Hamburger Buns

I haven't made these buns in a while, but I wanted to get rid of my sticky-note with the recipe, so I had to upload an outdated photo of them, for now. 

When you make them, your buns won't be touching, and they will be covered with sesame seeds. 

Makes 8 buns!

Ingredients:

• 1 recipe universal bread dough. 
• 1/2 cup water + 1 tbsp. baking soda (will be used to make a slurry to brown the top of the buns like a pretzel). 
• 1 tbsp. sesame seeds. 
• 1/2 stick melted salted butter (to baste the tops, after they are done baking). *if you only have unsalted butter, sprinkle the buns with salt after they've been buttered. 

Directions:

1. Get your previously made dough ball out of the refrigerator, and squeeze it into it's original size before it was risen. (I realize that sentence is poor grammar, but I risked not making sense if I said it the grammatically correct way). 
2. Cut this dough ball into 8 equal parts. I do this by cutting it in half, then forming those halves back into balls, and cutting them in half (to make 4), then forming those quads back into balls, and cutting them in half again (to make 8). 
3. Give all 8 of these balls several squeezes to make the yeast happy again. It's still pissed at you for putting it in the refrigerator. 
4. After destressing yourself with ample time of squeezing 8 homemade stress balls, place these balls on a baking sheet lined with nonstick foil and allow them to rise until doubled in size (about 2 hours). 
5. You might worry that these buns will dry out, and they will, but that's okay. You're going to re-wet them with your baking soda slurry. Make the slurry by mixing the water with the baking soda and whisk well). Then use a basting brush, and paint the tops of all of your buns. Be gentle. Make sure not to deflate them. You won't need all of the slurry - don't drown them. 
6. Then sprinkle the tops of them with as many sesame seeds as your heart desires. Go crazy. 
7. Bake these buns in an oven that has been preheated to 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 25 minutes. 
8. Melt the butter in a microwave safe bowl in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute. Use a basting brush to paint the tops of all the buns with melted butter. If you only had unsalted butter on hand, sprinkle the buns with salt to taste while the butter is still wet.
9. Slice them in half (hamburger style). 
10. You could butter the insides and toast those up too, by placing them back on the baking sheet lined with foil (sliced side down) and baking for 3 more minutes. 

Stuff these buns with this recipe for Smash Burgers, and serve with English Pub Fries.