Bacon Buns

Baking Better Barbeque Buns



Sometimes I baffle myself. For instance, I've been on a bun binge this year. No idea why, but it's been ages since I've bought a bun. I've baked burger buns and breakfast buns, buns that were brash and buns that were buttery, even basic buns -- and most recently I set out to bake a better barbeque bun. I've no idea why.

For my father's birthday I'd decided to make barbeque, specifically pulled (hand-shredded) pork. In this area of the country pulled pork is typically served as a sandwich on hamburger buns -- those soft, ultra-refined-flour, sweet things the supermarkets sell. They're actually not bad as a base for barbequed sandwiches, they pretty much disappear beneath the pork, smoke, and sauce contributing little more to the flavor than a fork would, but I believed something better could be brought to the plate.

Life expectancy would grow by leaps and bounds if green vegetables smelled as good as bacon. ~ Doug Larson

I've learned a bit with each of my prior efforts at burger buns. The flavors have been consistently excellent but the texture hasn't. It's gotten better, but has continued to be heavier than I wished. With each experiment I've taken what I learned and went looking for something new to try. I've looked for a bun that had real flavor and still had a light texture.

I'm not there yet, but closer.

I think some whole-wheat flour is needed for both flavor and texture -- but I've learned it's much less than I originally supposed. This time the proportion of wheat to white was less than 1 to 3 and I suspect 1 to 4 will be best.

Slow rising and minimal yeast produce deeper and richer flavors and I have bias toward such flavor. But these characteristics also produce a tougher bread because the gluten is more developed. And I didn't want the bun to be so much an ingredient as a condiment -- at least in this case. So I elected to do a quick single rise.

Lastly, I did want some flavor so after giving thought to what would complement the pork, I decided to use bacon fat in the buns instead of the usual butter. It was an excellent choice and the buns had a lovely pork flavor.

Bacon Buns

1 c milk
1/2 c water
1/4 c bacon fat
1 c whole-wheat flour
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp instant yeast
2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 ea egg

Heat the milk, bacon fat, and water in a small saucepan until about 120F.

Mix together 2 cups flour, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment. Mix in milk mixture, followed by the egg.

Add remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time -- switching to the dough hook after adding a cup and a half of flour. Knead for 8 minutes then turn out on a floured board and knead 2 or 3 minutes longer if required. Shape dough into a roll and allow to rest for about 10 minutes.

Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Form each piece into an oblong shape and place on a parchment lined baking sheet (you'll need two sheets). Spritz buns with a light coating of oil and cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until slightly more than doubled in bulk.

While the buns are rising, heat the oven to 400F and position a rack in the middle of the oven.

Bake for 8 minutes, then rotate baking sheet 180 degrees. Bake another 2 to 4 minutes until golden brown.

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