Homemade kid's burger

Few friends have been asking me for recipe for burger bun, I thought we shall have burger as lunch today, so I can take pics and share about my burger bun recipe. Unexpectedly, when I was preparing for lunch, he told me he doesn't wanna have burger for lunch. He wanted rice instead. Therefore, instead of serving his pork patty and egg in a bun, he has them with rice, whereas I have mine as a burger. 

The recipe for my burger bun is a recipe that I have been using to bake buns and loaves for our family for the past 3 years. For those of you who've been following my posts and blogs, you'll have come across this soft scalded dough recipe that I have been adapting from Alex Goh. I love it as it is versatile, it requires no advanced preparation and most importantly, it yields soft bread that stays soft for the next 2 days, without the need to add any softeners nor improvers. 

The only variations that I have been adopting for this recipe is the liquid (which can varies from milk, to soy milk, pandan milk, pumpkin puree + water, black sesame powder + water and etc) and its sugar and salt content. 

The patty was a recipe adapted from Jamie Oliver's. I have sneaked in chopped onion and carrots into it for my little one who is in the phase of 'no green veg except for green beans'. I have also marinated my minced pork with extra ingredients to add to the flavor, including 1/2 teaspoon of grated ginger and oyster sauce. 

Recipe for the burger bun 

*This scalded dough method are specially adapted to create buns that are soft and fluffy in texture and remain soft for at least 24-48 hours. The method of pre-scalding a portion of the dough also helps to loosen the gluten in the bread, making it able to create more volume. This bread is soft and easy to digest, making it a perfect nutritious snack for babies and kids. 

Scalded dough

• 100g bread flour 
• 70g boiling water 

To prepare the starter dough, pour boiling water over flour and stir with folk until combined into a slightly tacky dough. Set aside while preparing other ingredients as per following. 

Main dough

• 40g grapeseed oil / other cooking oil 
• 160g water / milk
• 1tbsp brown sugar (if you prefer sweeter bun, may increase to 2-3tbsp) 
• 1/2 tsp salt 
• 200g bread flour
• 50g rye flour 
• 2tsp active dry yeast

For the main dough: 

1. In a big bowl, combine bread flour, rye flour, liquid, oil, sugar and salt. Add active dry yeast and mix well.  Tear the starter dough prepared ahead and knead into the main dough. Knead for 10-30 minutes until smooth and elastic. 
2. Once nicely kneaded, the dough should be able to be pulled and stretched into a thin membrane - Window pane test: Grab a ball of the dough and try stretching the dough until  it is as thin as a membrane without tearing). 
3. First proof - Form the dough into a round ball and let it rise until double in size. Cover with cling film (should take about an hour in warm weather). 
4. Punch down, knead and form into a ball shape. This recipe makes about 8 buns. Brush top of buns with water and sprinkle with white sesame seeds. 
5. Second proof - Cover buns loosely with cling film. Let rise in a warm environment for about 30-45min. I usually do this in a preheated oven. 
6. Once the buns have doubled in size, bake in a preheated oven at 180deg C for about 13min, or until golden brown. Oven temperature and time may differ according to make of ovens.

Recipe for pork patty

• 250g minced pork, marinated with oyster sauce, soy sauce, salt, grated ginger, dash of sesame oil, black pepper powder, pinch of corn flour 
• 1/2 onion, finely minced 
• 1/2 carrot, finely minced 
• 2 slices of bread, lightly toasted and blitzed to turn into crumb 
• 1 egg, beaten 

1. In a frying pan, heat up a tablespoon of oil. Add in chopped onions and carrots. Fry until the onions have softened. Set aside to cool. 
2. Combine minced pork, fried chopped onion and carrot that has cooled down, bread crumbs and beaten egg. Divide into 6 equal balls. 
3. Roll the balls into burger-shaped patties about 1cm thick. Store the patties onto oiled tray, cover with cling film and leave in fridge for at least an hour, or until the patties firm up. I did this the night before. 
4. To cook the patties, heat up a frying pan with 2 tablespoon of oil. Cook the patties for about 3 minutes on each side, or until golden brown. 
5. Serve patty with sliced cucumber, tomatoes, cheese or egg, in a bun, or alternatively with rice.