Mini Burgers aka Sliders

I certainly do love a juicy burger with a soft fluffly bun to go with it. There is nothing worst than eating a bun that is hard and thick and with a meat patty that is dry and tasteless. I think this would be an absolute sin!

This particular burger bun recipe comes from Grace of Kitchen Corner . I had the priviledge to sample this when I attended a bloggers meetup and Grace had kindly contributed her burgers as part of the scrumptious feast we had. After the first bite I knew I had to try my hand at making them. So it was a few weeks after that (ok I know ... this is a very late post) that I set one Sunday to make them from scratch, and this including the meat patty as well. By the way, this is also the first time I am making bread using the "water roux" method.

This particular recipe makes for 8 normal sized burger buns. However I decided to go for mini sliders instead .. guess this is the rage right now. I ended up with about 15 mini burger buns. I followed Grace's tip as well which was to make the buns first. After they are baked, I could then judge the size of meat patties I had to make thereafter.





Mini Burgers aka Sliders
Makes 8 burger buns

Ingredients:

210g bread flour
56g plain flour
20g milk powder
42g caster sugar
half teaspoon of salt
6g yeast
30g beaten eggs
85g water
84g water dough
22g unsalted butter

Recipe for the water dough "water roux":

Cook 125g water with 25g bread flour at medium low heat, keep stirring until it become thicken and no lumps left. If you've a candy thermometer, measure it until the temperature turn to 65C then turn of the heat. If you don't have one, cook it until it is like baby porridge consistency. Transfer to a clean bowl to cool down.

Method:

1) Place all the ingredients for kneading except the butter until everything come together and become a smooth dough then add in the butter a little at a time.

2) Let the dough slowly absorb the butter then turn to speed two if you are using kitchenaid mixer. Knead until the dough no more sticking at the side of the mixing bowl and the dough should be very smooth and elastic.

3) Let it proof for 40 minutes in a clean bowl cover with cling warp.

4) Divide the dough into even size of 8 portions or any size you like it to be then let it rest for 10 minutes.

5) Shape the dough into smooth round shape. Prepare some water on a a clean plate and place a kitchen towel on the top.

6) Damp the surface of each dough and run the damp surface around a bowl of sesame seeds. Place the dough on a baking tray and let the it proof for 40 minutes. Bake at 180C for 15 minutes

Beef Burger Patties
Makes 8 burgers

Ingredients:

2 lbs lean ground beef
2 large eggs, beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup fine dry breadcrumb
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp mixed dried herbs
4 Tbsp hickory barbecue sauce
1 Tbsp worchester sauce
6 Tbsp olive oil (for frying)

Method:

1) Mix together ground round, beaten eggs, onions, soda crackers, garlic, salt, pepper and barbecue sauce. Mix until well incorporated. Leave in the fridge for about half an hour.

2) Remove from fridge and divide into 8 equal sized patties.

3) In a frying pan over medium-high heat, heat olive oil. Cook untill desired doness.