Mark's Hamburger Buns

Wampus said:

THANK YOU!

Now....if you are not using the starter as the leaven (which you say you aren't, right?) then do you still do the float test and all?

Also....when he first fed it in the video, he removed 1/2. He also mentioned to remove some (most) and add cold water and flour to retard the growth especially if you're not going to bake often. When you remove these portions, do you just pitch them I assume? The purpose is to only keep about the same amount of starter, so you're feeding the yeast in the portion that remains and the removal of the other portions is just to keep the same volume of starter during growth/development?

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OK so when you are developing your starter it is a daily chore, yes just throw away the part you are taking out unless you want to use it for batter or pancakes or whatever. You will do this and NOT refrigerate it until it has developed enough to pass the float test, this will take at least 10 to 15 days. The only items in your starter ever are flour and water 50% each. As Jacob shows use 50% whole wheat flour and 50% bread flour mixture as your flour, this will build a more robust starter with healthier yeast cultures.
After it is an established starter I leave mine in the fridge and use and replace with cold water and flour mix whenever I bake, keeping in mind that since I don't set my starter out early to bring it to room temp ever I must also use instant yeast in my recipes as well as bring my liquid add to an even warmer level to compensate for the cold I am adding. If you don't use your starter for lets say 2 weeks there will be a black looking water substance floating on top about 1/2" thick. No worries pour it off the top (the loose liquid) stir the rest up and use it, add back to your starter to feed it and into the fridge it goes.
I am happy to answer any questions you have along the way.

superlazy said:

Can I make this without the starter? Wife wants cheese burgers tonight

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Yes you can, since the starter is 50/50 water flour mix and the recipe calls for 150 Grams of starter, just add an additional 75 Grams of Water and 75 Grams of flour to the recipe to substitute.
When in the mixing stage you will need to do an auto-lease. All that means is mix the ingredients and stop the mixer and walk away for 20 minutes, then come back start the kneading process.

landarc said:

if you go searching for it, you can spell it autolyse

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Oops LOL I never really looked it up before, just a Baking term we use. :noidea:
Thanks landarc!

Ever done an eggwash on your buns? I like the sheen it gives them and a little bit of a crust/skin. I do it right before I sesame seed them and also I pull them out and do another thin coating 8 minutes into the bake, then let them go till they are done which is usually another 10 mins or so.