MKC French Bread Rolls/Hamburger Buns

We seldom have anything for dinner that requires a bun. Mostly because I am not awesome at planning meals in advance (I am going to change that). I just never have them on hand so when my little Lincoln asked for Sloppy Joes, I almost said no and then I realized that MKC (the lady that writes this blog is one of my heros), has posted hamburger buns before. I have made hamburger buns before, but I just knew her recipe would be something amazing. Well, it was and I have made them 3 times since this picture was taken. Recipe found here. I have to be honest, after these come out of the oven, I always have one with butter (when nobody is looking or EVERYONE will want one :) I used this Sloppy Joe recipe.

*Makes about one dozen rolls

1 1/2 cups warm water
3/4 tablespoon instant yeast (or 1 tablespoon active dry yeast)
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 teaspoon salt
4 cups all-purpose flour, give or take a few tablespoons

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, yeast, sugar, oil, salt and 2 cups of the flour (if you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, let the yeast proof in the warm water and sugar for about 3-5 minutes until it is foamy and bubbly before adding the oil, salt and flour). Begin mixing and continue to add the rest of the flour gradually until the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl. Judge the dough not by the amount of flour called for in the recipe but in how the dough feels (see a tutorial on working with yeast here). The dough should be soft and smooth but still slightly tacky to the touch.

Knead the dough in the stand mixer or by hand until it is very smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes in a stand mixer or 8-10 minutes by hand. Lightly spray a large bowl with cooking spray and place the dough in the bowl. Cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap. Let the dough rise until it has doubled (this usually takes about an hour).

Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces and form the dough into round balls. Place the rolls on a lightly greased or silpat-lined baking sheet about an inch or two apart. Cover the rolls with lightly greased plastic wrap taking care not to pin the plastic wrap under the baking sheet or else the rolls will flatten while rising. Let the plastic wrap gently hang over the sides of the pan to fully cover the rolls but not press them down. Let the rolls rise until doubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Bake for 12-14 minutes until lightly browned and cooked through.

*Freezable Option: You can make a double or triple batch of these rolls. Once they are baked and cooled, place them in a zipper-lock freezer bag and put them in the freezer. You can either take them out a few hours before you need them or take them out frozen and microwave them for about 2-3 minutes on 70% power