Enough is enough

I don't know what the hell they do to the bread over here, but almost every kind of shop-bought bread you can buy is stale before you get it home. The Brits must prefer it that way because it's all like that. Dry, crumbly, sticks in your throat - ick! Frankly I eat very little bread these days unless it's home made, but the one bready thing we do buy regularly is rolls for Andrew's lunches. I've never had much success at replicating the light, spongy white rolls he deems suitable for sandwiches (this is not a wholemeal house and he's got some teeth issues so multigrains are a minefield). I can do a lovely doughy bun that is good when it's warm from the oven, but the next day it could easily double as a cricket ball. Small ciabatta rolls are easy and delicious, but not always suitable for a bog-standard cold meat and salad sandwich. So I've continued to buy icky mass-produced supermarket rolls with god-knows what in them (much more than flour, yeast and water, that's for sure) and since my lad is (generally) a quiet, uncomplaining sort, he munches his rolls without much bother.

The last straw for me, though, was last Friday night. I had made homemade burgers - gorgeous things made with prime free-range Aberdeen Angus steak mince, gruyere cheese, caramelised onions, lettuce (no tomato because I feel very strongly about tomatoes in burgers. They just don't belong, dammit!) and homemade mayo - sounds good, right? No burger could be made with more care and love. But then my masterpiece was destroyed by the revolting stale, crumbly piece-of-shit bun I'd been forced to buy. 'That is it!', I cried, as my beautiful burger fell to pieces in my hands. 'I will not stand for this any longer - there MUST be a way of making proper soft burger buns at home. I can't eat like this any more!'

So, after much googling, I decided to try a recipe gleaned from a 'certain' book about trainee bakers (recipe below) and it has worked out very well, I must say. I mean, there's definitely room for improvement, but they are soft, fresh and delicious and worlds apart from the supermarkets' 'finest'. I used plain flour instead of strong flour, which ordinarily would be a bread no-no, but I figured that I was actually trying to achieve a lighter, almost fluffy texture (in contrast to my normal sturdy 'rustic' loaves) and I think that principle was a good one. I'd possibly try mixing strong and plain next time to achieve just a slightly stronger crumb. Also I'd add much much less sugar than the original amount - they're much too sweet for my liking. I feel quite confident, though, that I can perfect these wee beauties and that my burgers will never again be tarnished by the chemically-crap which supermarkets sell as rolls.

The Original Recipe

4 3/4 c flour (if using plain you will need more)
1 1/2 tsp salt (I used less as a result of my recent bout of over-salting)
1/4 c powdered milk (not a normal ingredient for me. I'm not sure what this does but I plan to find out)
3 1/4 tsp sugar (waaay too much. Will use 1 tbsp next time I think)
2 tsp instant yeast (1 sachet)
1 lge egg, beaten
3 1/2 tbsp butter, at room temp
1 1/2 c (plus 1 tbsp) luke warm water

I don't really need to give you instructions for making this - blahblahblah bread-making. It's the same thing every time really! Mix dry ingredients. Add butter, egg and the water and mix to combine. Knead, prove, knock back, shape, prove again, bake at 200degC for about 15 mins. Oh, brush the tops of the buns with whatever you fancy - sesame seeds, poppy, cheese or just a light brush of oil.