Spelt Hamburger Buns

In my journey towards a wholesome, real food diet, I have been experimenting with a variety of different kinds of flours. So far, the flour I have had the most success with (both mechanically and socially with my family) is spelt.

Spelt berries are relatively inexpensive to purchase and grind into a fine flour easily in the Wonder Mill Junior.

The decision to make spelt hamburger buns came to me the other day. My husband wanted some pulled barbecue beef sandwiches and we were out of hamburger buns. I was about to hop into the car to drive to the store to purchase more buns when I realized that neither of our boys’ car seats were in the car (they were still in our four-door truck, which was with my husband at work). Therefore, I took this as a chance to grind some flour and try my hand at some homemade spelt hamburger buns. Below is the resulting recipe.

Spelt Hamburger Buns

Ingredients

• 3/4 c. warm water
• 1 tbsp. quick rise yeast
• 2 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
• 1 egg
• 2 tbsp. honey
• 2 tsp. sea salt
• 3 to 4 c. fresh milled spelt flour
• 1/4 c. butter, melted
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds

Directions

1. Measure the warm water in a glass measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast over the top and let sit for one to two minutes.
2. Pour the water-yeast mixture, 2 tablespoons melted butter, egg, honey, salt, and about 2 cups flour into a bowl. Mix until incorporated. Gradually add the remaining flour until a soft, smooth dough results.
3. Put the dough in a medium, greased bowl, turning once to grease all sides. Cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for 1 to 1-1/2 hours or until doubled and the indentations from two fingers inserted in the middle fail to spring back.
4. Meanwhile, grease a baking sheet with butter.
5. Punch down the dough. Divide into 8 parts for regular buns or 20 parts for slider buns. Roll each part into a ball. Press each ball into a disc shape (3″ wide for regular buns, about 1-1/2″ wide for slider buns). Place on the greased baking sheet. Cover with the towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft-free place for one hour or until puffy.
6. About 10 before the buns are done rising, heat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.
7. Once the buns have finishing rising, brush them with half of the melted 1/4 cup butter. Sprinkle with sesame seeds.
8. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until the buns sound hollow when tapped.
9. After baking, drizzle the remaining of the 1/4 cup butter over the tops of the buns.
10. Cut each bun in half and use just like regular hamburger buns.

Yield: 8 regular buns or 20 slider buns