Olive Oil and Roasted Garlic Hamburger Buns

I’m not a huge fan of 4th of July. I don’t love fireworks, or mosquitos, or standing outside in the oppressive summer heat. I’m not super into platters of grilled meats or red, white, and blue tank tops. One thing I can always get behind, however, is a great cheeseburger. We do so little food-wise when it comes to 4th of July, that making your own hot dog or hamburger buns doesn’t seem quite as overwhelming and I promise you, it’s definitely worth it. These hamburger buns are brioche-esque, meaning that they are enriched slightly with fat, eggs, and milk, but not so much of these ingredients as to make a full brioche. They are light and fluffy, soft in the middle and sturdy enough to support a fully-loaded cheeseburger and they come together in just a couple of hours. And if you’re anything like my mom and prefer charred hot dogs to hamburgers, just shape them in cylinders instead of rounds to make hot dog buns. So Happy 4th of July to you all! I hope that your weekend is filled with air conditioning, cold margaritas, and great hamburger buns.

Olive Oil and Roasted Garlic Hamburger Buns

Yield: about 9 buns

adapted from NYTimes Cooking

Ingredients 

1 cup (237 g) warm water

3 T (42 g) whole milk

2 tsp active dry yeast

2 eggs, lightly beaten

3 cups (410 g) all purpose flour

1/2 cup (67 g) whole wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt

2 T (30 g) honey

3 T (40 g) olive oil

1 head roasted garlic (about 20-25 grams) *see note below*

egg wash

Procedure: 

1. In a glass measuring cup, combine water and milk and heat in the microwave for about 30 seconds, until warm to the touch. Add yeast, and let rest for 5 minutes, until yeast is foamy. 

2. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Set aside. 

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook attachment, combine eggs, honey, and olive oil. Add the yeast and liquid mixer and gently stir with a rubber spatula, just to combine. 

4. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add dry ingredients, followed by the roasted garlic. When everything has been added, increase mixer speed to medium and mix for 5-7 minutes, until a smooth, elastic dough has formed and it begins to pull away from the sides of the bowl. You can test the dough’s gluten development by performing the window pane test. 

5. Transfer the dough ball to a lightly-oiled mixing bowl, cover with plastic wrap and let proof for 1 1/2-2 hours, until doubled in size. 

6. Turn the dough out onto a lightly-floured work surface. Divide the dough into 50 gram portions and then shape each piece into a ball. 

7. Place dough balls on a parchment lined baking sheet and cover with plastic wrap. Let proof another 30-45 minutes, until buns are puffy and an imprint fills in halfway when poked gently with a finger. 

8. When the buns are finished proofing, preheat the oven to 375° F. Brush the tops of each bun with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. 

9. Bake for 15-20 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, until buns are golden brown. Let cool completely before slicing. 

Notes: To roast garlic, slice a head of garlic in half horizontally and pour a couple of glugs of olive oil over the open cloves. Wrap the garlic tightly in aluminum foil and roast at 400° F for 20-30 minutes, until garlic is soft, caramelized, and fragrant. Let cool completely and then squeeze garlic cloves out of the skins. And if you’re roasting one head, you might as well roast two and then keep roasted garlic in the fridge to smear on anything and everything.

Roasted Tomato Cornbread

When I was working at the restaurant, I always dreaded cornbread day. As a part of the bread baking team, we were in charge of making all of the breads and pastries for the entire resort, the types varying based on the days of the week or the events taking place on property. Cornbread was for outdoor events, usually large groups, so days when we made cornbread, we were cranking out about 300 little golden muffins an afternoon. Mixing the batter was easy, but baking them off was quite a feat. Because of the set up of the kitchen, we would corner ourselves in front of the 400° F convection ovens, filled with pre-heated muffin tins. Then, with that hot air blowing from the oven, we quickly pulled out the hot tins, sprayed them with cooking spray, and scooped batter into each little crevice, before shoving them back in and slamming the door. After ten minutes, we flipped them out and repeated the whole process over again. (It was definitely a two-person job so at least you had someone to commiserate with.) Between the hot oven air and that warm, East Tennessee July summer sun, you were dripping with sweat and all of your pores were filled with cooking spray by the end of the whole she-bang. We always saved cornbread for last, so thankfully, we were able to pull our last trays just before dragging our cornbread-smelling bodies home where I beelined straight for the shower. Needless to say, when I got back home to Orlando, I took a little cornbread baking hiatus.

Lucky for us, this cornbread doesn’t make 300 muffins and you don’t have to stand in front of a hot oven, shoveling the batter in at record-high speeds. This is a much more chill cornbread, perfect for any summer dinner party. I slow roasted grape tomatoes in a hefty glug of olive oil and then poured cornbread batter right over top before baking. It may not be the prettiest cornbread, but it’s simple and delicious and I think it will become a favorite around here.

Roasted Tomato Cornbread

Yield: 1-10 inch cast iron skillet

Ingredients 

roasted tomatoes

1 pint grape tomatoes

2 T olive oil

1/2 tsp kosher salt

cornbread

1 3/4 cup (245 g) cornmeal

1 cup (125 g) all purpose or whole wheat flour

1 tsp granulated sugar

1 tsp kosher salt

1 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1 3/4 cup buttermilk

2 eggs

1/2 cup (113 g) unsalted butter, melted + 2 T for pan

Procedure:  

1. Preheat oven to 300° F.

2. In medium bowl, combine tomatoes, olive oil, and salt. Toss to coat tomatoes and then transfer to a cast iron skillet. 

3. Bake for 90 minutes, checking and gently stirring every 20 minutes.

4. When the tomatoes are finished roasting, increase oven temperature to 400° F and place 2 tablespoons of butter in the skillet to melt while you mix the cornbread. 

5. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking powder, and baking soda. 

6. In a small bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together buttermilk, eggs, and melted butter until homogenous. 

7. Pour liquid ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients and whisk until combined and no dry streaks remain. 

8. Pour cornbread batter over top of roasted tomatoes and bake for 20-25 minutes until crust is deeply golden brown. Remove from oven and top with a little more butter. When cooled slightly, gently flip cornbread out onto a plate and serve.