Homemade Wheat Hamburger Buns

I'm back from Africa after what feels like forever! Overall it was a good trip, but I got really sick on the return journey home. I've basically been laying on the couch this week, except for the one day I went into work for a meeting.

For the first few days that I was home, food and I were in a rocky relationship. Right before I left Africa, all I could think about was all the fresh fruits and veggies I'd get to eat when I got back to America, but after getting sick, those were the last things I wanted to eat. The only things that sounded somewhat appealing were almond milk, cereal, chocolate, caramel popcorn, pizza and ketchup. Let's just say my diet has been less than ideal.

Today was a fresh day though and I woke up feeling great. I got to go on a run for the first time in a month and I even had a big ol' salad for lunch. Things are looking normal again.

Even though I just got back from being gone for a month, Brett and I are yet again leaving for another trip this afternoon. Since we were only going to be in town a few days, and since I wasn't feeling 100%, I only cooked one meal this week: black bean burgers and homemade hamburger buns.

Right before I left for Africa I really wanted to make homemade bread but never got around to it, so I took advantage of the one afternoon I was feeling decent and tried out these buns. They turned out wonderfully dense and delicious. It was a nice treat to eat some homemade bread with our burgers and corn on the cob. The buns weren't hard to make either, but just required some time to rise. Give 'um a try!

Wheat Hamburger Buns

(Makes 6-8 buns)

Ingredients:

· 1 ½ cups whole wheat flour

· 1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

· ½ teaspoon baking soda

· ½ teaspoon salt

· 1 ½ cups warm water, divided

· 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

· 2 teaspoons sugar

· 3 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:

1. In a small bowl mix together the sugar, yeast and ½ cup of warm water, Set aside for ten minutes until the mixture become frothy.

2. In a larger bowl whisk together the flours, baking soda and salt.

3. Once the yeast mixture is frothy pour it into the flour mixture along with the vegetable oil and the rest of the warm water. (You may not have to use all of the warm water so add it in a little at a time.) Mix until combined and a sticky dough forms.

4. Knead the dough for about five minutes.

5. Place the dough in a greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a kitchen towel and place it in a warm place to rise until double its size, which should take about two hours.

6. Punch down the dough and divide it into six sections. Shape the sections into balls and place them on a lightly greased baking sheet dusted with flour.

7. Let the balls rise some more until almost double in size.

8. Bake the buns at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes.

9. Let cool. Enjoy!

Notes: These came out pretty dense so Brett and I cut them into fourths and got two "buns" out of one. Next time I might make 8 buns and flatten then out a little before baking. They're delicious either way!