Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Gluten Free Hamburger Buns

Sometimes, lettuce just isn't enough for a burger, and you really want some bread with your meat. I decided that with summer at the gates, I needed to try out a hamburger bun recipe, and was pretty happy with this first attempt.
This recipe comes from Bette Hagman's "The Gluten-Free Gourmet Revised Edition". Although I have the greatest respect for Bette Hagman and what she's done for gluten free cooking, her recipes aren't always my favorites, we don't seem to have the exact same taste, but they're always a great start for me. And sometimes, as in her crepes, I find her recipe to be better than any others I try. I also have learned great tips from her, these are a perfect example with making my own english muffin rings with tin foil. I've hardly modified her recipe, partly out of necessity and also for volume, but will put it in as I made it.

1 cup Four Flour mix
1/2 cup GF mix
2 Tbsp sugar
1 1/4 tsp xanthan gum
1/4 cup dry milk powder
1/2 tsp unflavored gelatin
3/4 tsp Egg Replacer
scant 1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup lukewarm water (105-110 degrees F)
1/2 Tbsp yeast
2 Tbsp butter flavored Crisco
2/3 cup water
1/2 tsp cider vinegar
1 egg
Grease English muffin forms, or make your own by taking 4 10" lengths of tin foil, and fold it in half, then fold it in half again, and then again, until the strip is just over an inch high. Then form a ring, folding one end into the other, and taping together with masking tape. Place these on a cookie sheet and spray with cooking spray on the inside of each.

In the bowl of your heavy duty mixer fitted with paddle attachment, combine first 8 ingredients.
In a small bowl, dissolve the teaspoon sugar in the lukewarm water, then mix in the yeast. Set aside. Combine the shortening and water in a microwave safe bowl. Place in the microwave on high for one minute, or until water gets hot. There should still be some solid shortening left when you remove it from the microwave. Continue stirring until all the shortening in melted.
Turn mixer on low speed. Slowly add shortening and water mixture, then vinegar, until combined. Then add the egg. This mixture should feel slightly warm. Pour in the yeast water carefully and beat at highest speed for 3 1/2 minutes. I literally use a timer to be sure it's thoroughly mixed. The dough will be very soft, more like a cake batter, but that's right.
Spoon among your forms and fill half full.
I used a rising tip found in Shauna Ahern's book "Gluten Free Girl". I preheated the oven to 200 degrees, then turned it off and set the pan of the buns in the oven with the door slightly ajar. They doubled in size in about 25 minutes. Then I took them out and preheated the oven to 375 degrees. I put them in and set the timer for 10 minutes, after which I covered them with tin foil so as not to burn the tops, then set the timer for another 10 minutes when they were done. I left them on the pan to cool while I grilled the hamburgers. I had to use a sharp knife to run around the edges to remove them from the forms, but it was quite easy. These were a little thicker than I liked for the hamburgers, and dense as most gluten free breads, but really quite good. I might fudge with the recipe a bit, and perhaps make more buns, but I've included shots of the assembled burger, and a cross section to see the texture so you can check it out for yourself. It sure beats lettuce.

10 comments:

Dean Family said...

Oh, thanks for the new idea!!! I have never had a bun in my entire life and it looks really good. Thanks so much Megan. I can't wait to try this one!

Rachel said...

Hey, just discovered your blog and the fab hamburger buns. My husband was diagnosed with celiac in 2006 too and the baking is the hardest part for me. Also spending $$$$ on crappy frozen gluten-free buns and bread, so I guess I have to be a more proactive baker. Gotta try this recipe.

-Rachel
http://wheat-free-meat-free.blogspot.com

Wife of dastew said...

Mmmm, Backyard Burger. We'll be down in a few weeks.

Unknown said...

Hi, I live in Mexico and just starting this gluten free life (my son was just diagnosed). No one is celiac in Mexico. So we are on our own. A friend brought me some gluten free already prepared bread mix (Bob´s red mill) from the US. Can I use this flour mix to make your hamburger bun recipe?
Thank you very much for your help.

Gaby

Megan, John and kids said...

I'm ironically just trying out the Bob's Red Mill bread today for the first time, but I'm assuming that you can still shape it into the buns as I did, and that they'll work out well. Good luck experimenting! Sorry there isn't as much support yet in Mexico for Gluten-free living.

mark phelan said...

any recommendations for a substitute for the gelatin?

i am celiac, but my fiancee is vegetarian. so the gelatin won't fly with her.

also, what is Four Flour mix? and GF mix? two different flour blends? where do you source them?

they look great. thanks for the inspiration.

Megan, John and kids said...

I honestly haven't had to substitute the gelatin before, but I understand that you can use arrowroot as a substitute, and you could also try to increase the xanthan gum. I haven't done it before, so I'm not sure. But you can try. The recipes for the flour mixes that I use are on the right hand column of the blog. They're all Bette Hagman mixes, and as the first ones I found, they're what I stuck with. Good luck.

Anonymous said...

Okay, I just tried this recipe tonight and I dont know what the heck went wrong. I had to substitute flax seed gel for the egg because I cannot eat eggs but after 50 minutes, they were still raw in the middle. This isn't my first venture into GF bread making and all have ended the same - misshapen loaves/rolls that are raw in the middle. I can't even buy the gluten free breads because of the egg allergy so I am DESPERATE for some bread that works.

~*pamela*~ said...

How do these store? I need to make about a dozen for a gathering in June and would like to make them a couple of days in advance... will these still be yummy?

Megan, John and kids said...

pamela-

I kept them in the fridge for a few days, but really, just a few days is about all they can take. They're obviously best fresh. If you're going to store them, you might try toasting the buns when your party is ready. I hope they work for you!