Whole Wheat Burger Buns

As I mentioned in a previous post, Andrew and I are attempting to put our grocery shopping on hold for a couple weeks to "detox" our pantry and use food that might go to waste if not used soon. So when I decided to make home made veggie burgers for dinner last night, I had to make my own buns as well. I googled a recipe for vegan buns, and found a very simple one on About.com. These buns are by far the best bread product I ever made, and they were very simple. Surprisingly I had everything I needed to make these already in the panty, even the sesame seeds. I'm not sure what I originally bought the seeds for, but I'm glad I did. I'll never buy a store bought bun again!

Whole Wheat Burger Buns

Makes 6 buns

• 1/2 cup room temperature almond milk
• 1/2 cup room temperature water
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1/2 of a .25 oz packet of active dry yeast
• 2 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 Tbsp. almond milk
• 1/2 Tbsp. water
• Sesame seeds

1. In a large bowl combine the warm milk, warm water, sugar and yeast. Let stand for a few minutes until bubbles appear on the surface.
2. Combine the flour and salt in another bowl.
3. Add the flour mixture, 1/2 cup at a time to the large bowl, mixing until the dough comes together and separates from the sides of the bowl. Dough should be soft and not sticky, but not dry either.
4. Knead the dough until elastic and place in a lightly oiled bowl.
5. Cover and let rise in a warm area until doubled, about one hour.
6. Punch down the dough and form 6 buns.
7. Knead each bun, then place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
8. Let them rest for 5 minutes, then flatten slightly with your hand.
9. Cover with a dish towel and let them rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
10. Preheat oven to 400º.
11. In a small cup, mix the milk and water, and brush over buns.
12. Sprinkle with seeds.
13. Bake for 15 minutes, until just starting to brown.
14. Enjoy with curried quinoa veggie burgers.

The buns before and after doubling in size (steps 7 and 9).

I made another tasty treat yesterday, also- dehydrated watermelon slices! It's not exactly watermelon season, but I couldn't help picking one up at the produce market last week. They took forever to dehydrate. The thinner slices were ready in about 8 hours, the thicker ones took about 14. I suck at cutting even slices. I added coconut shreds on the top of some of them for added sweetness, not that watermelon needs to be any sweeter. I can't wait for spring and summer to roll around so I can dehydrate more fruits! The dehydrated pieces can be stored in an airtight glass container or zip lock bag.