Brioches, burgers, buns

Street food. In case you didn't get the memo, that's where it's at. And it has been featured in this blog too. There was Streat Helsinki, my fellow blogger's cook book on the subject and then there have been the reviews of all the restaurants specialized in it (Twisted Street Kitchen, Hodari & Hummeri, Street Gastro, Cholo...)

Already Rosburger got me thinking about it, but the lush burgers and sliders at Streat Helsinki made me realize that a proper, brioche-like it's something I'm just going to have to learn to make myself. Summer is just around the corner! And with it, the BBQ- season! And my head is buzzing with ideas for all sorts of burgers!

As I was poring over different recipes out there I decided to settle for this, not-too-buttery one. Spelt I didn't have, so I substituted it with barley. Though I have since made these using just all purpose flour.

Brioche sounds so elegant and difficult. This recipe isn't any of that but it does take time. It's care-free though in that you can make the dough the night before and leave it to rise in the fridge overnight. And then, come morning, you can greet the world bonjour to the seductive scent of these rich and buttery buns!

Makes 6-8 burger-size brioches, 10-12 slider-size ones

100 g butter (no, nothing else will do)
1 dl milk

25 g fresh yeast (if you let the dough rise longer than 4 hours 20 g will suffice))

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp salt

2 eggs

3  dl all purpose flour

2 dl slightly coarser spelt flour (or bread flour or barley flour or all purpose flour)

for glazing: 2 egg yolks

Sesame seeds (or poppy seeds) to sprinkle (optional)

Take butter into room temperature about an hour before baking. Bring milk to 37° , dissolve yeast into it and then stir in honey and salt. Whisk in the eggs and then add flour in a couple of installments. Finally work in the butter in small cubes as this helps the butter spread evenly and results in fluffy dough. Using either a Kitchen Aid (about 8 minutes) or your hands (10-15 minutes), keep working the dough until it's soft and elastic. Add more flour if needed for a smooth, pliable result.

Cover with cling film and let rise in the fridge for an hour. Or longer, such as overnight. Dump the dough onto lightly floured surface, knead away the air bubbles and form into a bar. Cut into as many segments as you want and gently roll into balls. Especially if you intend to pile loads of meat onto your buns, try to keep them fairly low - otherwise they can be a nightmare to eat. Place on a baking sheet and onto a tray, cover with a tea towel and let rise for another hour.

Beat the egg yolks, brush the buns with the glaze, sprinkle some seeds on top and bake at 200° for 15-20 minutes until they're gloriously golden.

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