Sesame Beef Buns

Have you ever been surfing the interwebs, minding your own business, ignoring the laundry to be folded, and run across a recipe that just screamed "Make me! Put me in your tummy!"? Well, such was the case with this recipe.

I know, what you're thinking, "SB, what in the heck were you thinking? It's MSN! Those people don't know a recipe from a cup of playdough!"

And you know what?

You'd be right.

Whoever developed this recipe obviously never tested it.

In conception this recipe sounds pretty delicious, savory beef mixture wrapped in a very slightly sweetened yeast dough and baked to perfection. Right? Wrong.

I realized this while I was making the dough. I don't know why I didn't think about the fact that 1/3 cup water, plus 2 eggs, plus 3 tablespoons oil is way too much liquid for 1 3/4 cups flour...but I didn't. Cuz I'm fun like that. So, after tinkering away and fixing the dough ingredients and totally changing the filling recipe I made my own.

Cuz I'm fun like that.

Sesame Beef Buns
Makes about ten buns

Dough

1/3 cup warm water
1 package (2 1/4 tsp.) active dry yeast
3 1/2 tablespoon(s) sugar
2 cups plus 1 tablespoon unsifted bread flour
1/2 teaspoon(s) salt
2 large eggs, warmed to room temperature and beaten
2 tablespoon(s) vegetable oil
1 tablespoon sesame oil

Filling

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 tablespoon peeled, finely chopped fresh ginger
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
3/4 pound ground beef
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoon soy sauce
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 cup finely chopped green onions
1 tablespoon toasted sesame seeds

Black sesame seeds, (optional)

Egg Glaze

1 egg, beaten
2 tablespoons milk

In small bowl combine water, yeast, and 1/2 tablespoon sugar; stir to dissolve yeast. Let stand until foamy -- about 5 minutes.

In medium-size bowl, or bowl of your stand mixer, combine 1 1/2 cups flour, the remaining 3 tablespoons sugar, and the salt; stir in yeast mixture, eggs, and oil, mixing until combined. Add remaining flour 1/4 cup at a time until a soft dough forms.

Turn dough out onto floured surface. Knead dough, adding as much of remaining bread flour as necessary to prevent stickiness, until smooth and elastic -- about 8 minutes. (Or switch the the kneading hook on your mixer and let it go to town for about 5 minutes)

Place dough in oiled bowl and turn to bring oiled side up. Cover with plastic wrap and clean cloth and let dough rise in warm place, away from drafts, until double in size -- about 1 1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, prepare filling:

In large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; add ginger and garlic and cook 30 seconds. Stir in beef, oyster sauce, soy sauce, and red pepper flakes. Cook until beef browns. Remove from heat and stir in green onions and sesame seeds. Set aside.

Grease 2 baking sheets or line with parchment paper. When dough has doubled, punch down and shape into a 10-inch-long log. With serrated knife, cut log crosswise into ten 1-inch-thick slices. On lightly floured surface, roll out one slice to a 4-inch round. (I found it easier to weigh each piece of dough. Mine were 65-70 grams each.)

Roll out or press just around the edge of round so that the middle is slightly thicker and the round is 5 inches wide. Fill center of round with 1 heaping tablespoon beef filling; gather up edge to form a pouch and pinch together tightly to seal bun. Turn bun over and gently shape into a ball; place seam side down on greased sheet.

Repeat with remaining slices and filling. Cover beef buns with clean cloths or plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, prepare Egg Glaze.

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Brush buns with Egg Glaze and sprinkle, if desired, with sesame seeds. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until well browned. Cool buns on wire rack; serve warm.