Homemade Hamburger Rolls

I guess we could call them buns, I mean after all they technically are.  But to me "buns"  (when it comes to food) just sounds.... I dunno.... gross!  Haven't we been over this before where it comes to my weird hang up with food aversions due to the name attached to them?  For example in this post when we discussed my refusal to call them cake "balls' and instead I insisted you call them "bon bons".  Okay, so some things obviously didn't change and won't change no matter how long I'm gone from blogging.  Regardless of what you want to call them, you can call them amazing and I'd be okay with that.  I mean how can you go wrong with homemade rolls? Plain and simple.... ya can't. There's just something about a fresh roll that can't be duplicated in prepackaged ones. We used ours for cheeseburgers and I was just telling Brian how freakin' fantastic they'd be as a deli sandwich as well.  He and Auden even enjoyed them with just a little bit of butter on them!  While cooking them, the house smelled like a bakery and I admit, it made me feel like I was channeling my inner 1950's housewife by making them from scratch.  This was the first time using this recipe or even attempting to make a homemade roll from scratch, so I will confess that I'm no expert when it comes to it.  It's a work in progress and the one recommendation that I will tell you is that the next time I make them, I will be dividing them into smaller portions and making smaller rolls.  The original recipe said to divide the dough into 8 pieces which made rather large rolls which were still delicious but quite substantial in size. Anyway.... enough of this jibber jabber... let me show you my buns! ;) Homemade Hamburger Rolls

Ingredients:

3 1/2 Cups of King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

1 Tablespoon of instant yeast (I used Fleischmann's RapidRise Highly Active Yeast.)

1 1/4 teaspoons of salt

1/4 Cup sugar

2 Tablespoons butter

3/4 -1 Cup of lukewarm water - (I started with 3/4 cup and then kept adding as needed using the entire 1 Cup amount.  See King Arthur's website for help in determining how much water to use.)

1 large egg

Topping:

3 Tablespoons of melted butter
or

1 egg plus 1 teaspoon of water

Sesame Seeds (to taste) and optional

Instructions:

Mix all of the ingredients by hand, bread machine on the dough cycle or in a mixer using the dough hook and kneading for about 5-7 min until dough is soft and smooth.

Cover the dough and allow dough to rise in a place free of drafts for about one and a half hours or until dough has doubled in size.

Gently deflate dough and divide it into 8 pieces (I honestly think for better results divide into 10-12 piece, however it will produce slightly smaller rolls).  Shape each piece into a round ball and flatted to about 3 inches across.  Place rolls on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet.  Cover and allow to rise again for 45 min to an hour and until rolls are noticeably puffy.

Brush the top of rolls with 1.5 Tablespoons of melted butter or I used an egg wash that consisted of 1 egg white and 1 teaspoon of water. Garnish with sesame seeds (optional).

Bake the buns in a preheated 375 degree oven for 15-18 min or until golden brown.  Remove from the oven and brush with the remaining butter.  This will give the rolls a satiny, buttery crust.

Cool the rolls on a rack for 20 min prior to serving.

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil

I want to rename this recipe "You betcha I love Bruschetta" (actually pronounced "brusketta" in Italian)! The reason for the desire to rename it you might ask?  It was Brian's first time ever having it and I'm pretty sure his taste buds fell in love! In fact, his original request to "only have a bite" ended up in him being pretty happy that I made the rest of our leftover garlic bread! I have ALWAYS been a huge fan of this recipe and I am SO happy that I have converted him over into my little world!

This was somewhat of an impromptu recipe.  You see I am somewhat of a veggie abuser.  I tend to go grocery shopping for 2 weeks (or more) at a time and it NEVER fails that I buy too many veggies to use in recipes.  They end up looking all ugly, sad, shriveled or wilted before I ever have a chance to show them some proper love!  I have made an effort to NOT allow that to continue to happen so when I saw 5 little Roma or plum tomatoes sitting in my fridge looking at me in despair, I knew exactly what I needed to do!

This can and probably would be considered an appetizer.  I think it is quite common to be served cold on toasted bread,  but since I hadn't eaten lunch, I turned mine into a warmed version with Mozzarella cheese and make a little makeshift Bruschetta pizza.  The results?  DELIZIOSO!

Bruschetta with Tomato and Basil Ingredients:

6 Roma or Plum Tomatoes 2 Tablespoons of Minced Garlic 1 1/2 Tablespoons of Balsamic Vinegar 3 Tablespoons of Extra Virgin Olive Oil 5 teaspoons of sugar 1/2 teaspoon of dried basil (although I would have used and preferred fresh if we had it) 1/2 teaspoon of dried Italian Seasoning  Bread of your choice baguette French bread, Italian bread or frozen garlic bread. Mozzarella Cheese - optional and to your liking
Preparation Instructions:
Wash and chop into small cubes all 6 of the tomatoes Add Garlic, Balsamic Vinegar, Olive Oil, Sugar, Basil and Italian Seasoning to the chopped tomatoes. Mix thoroughly.
Prepare bread by baking in a preheated 400 degree oven. (if using French or Italian Bread, slice 1/2 inch thick slices on a diagonal, brush with olive oil and place on a cookie sheet, oil side down.)  Toast for 5-7 min or until bread begins to turn golden brown.  Once bread has been toasted, place bread olive oil side up (either side for frozen garlic bread) and add a generous amount of the bruschetta mixture, top with mozzarella cheese and garnish with Italian Seasoning. Place back in the oven and continue baking until the cheese has slightly melted.  If you are serving this cold as a side dish or hor dourve at a party, place in a bowl and allow guests to serve themselves so that the bread doesn't becoming too saturated or soggy prior to serving.