Homemade Hamburger Buns

I have a confession to make.

I’m horrible at frisbee.

I wouldn’t even go near a frisbee for years, because I was traumatized during my junior high school years.

It’s all my brother’s fault.

Well partially at least. In one experience, my class was playing frisbee tag during gym class, and I got hit in the eye with a frisbee. It left a red line across my eye and face the rest of the day. That was the less traumatic experience.

In my other experience with frisbee, me, my dad, and my two brothers were playing with a frisbee in a big parking lot. Every time my dad threw the frisbee at me, however, my brother, Nathan, would run in front of me and catch it before I could.

After this happened so many times, I finally got mad enough that I chased after my brother in an attempt to catch it before he did or grab it out of his hands. The result was that I didn’t even touch the frisbee (figures), and instead grabbed the back of Nathan’s shirt with my left hand (I’m a leftie). My left ring finger got caught in my brother’s shirt, twisted, and made a horrible ripping sound. Nathan immediately turned around and started inspecting his shirt, thinking I’d ripped it. He then noticed that I was bent over, clutching my hand, and squealing in pain, and that it was my finger that had made the ripping sound, not his shirt.

Long story short, there’s a tissue that surrounds ours bones, and that’s what ripped in my finger (thus, the ripping sound). My finger was also fractured at the same time. The doctor didn’t catch the fracture on the x-ray, however, because my finger was so swollen. As a result, the joint gradually slid down and made my finger crooked.

And it’s still crooked to this day.

And it’s Nathan’s fault.

And frisbee’s fault.

So that is why I stopped playing frisbee, and thus, cannot throw one of those things to save my life.

My psychological wounds have healed enough now, however, that I decided to pick up a frisbee once more recently. These days, Hisa and I sometimes throw a frisbee around in the park when the weather is nice.

I think Hisa enjoys it, not so much because throwing a frisbee is so fun, but because it’s so funny to watch me (try) to throw a frisbee in his general direction.

It’s harder than it looks. Whenever I throw the frisbee, I somehow accidently turn it so it goes sideways and ends up rolling on the ground. Either that or I end up throwing it sideways and almost hit a tree, bush, small child, or old person. I also still get a little nervous if the frisbee comes flying at me at eye level.

I have been getting better, just very very slowly. In an attempt to keep my arm and the frisbee level when I throw it, I do something that looks like a slow-motion yoga pose whenever I throw it. Like I said, Hisa enjoys it immensely.

Whenever it starts warming up, I start wanting to have a burger.

Although hamburgers are super popular in Japan, it’s really hard to find hamburger buns in a super market, so I don’t think people usually make their own. I guess it’s more of a fast-food only type of food for people here.

I’m not a fan of fast-food burgers (or fast-food in general), so when I’m craving a burger, I usually just make my own. Or course that also means I have to make my own buns. Homemade buns are always yummier than the store-bought ones though, so I don’t mind the extra effort.

This Monday, when I made hamburgers for dinner, I decided to try a new hamburger bun recipe, and I found one that came out really well.

This will give you light, fluffy buns, just the right size and thickness for burgers.

The original recipe is here.

Hamburger Buns

• 1 c. milk
• 1/2 c. water
• 1/4 c butter
• 4 1/2 c. bread flour
• 2 1/4 tsp. (1 package) dry yeast
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 egg
• 1/4 c. milk (optional)
• 1/4 c. sesame seeds (optional)

1. In a small saucepan, heat the milk, water, and butter, until the butter melts and mixture is very warm (but not boiling). Turn off heat and set aside to cool to lukewarm.
2. In a large bowl, combine 1 3/4 c. flour, yeast, sugar, and salt. Once the milk mixture is lukewarm, and it to the flour mixture and mix. Add the egg and mix until well combined.
3. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 c. at a time, mixing well after each addition.
4. Pour out dough onto a lightly floured surface, and knead the dough until smooth and elastic, about 8 to 10 minutes.
5. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces. Roll each piece into the shape of a ball, and place on a greased baking sheet. Press each piece down with the palm of your hand until in is about 1/2 in. thick. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 30 to 35 minutes.
6. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
7. If you want sesame seeds on your buns, right before you put them in the oven, lightly brush the tops of the buns with milk, and then sprinkle on sesame seeds.
8. Bake buns 10 – 12 minutes, or until golden brown on top.

Now go have yourself a good ‘ol homemade burger and some slaw y’all!