Perfect burger buns

These buns are truly fabulous.

The ingredients you will need to make this are : Warm water, Warm milk, Sugar, Yeast, All purpose flour, Bread flour, Salt, Unsalted butter, Eggs and Sesame seeds (optional).

Begin by combining 3 Tbsp of warm milk and 1 cup of warm water.

To the milk, add 2 1/2 Tbsp Sugar .

And 2 tsp active dry yeast.

Now let it sit in a warm place for few mintues until foamy.

By that time beat 1 egg and set aside.

Next whisk together 3 cups of bread flour,1/3 cups of all purpose flourand 2 1/2 tsp Salt in a bowl.
Dont substitute all purpose flour for bread flour.You wont get that right texture for your bread.

Then add 2 1/2 Tbsp melted butter..

and mix it together until they are nicely incorporated.

Stir in the beaten egg

and the yeast mixture.

Mix it until the dough comes together

If the whisk is not doing its job you can try with a spatula..

and when nothing works you can use your hands..Knead the dough for about 8 to 10 mintues.

After the kneading, form the dough in to a large ball,cover it and let it sit in the bowl and rise for an hour.
Two things to remember here :
Note #1 Lightly oil the bowl.It will prevent the dough from sticking to the bowl.
Note #2 Cover it with plastic wrap or dish towel.This will keep the dough soft.

After 1 hour..

Look at that !

Divide the dough in to 8 equal parts.Gently roll each in to a nice ball and place it on baking sheet lined with parchment paper.Leave enough space between each dough.

Beat the second egg with 1 Tbsp of water

and brush it on top of the buns..

Sprinkle with Sesame seeds if using and bake it in a preheated oven at 400 degrees F for 15 minutes.

I am hungry !!

They are not smooth like a regular bun from your local store..They are rustic and delicious.And thats what a perfect bun is !

RECIPE  ( Taken from www.smittenkitchen.com )
Servings : 8
Ingredients :

• 1 cup warm water
• 3 tablespoons warm milk
• 2 teaspoons active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 egg
• 3 cups bread flour
• 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 2 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 1 egg
• Sesame seeds (optional)

Directions :

• Mix together water,milk,sugar and yeast and set aside till it is foamy.
• Combine the all purpose flour,bread flour,salt,1 egg and butter.
• Add the yeast mixture in to it and knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes.
• Make it in to a ball,cover it and let it rise for an hour or till the dough is doubled.
• Divide it in to 8 balls and transfer it on to a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
• Beat the remaining 1 egg and add 1 Tbsp of water and brush it on the buns.
• Sprinkle the sesame seeds.
• Bake it in a preheated oven at 400 degree F for 15 minutes.

Easter egg cake

Why not surprise your egg hunters this easter with cakes baked in real egg shells !

Making this cake is really simple.But you will need a lot of egg shells.Because of this the preperations should start few days before the Easter.

Increase the scrambled egg consumption for the next few days !

Carefully poke a small hole on each egg.

Dump out the contents.

Clean the insides of the egg shells..

and immerse them in salt water for one hour.

Make sure that all the egg shells are completely immersed in  salt water and then dry it

Now, for making the cake batter, I used half of a boxed cake mix. But you can certainly use your favorite recipe.

Make the cake batter according to the recipe or package instructions.

This should be enough to make one 8 inch round cake.

Divide the batter in to three separate bowls.

Now grab whatever food color you want.

Pink..Green..May be I can use Yellow next .

Try to bring light colors..

Fill the egg shells with cake batter.This is the tricky part.If you underfill the eggs you wont get the shape of an egg.If you overfill, the cake will overflow while baking.

So we can go with a trial and error method.Fill half of the shell with the cake batter.

This was right at 15 minutes inside my oven.

This is my second trial with one fourth of shell filled with batter.It is better to let the cake batter flow out a bit so that you can simply cut that off and get the shape of a perfect egg .

So you should fill only one fourth of the egg shell with the batter.

Line a muffin pan with cupcake liner or aluminium foil to help them stand upright.

This is how much you should fill the shells.

Now bake the cake in the oven.The baking time for a vanilla cake is 350 degrees F for 25 mintues.But since we are baking in an egg shell decrease the temperature and increase the time.

Bake this cake at 250 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the top of the cake is light golden brown.

It doesn't look that nice right after baking.

Just use a knife to remove the excess cake..

Now let it cool for a few minutes and then crack it and eat it !!

And here is another one..

This was the perfect among the lot...

Love these !

RECIPE  (Adapted from www.cupcakeproject.com )

Servings : 12

Ingredients :
Egg shells - 12
Vanilla cake mix - Half of a box

Directions :
Make a hole on the top of the eggs and remove all the contents in to a bowl.
Clean the egg shells and soak it salt water for one hour and dry it.
Make the cake batter according to the directions on the box.
If you are using a recipe to make the cake batter, make it for one 8 inch round cake.
Color the batter and pour it in to the egg shells to fill one fourth of the shells.
Use a muffin pan to keep the egg shells upright.
Bake for 250 degrees F for 30 minutes.