Hamburgers!!!

Ah summer, the time for fun and play. What better way to kick of summer than with a BBQ? And, it gives me a chance to make homemade burgers! I’ve never made burgers before, and even if we do eat burgers we always use those store bought ones. You know they say “yellow buns”. Why yellow? I thought they were white!? Well back to my hamburgers. Why are they called HAMburgers? Are they made out of ham? I don't this so…uh I’m getting off track. So I made not only homemade patties, but also homemade buns! It actually wasn’t that hard. I made the dough, stuck it in the oven, made the patty, grilled it, and put it all together. Easy peasy. How did the burgers turn out? Well….they were delicious! The burgers were moist and perfectly grilled (thanks to my little brother - I don’t grill…) . The buns were super yummy! I accidently left them in the oven to keep them warm and so the tops are a little dark, but they still tasted good. So much better than those yellow buns! :)

Burger:
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup panko (japanese bread crumbs)
1 egg
In a large bowl, mix all the ingredients together. Form patties. (make sure the patties are thinner in the center than the edge!!)

Burger Buns w/ Poppy seeds:
Adapted from Smitten Kitchen
Makes 8 4 to 5-inch burger buns
3 tablespoons warm milk
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
Poppy seeds, for sprinkling
1. In a glass measuring cup, combine one cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about five minutes. Meanwhile, beat one egg.
2. In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter combine until forms crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, well-floured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
3. Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, one to two hours,
4. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball and arrange two to three inches apart on baking sheet. Cover loosely with a piece of plastic wrap lightly coated in nonstick spray and let buns rise in a warm place for one to two hours.
5. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center. Brush tops of buns with an egg wash. Top with poppy seeds. Bake for 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.