Potato Hamburger Buns

Potato Hamburger Buns

Sometimes there is nothing like a nice juicy burger to satisfy a craving and for us it's not just a summertime thing; it's a year-round, oh-I-need-a-burger thing, and we must give in to it for nothing else satisfies when the craving strikes.

Growing up, our burger buns were two slices of white bread that would soak up all the hamburger grease and became a goopy white mass that would drip in sheets between your fingers as you tried to eat your sandwich.  Who knew?  We thought it was supposed to be like that.  

So fast forward through the years; the designer bread for hamburgers was discovered and consumed many times over but never did I stop to think I could make them at home. Until one day I had discovered a very popular recipe from a well-known baking site and it was a disappointment.  The roll just could not, in my opinion, hold up to a truly juicy hamburger.  Good for chicken salad.  Good for luncheon meat.  Not good for hamburgers.

More time goes by and I didn't seen anything that even tempted me to try, that is, until I saw this recipe on Smells Like Home.  I was immediately intrigued.  Potatoes add moistness and a kind of body to bread, helps to make bread stay fresher longer.  I jumped on it and I'm glad I did.  

These buns are beautiful and hearty.  They stayed fresh for several days and yes!  They hold up to a juicy hamburger.  These look like a lot of work, and I suppose they are a little work.  But if you want to impress for a special occasion, these are totally worth the effort.

Potato Hamburger Buns

1 pound potatoes, peeled, rinsed and cut into 1-inch pieces (about two large potatoes, maybe a third for good measure)
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 ¼ cups bread flour
1 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoon instant yeast
1 teaspoon table salt
2 large eggs (1 for the bun batter and 1 for the glaze)
5 tablespoons of reserved potato water
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (nice but totally optional)

Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan and cover with cold water.  Bring the water to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium-low; simmer until the potatoes are easily pierced with the tip of a knife or fork, about 8 to 10 minutes.

Transfer 5 tablespoons of the potato water to a tiny bowl and reserve the liquid.  Drain the remaining  liquid in the saucepan and return the potatoes to the hot saucepan. Shake the potatoes over low heat to remove the surface moisture, about 1 minute.  Turn off heat.

Mash (or rice) the potatoes until very smooth. Measure out 1 cup of potatoes, add to a medium bowl and mix in the butter until melted. Keep the potatoes warm.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the flour, sugar, yeast, and salt. Add the warm potatoes and mix with your impeccably clean hands until combined.

Mix in 1 egg and the reserved potato water with the dough hook attachment and continue to mix on low speed until the dough is soft and a little sticky, about 8-10 minutes. The dough should still be warm.  Remove the dough and shape into a ball.

Lightly grease the mixer bowl and return the dough to the bowl, turning the dough in the bowl to coat it lightly in the oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and let the dough rise in a warm spot until almost doubled in volume, about 30-40 minutes. Very warm kitchens will require less time.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, pat it into an 8-inch square.  Cut the square into 9 equal pieces; separate the pieces and cover them loosely with plastic wrap or clean lint-free kitchen towel to prevent a skin from forming on the top.

Working with one square at a time, roll the dough rounds into a tight balls and return them to the work surface under the wrap; allow them to rest for 15 minutes.

Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Firmly press each dough round into a 3 ½-inch disk, pushing out large pockets of air from the dough. Line the disks up on the baking sheets and cover loosely with plastic wrap.

Allow the dough to proof at room temperature until almost doubled in size, another 30-40 minutes. While the dough proofs, preheat the oven to 425° F with the racks in the two center positions of the oven.

In a small bowl, mix the remaining egg with a tablespoon of water. Lightly brush the tops of the dough rounds with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.

Bake for 15-18 minutes, rotating pans halfway through the time from top to bottom and front to back, until the buns are a deep golden brown. Transfer the pans to wire racks to cool for 5 minutes then transfer the buns to the racks to cool completely before slicing.

Hamburger Plate

COOK'S NOTE: The original recipe says to put these on two sheets, but I was able fit the it all on one sheet by staggering them.

