Buns and Such

With burgers on the menu, I had the brilliant idea of baking my own buns for no other reason than having never done it. Once again I consulted The Bread Baker's Apprentice and found three recipes for hamburger/hot dog buns each a slight variant of the theme of enriched (the inclusion of eggs and milk) bread. Here's how they turned out:

Perky buggers. Charmingly rotund. Little shiny pates sprinkled with seeds that look nothing like hamburger buns. The buns themselves were subtly sweet, rich without being overly dense and perfectly sized for sliders, my favorite burger portion. Here's one dressed with meat and veg:

While not entirely hamburger-bun-like, my buns did bear the uncanny resemblance to baos, the Chinese yummy version of Hot Pockets. Filled with either a sweet or savory filling they're found in every Chinese bakery and any good chinky boy or girl can relate the childhood ritual of peeling the parchment square off the bottom (preventing sticking during baking) and quickly consuming their bready goodness. Kid Bro and I ate them on our bi-annual provision shops in the big city with Momma. A typical bakery would have a narrow floor plan with a long glass display case behind which curt over-worked women, armed with racks of freshly baked treats would take your order. Momma would make her selections which were placed in a flimsy pink cardboard box efficiently tied with a bow of red cotton string . At home we'd package them individually in plastic sandwich bags sealed with twist ties and freeze them to be reheated in the microwave for afterschool snacks. *sigh*
So with nostalgia on my mind and a package of sweet bean paste in the fridge: I made baos.

Pretty stinkin' cute and really good eats.

I love it when a plan comes together.