4th of July Feast

We had a few pounds of ground Lamb in the freezer and I was looking for something unique for the 4th of July weekend. Nick and Mackenzie were in the house as well as Jill. Despite my immobility, I wanted to try my hand at hamburger buns again. The first time were Ok but I could do better. It took about 4 hours to make the rolls most of rising time and it was well worth the effort and there was not much. I let the mixer do all the work and heavy lifting. I set the time for the knead at 7 minutes and walked away. What a difference! Bread is all about hydration and developing gluten and that long, mechanical knead produced a beautiful crumb and soft delicious bread.


Mackenzie also wanted a salad to use her figs and candied pecans. We used spinach and baby kale with a Balsamic Honey Dressing to die for.

1/3 cup Balsamic Vinegar
1/2 c olive oil
2 T Dijon Mustard
1 T Honey
S & P to taste


Now the Lamb Burgers are on the blog already so search for them. The rolls are as follows:


Hamburger Buns (8)

1 Tbl yeast
3.5 cups AP flour
1 c warm water
1 egg
3 T sugar
3 T melted butter
1 1/4 t salt
1 teas olive oil
1 teas Sesame seeds

Put yeast, 1/2 c of the flour, sugar and the cup of warm water in the mixer and whisk well. Let it sit for 5-10 minutes till foamy.

Add the egg, salt and butter, whisk well then add the remaining flour. I used the Kitchen Aid and mixed till it came away from the sides of the bowl. Scraped it down and then mixed with the dough hook for 7 minutes. Dough will be sticky bu not stick to your fingers.

Turn it out, clean the bowl, coat it with the olive oil and add the dough back. Cover and let rise till double. I let mine go a solid 2 hours.

Deflate the dough and divide evenly into 8 pieces.

I lined a baking sheet with parchment and placed the 8 disks of dough (turn under the balls till smooth on top) and flatten them slightly. I used the 2, 1, 2 arrangement of the pan. Cover lightly with plastic wrap and allow to rise until large and puffy. Mix and egg with a tablesppon of milk and lightly brush the tops of the rolls, sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake 375 for 15-17 minutes till golden.