I made turkey burgers the other night.
They were great- but I didn’t have any good buns
in the freezer and I didn’t want to run out and buy
any- so I decided to make some.
I had about a cup of tempura batter that I had made up
the night before- and I’d used skim milk and an egg in the
batter, so I refrigerated it and decided to use it in the buns.
PLUS- my starter was really in need of being used. I had neglected
it lately and was just starting to feed it up, but I had a LOT of starter
and didn’t want to throw it away so I decided to make sourdough
ham/turkey burger buns!
They really turned out delicious!
Here’s the recipe.
1 cup sourdough starter (recently fed 1 cup water/1 cup flour)
4 cups AP or plain flour
1 tsp rapid rise yeast
4 Tbs. melted butter
1/2 cup milk, scalded then cooled
small egg, beaten
1/2 cup HOT water
2 tsp salt ( I like a salty bread- you could cut this down if you don’t)
The milk and egg were the base of the tempura batter. So if you have
some left over- feel free to use it in their place!
I made a sponge with the starter, 1 cup flour and the milk.
I mixed it up and left it for a couple of hours.
It was bubbly when I came back, so I added everything else and mixed
it all up, oiled the bowl and left it to raise/rest for a bit. About 10 minutes
later, I came back and folded it about 5 times, covered it and left it again-
this time for 20 minutes. Then I folded it again for 5 or 6 times- it was smooth
and pliant- I placed it back in the bowl and let it raise for 45 minutes.
Then I shaped the dough into balls about the size of my fist, flattened them
down with the palm of my hand and using a bread press made slits across the tops.
I used parchment paper to bake on and sprinkled semolina flour on the paper before
placing the buns on top.
I let this raise for about 25 minutes ( suppertime was drawing near) and then baked in
a preheated oven 375 F for about 30 minutes.
They are so good.
And so were the turkey burgers!
Heidi, you’re so clever and intuitive with bread! I love that you can take leftover batter and turn them into such magnificent looking buns! 🙂
Celia-
I hate throwing out anything with milk and eggs in it! And it added just what these buns needed to make a softer bread. Normally, for white bread I make either an Italian dough with yeast,flour, salt, water, and olive oil- or a French bread with flour, water, yeast and salt- but sometimes you need a softer dough with milk and eggs and sugar added. They turned out great- and the sourdough just added an extra rise and flavor.
Your Hamburger buns look great. I’m sure it doesn’t matter what you put on them.
Oh, it matters, Cynthia! This was a perfect combination, however, and I was so glad to be able to use the leftover batter!
Amazing creation Heidi! Hamburger buns are so readily available in supermarkets so to have them homemade is a treat and the best is using leftover ingredients.
Like you, we hate seeing food go to waste and it’s always satisfying when all leftovers in the fridge are finished and we start with a clean slate again. 🙂
I am amazed at what you are coming up with on your blog! You must be working way overtime to come up with such beautiful and versatile creations. And to think you aren’t using that much gelatin!
The first week was tough but once we came up with a concept of showcasing major cuisines of the world, it got more interesting for us and the ideas just flowed in.
Last weekend was great as we did quite a few different recipes, took photos and ate quite a few too! So our initial apprehension is turning out to be a creative and fun journey! Thanks for all your kind words and encouragement, it has really spurred us on each day to create something special.
They look great Heidi. Burgers always seem to be on my ‘weekend’ list of things to make, which always turns into ‘oh maybe next weekend’.
I like turkey, but I very rarely see turkey meat for sale here.
🙂 Here they sell it in frozen chubs- by the pound for about $1.79 per chub.
I use it in place of ground beef- or substitute it for at least half the beef in hamburgers, meatloaf and chili.
I made a meatless meal not too long ago and my husband went out for a Quarterpounder at McDonald’s.
So I use a lot of ground turkey. But I don’t always admit it to him.
Lovely buns, smart move to use up that batter in the dough, a baker after my own heart. I am always using up bits and pieces, I think I see it as a personal challenge. Just so satisfying somehow. We have to separate all our food waste from our other waste (which then gets subdivided again). It is a bit of a pain sometimes, but it really does make you aware of everything that you actually put out for collection, as opposed to what you can put on the compost, re-use in a new dish and so on.
I made teacakes today with dried baby pineapple and sultanas and cocoa butter for the fat, they are so soft it’s unbelievable and very, very filling 🙂
It is a challenge, Joanna- and I hate to waste food. We compost our vegetable matter, separate the cans and bottles from the paper trash and recycle both of those- if only we had pigs, nothing would go to waste. BUT I don’t want to have pigs, or chickens as much as I admire those who do raise their own animals.
The teacakes sound lovely. I just made an orange cream cheese cake that tastes like a poundcake. It was for my niece’s birthday so there are no leftovers. That makes me happy- I like to bake the cakes, but can’t possibly eat all of them!