (Rebecca and I had to sample one of course :).  I'm excited to try them out soon to use for sandwiches.  Now I need to try making the hot dog bun version.  Then I'll be fairly proficient at making pretty much every bread product we use from scratch :)  Love it.  I did post this recipe before, but I'll repost it now since it turned out so much better.  As usual I had to add more water than Laura suggests.  Wet dough is good dough :)  Maybe having a mixer to do the kneading for me is contributing to my recent bread success too.

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
makes 18-20 buns

5 cups (+) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 pkgs yeast (a/b 4 1/2 tsp.) (I use bread machine yeast)
2 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. sea salt

In a large mixing bowl (I did it in my stand mixer bowl), stir together 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Set aside to let rest for 30 minutes.

In the meantime, mix together 1/4 cup water, yeast and honey. Allow this to sit for at least 10 minutes to activate the yeast.

Melt butter, milk and salt in a small saucepan on the stove. Do not allow the mixture to get above 120 degrees.

Pour yeast mixture and milk mixture into flour mixture. Add remaining two cups of flour (more if needed) (or extra water).

Knead for about 10 minutes until dough begins to look “shiny” (I did this with my stand mixer). Put dough back into the bowl, cover and let rise for at least an hour…or until it has doubled.

Pull dough onto a clean countertop and knead for a couple of minutes to get any air bubbles out. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick. Cut circles from the dough with a large drinking glass or wide mouth jar. Place circles on in a well buttered baking dish about an inch apart.  Allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven.