I’m not much of a sports gal, but even I have heard that there’s about to be a Big Football Game, and that people want good food to eat near the TV while cheering for their favorite team. These delicious beef buns will fit right in, whether on the coffee table, in a picnic basket, or in your hands.
I had been experimenting with 8-hour braised onions in the slow cooker, and also had leftover roast beef. These soft potato buns are filled with a savory combination beef and caramelized onions.
These are now a family favorite, and there’s no informal occasion that can’t be made better by a batch of handy beef buns.
prepare the dough for the rolls
I like to use my workhorse 5-quart KitchenAid mixer, but this isn’t a difficult dough, and can be mixed in a bowl and then kneaded by hand. For the mixer version: put water, eggs, 4 cups of the flour, and all the other ingredients directly into the mixer bowl. Mix it with the dough hook until well combined, then turn it off and let the dough rest about 15 minutes. After the rest, turn the mixer on again, and mix until the dough is satiny and smooth. Add a bit more flour as needed, and knead the dough with the hook for about 5 minutes. Turn the dough out into a lightly greased bowl, turn it to coat, and cover the bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled or even tripled in bulk, 60-90 minutes.
Of course these can be simply shaped into ordinary buns and baked: they’re very nice buns. But while the dough is rising, why not assemble a savory filling?
prepare the filling
Mix the onions and meat, and season to taste. Season the filling assertively, since the simple dough of the buns will mellow the taste. Set aside for assembly and baking.
assemble the buns
When the dough has risen, knock it down and knead it briefly. Divide it into 18 pieces, each about the size of a ping-pong ball. For each bun: flatten the ball into a circle, and stretch it out until you have a thick dough circle about 4 inches in diameter. Spoon some of the filling onto the center of the circle, and bring the edges up to meet in the center. Pinch the edges of the dough together, and slap the resulting ball from palm to palm, so that you have a smooth rounded bun. Place it, seam side down, on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Continue with the others.
Note: when I made these this week, I ended up with 18 filled buns on two half-sheet pans. They had plenty of space to rise and bake.
Cover the rolls with clean tea towels, and let them rise again until they are puffy, 30 to 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 350˚F.
Bake the rolls, uncovered, about 30 minutes, until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and slide them onto a rack to cool. We like them warm, but my family fights over them even when they have cooled.
storage
Be sure to store any uneaten buns, well wrapped, in the refrigerator. To be honest, I have no idea how long these might keep: in my kitchen, one might make it to the next day, but inevitably it will be discovered and eaten, leaving no telltale crumbs to indicate who stole it.
Beef Buns
Ingredients
FOR THE POTATO ROLLS
- 1¼ cup warm water
- 2 eggs
- ¼ cup granulated sugar
- 1½ tsp salt
- 6 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted or very soft
- ⅓ cup potato flakes
- 1 scant Tbsp instant yeast
- 4-5 cups all-purpose flour, divided
FOR THE BEEF & ONION FILLING
- 1½ cup caramelized onions
- 2 cups chopped cooked roast beef
- salt & pepper to taste
- 1 tsp chopped fresh herbs (I like parsley and thyme)
Instructions
PREPARE THE DOUGH
- I like to use my 5-qt KitchenAid mixer. Put water, eggs, 4 cups of the flour, and all the other ingredients directly into the mixer bowl. Mix it with the dough hook until well combined, then turn it off and let the dough rest about 15 minutes.
- After the rest, turn the mixer on again, and mix until the dough is satiny and smooth. Add a bit more flour as needed, and knead the dough with the hook for about 5 minutes.
- Turn the dough out into a lightly greased bowl, turn it to coat, and cover the bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap. Let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled or even tripled in bulk, 60-90 minutes.
PREPARE FILLING
- Mix the onions and meat, and season to taste. Season the filling assertively, since the simple dough of the buns will mellow the taste. Set aside for assembly and baking.
ASSEMBLE BUNS AND BAKE
- When the dough has risen, knock it down and knead it briefly. Divide it into 18 pieces, each about the size of a ping-pong ball. For each bun: flatten the ball into a circle, and stretch it out until you have a thick dough circle about 4 inches in diameter. Spoon some of the filling onto the center of the circle, and bring the edges up to meet in the center. Pinch the edges of the dough together, and slap the resulting ball from palm to palm, so that you have a smooth rounded bun. Place it, seam side down, on a parchment-paper lined baking sheet. Continue with the others.Cover the rolls with clean tea towels, and let them rise again until they are puffy, 30 to 45 minutes. Heat the oven to 350˚F.
- Bake the rolls, uncovered, about 30 minutes at 350˚ until they are golden brown. Remove them from the oven and slide them onto a rack to cool.