Welsh Potato Cake

Welsh Potato Cake

I'm pretty sure I never met a potato I didn't like.  When Sweetie-Pie and I go out to eat, he'll ask me what kind of potato should he order because I'm the one who's going to be eating it.  We're like Jack Spratt and his wife like that.  I take two bites of my meat, give him the rest, and he's scraping his potatoes onto my plate.  We work as a team like that.

I'm very content with the basic mashed or baked (and can we talked about fried?) potato.  No matter how you slice 'em, I love 'em. Yeah, it takes a little time to slice them and arrange them in the pan, but the little extra effort created a lot of wow.  Crispy, buttery potatoes on the outside, and melty, fluffy, buttery, onion-y potato on the inside.  Sometimes the simplest ingredients, beautifully presented, can garner the greatest wows, and this humble potato recipe is one of them.  No fancy ingredients and no advanced culinary skills needed here.

But you will need an eight-inch springform pan and either a mandolin or patience and a sharp knife to thinly slice the potatoes.

WELSH POTATO CAKE 

2 pounds of potatoes, peeled and sliced
8 ounces finely chopped onion
3 ounces melted butter
salt and pepper to taste

Generously butter an 8-inch springform pan.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

Slice your potatoes into thin discs (as if cutting for thick potato chips). Put the slices in a dish of ice water while you finish slicing the potatoes and then rinse and dry when ready to use.

Line the bottom of the springform pan in a layer of tight overlapping concentric circles (as you will want this and all potato layers to be snug so that when you slice into it the layers and slices will stay together).  

Sprinkle a bit of diced onion over the potatoes, a bit of butter and salt and pepper.

Repeat layers.

Bake for an 1 to 1-1/4 hours or until easily pierced with a knife.  

The thicker your potatoes slices, the longer it will take to cook.

COOK'S NOTE:  I've seen other recipes where a bit of grated cheese is added between the layers or a tiny touch of rosemary.  
 

Irish Potato Pancakes

Irish Potato Pancakes

Our weekday mornings are typically crazy, looking for that first cup of coffee, and searching our souls to find that first cheery word and hint of smile. We always do of course, but some days it takes a while.  One thing that brings immediate cheer is a hearty, country-style breakfast, a rare indulgence, but when we pull out all the stops and treat ourselves, there are, afterwards, sighs of contentment and insincere promises of never eating such a big breakfast again.

A hearty breakfast that includes Irish potato pancakes and no-knead English muffin bread

I have the most amazing friends, Jackie McG, and her dear husband John, who visited me and Sweetie-Pie one March day and Jackie taught me to make Irish potato pancakes, the way her beloved mum taught her.  I still don't make them as good as that day as Jackie stood there watching me, her red haired head tilted and her blue eyes bright with a twinkle and a beatific smile as she watched me muck about in the mashed potato.

Even without her gentle coaching to add more flour, you're making a dough, don't be afraid of 'em, these turned out very well and are a satisfying addition to a meal.

IRISH POTATO PANCAKES

2 cups leftover mashed potatoes
1-2 large eggs
1/4 cup flour, more or less to make the mixture dough-like
a bit of finely diced onion (or chive or green onions/scallions)
salt
pepper

sour cream or creme fraiche or (optional but nice)
enough oil or shortening to fry the patties in

Mix the first six ingredients together.  The flour part can be kind of tricky on exactly how much to add.  You're looking to make a dough of sorts, so it's thicker than a pancake batter but probably not quite as heavy as a biscuit.  Depending on the type of potato you use will affect the amount of flour you need, so it's hard to give an exact amount.  Pat the dough out into patties.

Preheat your skillet, adding enough oil or shortening to fry the patties but not drown them because you'll be cooking on one side until golden brown and then turning and cooking the other.  If you're making a big batch, put cooked patties on an oven-proof plate and put in a 200*Fahrenheit oven.  I put them on a paper towel to soak up any additional grease.