For cookouts, burgers and hot dogs (or other sausages) are pretty standard. They’re easy to make, easy to serve and they’re always crowd pleasers. I like to do homemade hot dog and hamburger buns for cookouts whenever I have a chance. They’re easy to make and always a big hit, partially because they’re homemade and partially because they taste so fresh. I shape my rolls by hand and was very surprised to see that some websites are offing a hamburger bun pan as an alternative when making buns.
The pan is virtually identical to a muffin top pan and has a half-dozen round spaces to hold the dough. Each is about 4-inches across and is depressed about 1/2-inch into the base of the pan. For a muffin top, this base gives the baked good some stability. For a hamburger bun, as it doesn’t really need more stability than the dough itself can provide, it gives the base of the bun its signature smooth sides and gives you a clear delineation between the top and bottom of the bun.
If you practice shaping your dough (and don’t plan on also utilizing the pan for muffin top-making), you don’t really need this particular pan just to make hamburger buns. If you want to get that signature hamburger bun look, however, there is no better way to do it.
Lori
July 22, 2008My mom was looking for one of those awhile back and I found that pan at the King Arthur Flour site. I ordered it for her, and she has really enjoyed making her own buns. Sometimes I’m lucky enough that she makes a batch while I’m in town for a visit and get to bring a few home with me!
Trisha
July 23, 2008I use the King Arthur burger pan, but it only makes 6 rolls and my recipe makes 8. What’s a gal to do? I used my creme brule ramekins and they worked great for the extra rolls. By the way, check out http://www.kingarthurflour.com/shop/recipe.jsp?recipe_id=R398 for the absolute BEST hamburger and hot dog bun recipe. Warning: you’ll never want to buy rolls again from the store…
Jeri
July 23, 2008That is such a great idea. I made the mistake of making homemade hamburger buns last summer and now the store-bought ones will never be good enough.
Jill Quick
August 14, 2012I’ve bought very few store-bought buns since I got this pan several years ago. The buns you make from scratch are far better tasting, and you can add specialty ingredients like, seeds, nuts, or wheat/oat bran. For an onion roll, I use the melt amount of butter called for in my receipe, then saute minced onion in it and add to the mix. Yummy!