Hamburger Buns- Perfection at Long Last

After trying my hand at hamburger buns a few times using a few different recipes, I think I know which recipe is the winner and it's this super easy and quick recipe from Taste of Home.  The buns, when made with a few modifications, produce a bun that is fluffy and full of flavor.  Once you have a homemade bun you realize that store bought ones really have zero flavor!  You might think that they do, but they really don't.  Once you realize how easy it is to make buns at home, you may never go back! 

Hamburger Buns
modified from Taste of Home

Ingredients
2 tablespoons active dry yeast

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water (110° to 115°)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup bread flour*

2 1/2- 3 cups All Purpose Flour (or whole wheat if you so desire)

DirectionsIn a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes.  Add the egg, salt and enough flour to form a soft dough.
Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 3-5 minutes. Do not let rise. Divide into 6 pieces (about 5 oz each); shape each into a ball. Place 3 in. apart on greased baking sheets and flatten the ball so they look like discs
Cover and let rest for **30 minutes. Bake at 425° for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks to cool.

*I went with a mix of bread flour and AP flour to get more gluten development.  I'm still learning why I'd want more gluten development, but I read that somewhere it's important and so, I decided to mix the flours.
**The original recipe is to allow to rest for 10 minutes.  There are many comments in the review section that advise rising for 30 minutes and it makes a world of difference.  A 30 minute rest produced a fluffier, softer and airy roll like those of store bought.  The 10 minute "rest" produced a bun that was very dense. It made for a good breakfast sandwich the next day, but does not make for a good bun for burgers, sloppy joes, etc.

These buns rested for only 10 minutes.  They split on top (not sure why), but were dense and took about twice as long to bake.

These bottom two photos are the buns that rested for 30 minutes (I think I had the oven at 450 instead of 425 and that's why they're so brown). They did not split and I think you can tell that they look softer and more airy than the 10 minute rest.

This photo looks like a flower!

These buns are the most beautiful yet!