Makes 6 buns
Once you’ve made your own hamburger and hot dog buns, you’ll never long for the additive-filled, cardboard-textured grocery store buns again. All you need is the recipe we created for sandwich bread and a hamburger bun pan. (If you don’t have that pan, we’d recommend it. You’re going to want to eat pulled pork sandwiches as well.) Soft, pliable hamburger buns without gluten are yours to make.
Prepare to bake. Grease a hamburger bun pan with butter.
Let the dough rise. Pour the batter for the sandwich bread, which will have the consistency of pancake batter, halfway up each well of the hamburger pan. Distribute the batter evenly among the wells. Allow the batter to rise and hydrate until it is just under the lip of the pan, about 45 minutes.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
Bake the hamburger buns. When the batter has risen, the tops will have stiffened into something akin to traditional bread dough. Gently, very gently, brush the melted butter on top of each bun, then sprinkle with the sesame seeds and salt. (If you can’t eat butter, then brush the tops of the buns with olive oil.) Bake until the tops are browned and set and the internal temperature of the bread reaches 180°F on an instant-read thermometer, about 20 minutes.
Allow the hamburger buns to cool entirely on a wire rack before slicing them open.
With a few small changes, these can be hot dog buns. Allow the dough to rise in a large bowl in a warm place. When the dough has hydrated enough that it is kneadable, divide the dough into 6 portions. Form each into a bâtard-style roll (essentially, a long, even cylinder), about 6 inches long. Nestle them next to each other in a large, wide bread pan (such as a hearth bread pan) or small casserole pan. You want a pan the right size in order to put the hot dog bun dough pieces next to each other with no room to spread. Allow them to rise for 1 hour. Brush the tops with melted butter and bake at 400°F until the tops feel set and the sides have a spring, about 15 minutes. Allow the buns to cool in the pan for 15 minutes, then transfer them to a wire rack. They should pull apart easily at room temperature. Also, if you’re looking for crunchier hot dog buns, make small hoagie rolls (see recipe).