Sourdough burger buns

500g sourdough  ( feeded active before making buns )

112 warm water ( natural )

840g strong white bread flour

360ml full fat milk ( scalded )

56g unsalted butter ( soft room temperature)

4tbsp granulated sugar 

3 tsp salt 

2x egg large ( beaten, room temperature)

Sift the flour with the salt, in a mixer bowl mix 130g of sifted flour with water and active sourdough, mix should look like thick pancake butter. Leave in warm place untill double in size and mix becomes airy for 30-60 minutes. 

Scald the milk by heating up nearly into the boiling point and them cool down up to 37- 45c. Add soft butter and sugar into the milk, and whisk until all butter has dissolved. 

Pour gently the warm milk & butter mixture into the sourdough mix, mix all using whisk , hand mixer or stand mixer ( with the dough hook ) set on low-medium speed. 

Now in stages, add our sifted flour mix mixing constantly on medium- low speed. Mix until the dough becomes gather on the hook and cleares the sides of the bowl. Keep mixing / kneading for 5 minutes. 

Dump the dough onto the lighting floured surface. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Knead the dough by hand,  sprinkle extra 100-120g of sifted flour if the dough is still wet and to sticky. Place the dough into a oiled bowl turning once to cost the dough in the oil. Cover and leave for 30-50min in warm place, or use the oven set on 37c to proof the dough faster. 

BULK: After that time, uncover the bowl, lift one side of the dough and fold in into the middle of the dough. Repeat with other three sides of the dough, then flip the dough over. ( we are redistributing yeast and strengthen the gluten. Cover the bowl and after 30 minutes repeat the process of BULK two more times. 

After all three sets of BULK folding our dough should be lively, elastic and airy. 

If the dough is still sluggish, keep at room temperature for another 1 to 2hours. 

At this stage we can shape our dough into equal measure balls of 80-90grams. Or alternative we can leave our sourdough dough over night in the refrigerator, covered and shape the buns next day in the morning.

Turn the dough into lighting floured surface and divided the dough into a 14-16 equal balls. Roll each ball and place them on the parchment lined baking tray. Use the palm of your hand to flatten each ball into 2cm thick disks. Cover the tray with buns and allow to proved for 1hour. Or we can set our steam oven on 37c or normal oven on the lovest heat possible 36-38c and proof our buns covered completely with clingfilm for 10-15minutes. To check if our buns are ready,  press a bun with your finger . If it spring right  back, it's not ready, if the dents slowly fills in, the buns are ready. 

Set your oven on 190-200c, wash top ot the each bun with the beated egg wash and bake for 10-15min. 

TIP : Scalded milk is milk heated to a near boild, then cooled up to 40-50c. It's make cakes, breads and anything with sourdough or yeast fluffiet and lighter.

Ingredients and alternatives:

Flour: You can of course use any glutenous flour or a combination. All purpose, strong bread flour should be the base. You can mix other flour verities to change texture, flavor at 5 – 20% ;

Rye
whole meal
Buckwheat
Teff etc.

Fat:
Fat is what makes rolls softer and help keep soft for longer.
Fat is usually introduced as fat itself, but eggs and milk has fat too. Keep that in mind when you mix and match. You can use any of the fats below;
Butter
Oil (Vegetable, canola, olive oil, grape seed, avocado)
Bacon fat 
Lard

Eggs:
Adding eggs is optional. You can totally skip this process or opt to add just egg yolk for a richer texture. You can also use tofu instead of eggs and get all the effects of adding eggs. 1/4 cup tofu is equal to an egg, but make sure to drain well to remove excess water out.

Milk:
Optional again. Milk, just like eggs adds extra richness. Increases softness, and sweetness. Keep in mind different milks have different sweetness and flavors. So use a in less % if you are not sure. Use following alternatives;
Cows milk (any fat %)
Nut milk (check if it is sweetened)
Coconut milk (beware of flavor and fat content)
Soy milk
Oats milk

Sugar:
Need only very little. Interchange with any of the following;
White sugar
Brown sugar
Honey
Coconut sugar
Maple syrup
Rice malt syrup etc.

Moisture:
Water is the most basic and easy solution here. Feel free to use alternatives as replacement or mixed with water to get extra flavor;
Beer varieties
Coconut water etc.

Topping:
Use either eggs or milk to brush the top. This gives a nice color and shine. Use any of the following to decorate or keep it plain;
Sesame
Poppy seeds
Line seeds etc.