Homemade Hamburger Buns

INSTRUCTIONS

• 1
  Crumble the yeast into a bowl, sprinkle with 10 g of sugar, and mash with a fork until the yeast softens, thins, and forms a paste. Add 10 g of flour, mix again, and pour in 125 ml of lukewarm milk. Let it stand for 10 minutes in a quiet place without drafts to form a thick starter, which indicates that the yeast is alive and has awakened.
• 2
  Weigh 20 g of flour into a small saucepan and pour in the remaining 100 ml of milk. Stir with a whisk and start heating on a stove set to medium power. The mixture will start to thicken before it comes to a boil, so keep stirring; it's a quick process. First, a coarse paste will form, followed by a thick mass. Immediately remove from heat and scrape the tang zhong onto a plate to cool before using it in the dough.
• 3
  Measure the remaining 330 g of flour, 10 g of sugar, and salt into a bowl and briefly mix. Add the egg and yolk, the risen starter, and the cooled tang zhong, and start processing the dough with a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook on low speed. Initially, it will be very coarse and wet, but once everything combines, you can gradually increase the speed to about half power. After approximately 10 minutes of kneading, the sides of the bowl will essentially clean themselves, and the dough will stop being sticky and wet. You'll know it's ready when it feels soft and smooth, almost like a baby's skin.
• 4
  Add the butter cut into cubes to the soft dough. However, not all at once, but one piece at a time. Continue kneading and add the next piece of butter only after the previous one has been absorbed without a trace.
• 5
  Transfer the kneaded, still slightly sticky dough into a bowl greased with a teaspoon of oil, cover the bowl with a damp cloth, and let it rise in a quiet place for an hour until the dough doubles in size.
• 6
  Flatten the risen dough, expel the air, and turn it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Divide it into 8 equal parts.
• 7
  Roll each piece into something like a ball, place it on a surface, and gently flatten it with your palm. Then, gradually fold the edges of the patty back into the center all around until it looks like you've created a small knot. Turn the bun over with the bottom side up, and you'll see how the bun is forming. Place it about 30 cm from the edge of the work surface, place your hands on both sides, and move the bun towards you with a rotating motion.
• 8
  Place the prepared buns at sufficient intervals on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, lightly brushed with a thin layer of oil. Cover with an inverted deep baking sheet and let the buns rise for 45-60 minutes until they double in size. Towards the end of rising, preheat the oven to 190 degrees Celsius without convection (or 175 degrees Celsius with convection if necessary).
• 9
  In a bowl, beat an egg (or the remaining egg white) with 20 ml of cold water or milk using a fork. Continue until the mixture is very thin and liquid, which will take about a minute. Brush the buns with this egg mixture on the surface, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and place in the hot oven.
• 10
  Bake for 18-20 minutes. The surface of the baked hamburger buns should be a deep golden color, shiny, and smooth, with the buns firm. If the surface starts to color too quickly and risks burning, cover the bread with aluminum foil.
• 11
  Let cool on a wire rack. Once you cut, toast, and make a real homemade burger from them, I can't be held responsible for what you do in a state of blissful trance.