Sitting On The Porch

Tail wags, pups and kit-cats! It's me - Stormy! Mom took Dave and me outside yesterday evening to take a picture of us together. She wanted a nice shot of the two of us sitting side by side on the porch, looking at the camera. Want to see the picture? Here you go:

Dave and me

Oh, yeah. Well, neither of us are looking at the camera, he's sitting, I'm not, and we refused to go on the porch. Just ... because. This is the best Mom could come up with. Ha roo roo roo! She thought I could do a post of some "nice" pix of Dave and me today, but hey. I'm in charge and I had other plans for today's blog post. So Dave and I decided not to give her the shots she wanted. I love having fun with Mom like that.

So anyway, this next photo is for our buddy Ben. He wasn't sure what ramen was when Zimmie posted the cabbage salad recipe the other day.

It's Asian-style noodles, and lots of them, that you can cook up and put in a nice soup. Or use them crunchy in the salad! They're also great right off the floor when your mom is breaking them up. YUM!

Now... about those buns!

Gus, Louie and Callie wondered if we'd share the recipe for the buns. I don't see why not. I mean, it's not like I'm giving out a secret recipe or anything. Zim. Here you go, pups!

MOOMIE'S BUNS – The Ao4's Mom's
Way

This is our mom's adaptation of a recipe from Moomie, a member of King Arthur Flour's message board. It’s also in one of the KA cookbooks – Baker’s Companion – as “Beautiful Burger Buns”.

Make these in your bread machine or your mixer. Mom uses her bread machine!

1 cup warm water (100-105 deg.)
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
3 1/4 cups King Arthur's all-purpose flour (Mom only uses King Arthur; she says it yields more consistent results. All-purpose flour is the "plain" kind.)
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons instant yeast

Optional – this is Mom's special mix, and the reason we can't have any of the buns:
1 teaspoon onion powder
2 teaspoons minced onion
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Bread Machine Method: Place ingredients into bread machine in the order listed. Let the machine run its complete “dough” cycle. Take your pup or pups for a nice, long walk during this time. Really. It's part of the recipe.

Turn out onto floured surface and knead by hand 1-2 minutes until dough feels "right". Mom says she usually doesn’t have to do this – it depends on how humid it is the day she bakes.

Divide the dough into 8 or 10 pieces to form into burger buns. (Or 6 burger buns and 4 hot dog buns. Or 9 burger buns. Or 8 hot dog buns and 3 burger buns. Or ... Play around with it and see what size you like. They also make splendid rolls, just make them small - at least 16.)

On the message board, Moomie said to “Slap the dough 4-5 times into bun shape” – this led to an interesting discussion about “Do you have to slap it; can’t you just give it a time out?” Ha roo roo roo; good one! Put buns on a lightly oiled cookie sheet (Mom sprays with non-stick spray) and let rise, covered, about 30-40 minutes. (Mom sprays plastic wrap with non-stick spray and covers the buns with that.) This is a good time to take your pup or pups for another walk. Do it. Now!

Bake in 375-degree oven 12-15 minutes or until golden. (Watch them; they go fast!)

Manual/Mixer Method: In a mixing bowl, place flour, sugar, yeast, spices if used, and salt; mix well with paddle attachment of mixer. Add egg and melted butter; begin mixing on low with paddle attachment. Gradually add water; mix dough until well-combined. If kneading by hand, turn dough out onto a well-floured surface and knead about 15 minutes or until smooth and elastic (dough should still be quite soft). If kneading by mixer, change to dough hook and knead 3-4 minutes, adding flour or warm water as needed, until dough is soft, smooth and elastic. Place dough into an oiled bowl; cover with plastic wrap and set aside until doubled in size. Then form into buns as above. (Now you know why Mom uses the bread machine.)

These freeze very well after baking!!! You can also sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds before baking.

Warning: You won’t want to go back to store-bought buns after this!

I hope you like the recipe. Mom and Dad just love these buns. If you give it a go, let us know!

Have a great day, everypup, and remember - you're in charge. If you don't want to pose for pix ... see above.

Tail wags,

Storm