I got a new plancha for my grill. It was due to come sometime next week, but it came late yesterday evening, so of course I had to try it out today. After cleaning and seasoning it, I checked the fridge for ingredients and decided on a burger with grilled veggies. I love burgers and always have some kind of patties in the freezer, mostly homemade ones.

A good burger needs a god bun! The potato bun is a brioche style bun, just not as sweet and made with darker flours. Well, and potatoes, of course.

You need:

• 300g warm milk
• 1 tsp brown sugar
• 150g lievito madre (recently fed)
• 100g whole wheat flour
• 100g all purpose flour
• 200g bread flour
• 200g cooked and cooled mealy potatoes
• 12g salt
• 80g butter
• 1 egg

I didn’t feel like cooking potatoes just for the burger buns, it was a spur of the moment thing after all. So I replicated the potato with potato flakes (like instant mash potatoes). 50g potato flakes mixed with 150g water give you exactly what you need.

Throw everything but the butter into the mixing bowl and knead until the dough is smooth, then add the cold butter in small pieces. Knead until it passes the windowpane test. It’s a very soft dough, don’t add any more flour. It’ll get there, it just takes a lot of time.

I have an ankarsrum assistant, and with that, another method works really well. I throw the softened butter in with everything else and just leave it running. It takes a while until the dough is done though. Today I waited a bit over 20 minutes on level 2.

Place the dough in an oiled bowl, cover it up and keep it in a warm place (proofing box at 28°C /82F in my kitchen) for 2 hours. If your kitchen is colder, the dough needs more time.

Divide the dough into 9-12 equal portions. 120-130g fits the size of my homemade patties perfectly, so I went with just 9.

Shape your buns and cover them with a moist towel before you let them rise for about another two hours. If you want to add a topping, you can brush them with an egg wash or just milk right now and leave the towel. Once the buns have puffed up nicely, add a 2nd layer of egg wash and a topping of your choice just before they hit the oven.
Since most of mine are going to hit the freezer for quick dinners, I left some plain while others ones got an egg wash and two different toppings: everything but the bagel mix and a mix of seeds and steelrolled grains. That way I have a bit of variety.

Pre-heat your oven to 200°C / 390-400 F and bake your buns for about 20 minutes, until the tops are golden brown.

How I assembled the burger:

• Bottom half (slightly toasted on the inside)
• chili cheese sauce (the nacho kind, just homemade)
• grilled zucchini strips, seasoned with a cajun style spice mix
• black bean patty
• grilled bell peppers (seasoned italian style)
• bit more chili cheese sauce
• grilled mushrooms and onions (seasoned with salt, pepper, pinch of brown sugar, a little garlic)
• top half, slightly toasted on the inside and brushed with … guess… yup, chili cheese sauce

Enjoy 🙂 I sure did!