Black Burger Buns

Have you ever had “black bread” from somewhere, and wondered how they do it?  Maybe a little scared, and wondering if these can be good for you?  Our black hamburger buns recipe, may well be worth your reading time….

I’ve added the Conventional and Thermomix methods for making black bread, so there’s no excuse not to show off to family and friends.  You’ll have to pop to the health food shop for my method.  I don’t like the idea of using squid ink; it’s too hard to get a hold of, and you may not want to introduce that flavour into your bread.

My method is to add activated charcoal.  EEEK  Charcoal, well I’m pretty sure it’s not bad after learning about it a bit with my training.  I’ve never used it in bread before, but cheese and the like, sure thing.  Now, you know I’m always saying I’m not a doctor, and you should still do your own research, but here’s a link to what the BBC Good Food blog has to say about Activated Charcoal.

Please feel free to google and find out from people that really know.  Not just the ones that are trying to sell it to you.  😉

I purchase it in powder form.  You don’t have to spend too much, with some costing $40 a bottle.  Mine was about $12 AUD, and You’ll get about 7 or 8 loaves from it, or loads of buns like these.  And where do you get it?  From the health food shop, or online of course.

Black Burger Buns

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becs-table.com.au

No need to pop down to the local trendy cafe for these, you can now make black burger buns at home.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 20 minutes mins

Total Time 1 hour hr 30 minutes mins

Difficulty Medium

Course Dinner, Lunch

Cuisine American

Servings 8 buns

Method Conventional, Thermomix

Cook ModePrevent your screen from going dark

Equipment

• Thermomix or mixing bowl

Ingredients

  

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For the Bun

• 180 g lukewarm water if using the conventional method
• 2 tsp instant yeast
• 30 g butter at room temperature
• 1 large egg whole
• 1 large egg (yolk only)
• 420 g plain all-purpose flour
• 25 g sugar
• 1¼ tsp salt or if you used flaked like me make it 1½ tsp
• ½ – 1 Tbsp Activated Charcoal

For the Topping

• 20 g melted butter use if you want your buns soft
• 1 egg white use if you want your buns with a crispier top and want seeds to stick

Instructions

 

Conventional Method

• Add the lukewarm water to your mixing bowl or bread machine then sprinkle the yeast over the surface leave to rest for 5 minutes.
• Add the remainder of the dough ingredients then mix by hand, mixer, or bread machine — knead long enough to make a soft, smooth dough.
• Cover the dough, and let it rise for 1 to 2 hours, or until it’s nearly doubled in bulk.
• Gently deflate the dough and divide it into 8 pieces. Shape each piece into a round ball; flatten to about 3″ across. Place the buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for about an hour, until noticeably puffy.
• If desired, brush the buns with the melted butter and allow to prove. Cover with cling film and allow to rise for around another hour. They’re ready to bake if you can push your finger in and the indent slowly releases back. If it springs back quickly and you can’t see any impression at all, prove longer, if you put your finger in and the indent stays in you’ve proved too far. Just don’t let it get that far, lol. Keep checking after an hour at room temperature. If you live in Queensland, start checking in ½ an hour.
• If desired, when proved, add the the egg white with a Tbsp of water mixed with a fork and brush the surface of each bun then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake the buns in a preheated 190°c oven for 18 to 20 minutes, remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
• Cool the buns on a rack.

Thermomix Method

• Weigh 180 gm of water straight from the tap into the TM bowl then add your 2 tsp of yeast, taking care not to pop it onto the blades but into the water.
• Set the TM to 37°c/3 min/Sp 1 when the time is up leave to rest for 5 minutes.
• Weigh or measure the remainder of the dough ingredients into the TM bowl (pop the charcoal powder in first, so it doesn’t escape through the hole in the lid and make a mess) and mix on speed 5/15 seconds to combine then knead for 3 minutes on interval speed. (Wheat symbol)
• Once complete, leave the dough in the TM bowl and pop the MC in place. Leave to rise till doubled in size. This should take around an hour.
• Remove the dough from the TM bowl and divide into 8 or 9 buns depending on what size you want them. (around 95 g each for 8)
• Shape each bun into a ball then gently flatten the top by pressing down with the flat of your fingers or palm of your hand.
• If desired, brush the buns with the melted butter and allow to prove. Cover with cling film and allow to rise for around another hour. They’re ready to bake if you can push your finger in and the indent slowly releases back. If it springs back quickly and you can’t see any impression at all, prove longer, if you put your finger in and the indent stays in you’ve proved too far. Just don’t let it get that far, lol. Keep checking after an hour at room temperature. If you live in Queensland, start checking in ½ an hour.
• If desired, when proved, add the egg white with a Tbsp of water mixed with a fork and brush the surface of each bun then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
• Bake the buns in a preheated 190°c oven for 18 to 20 minutes, remove them from the oven, and brush with the remaining melted butter. This will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust.
• Cool the buns on a rack.

Notes

1. Brushing buns with melted butter will give them a soft, crust.
2. Brushing with an egg-white wash (1 egg white beaten with1 Tbsp of tap water) will provide them with a shinier, crunchier crust.
3. For seeded buns, brush with the egg wash; it’ll make the seeds adhere.
4. All flours differ slightly, and the amount of water can vary. Once you understand what bread dough should feel like you’ll find baking bread a breeze.
5. The ideal texture of the dough after kneading should feel soft, smooth but slightly tacky to the touch. It shouldn’t need flour to be added to stop it from sticking to your hands or benchtop but if it does add it in minimal amounts at a time. Adding more flour will only make your dough heavy and hard in texture. Soft light buns need soft light dough.

Want to know more?

Air fried chips are a wonderful companion for the black bun burgers.

Would you like to learn how to add more flavour? Our online course “A bit on the side“, might be the answer.