Challah Hamburger Buns

One of our favorite restaurants in Tulsa is The Tavern on Brady.    I have posted about their deviled eggs and our fantastically fun cooking class Chef Grant.

They absolutely have the best gourmet burger in the state!   (I know that is an extreme statement, but this burger is pretty darn fantastic!)    The Tavern Burger is a thick slab of delicious ground beef with Stilton cheese, a mushroom Cognac cream sauce on a Challah Bun accompanied by frites.

This beautiful burger image is taken from The Tavern on Brady’s website. It is NOT my own photog!

See, doesn’t it look delicious?

One of my favorite parts of this burger is the bun.   When we took the class with Chef Grant, he made the statement that they make ALL of their bread fresh, twice daily, before each service.    You can tell this attention to detail immediately after your first bite into this soft, fresh, slightly sweet bun.

I have been wanting to replicate this burger so my first step had to be mastering the bun.   I try to make my own sandwich rolls whenever time allows but I had never made Challah bread.   After a quick search, I found a recipe at All Recipes.

Challah Hamburger Buns
Adapted from Decadent Challah Bread

1/3 c. honey
1-1/4 c. warm water
2-1/4 t. active dry yeast
1-1/2 t. fine sea salt
2/3 c. olive oil
2 eggs, slightly beaten
5 c.  flour (plus more if needed)

In the  mixing bowl of a stand mixer, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Stir in the yeast. Set the mixture aside until the yeast forms a creamy layer on top, about 15 minutes.

Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer.   After yeast is frothy-looking, stir in the salt, olive oil, and beaten eggs. Add the flour one cup at a time until the dough is slightly tacky, but not sticky wet.

For the traditionalist:   Turn it out onto a floured surface, and knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

For the lazy baker (like me):   Whip the dough to death with the dough hook attachment (5-7 minutes).    Watch the mixer carefully so it does not walk off the cabinet.

Lightly oil a bowl, place the dough in the bowl, turn the dough over a few times to oil the surface, then let rise until doubled in a warm, draft-free place, about 90 minutes.

To make the buns, punch down the dough, and divide in half.  Divide dough again and again until you have eight buns.

Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F and line baking sheets with parchment paper or a silicon baking pad or simply a greased baking sheet.   Place the buns on the baking sheets, cover with a clean towel and let rise one hour.

Make the egg wash:

1/4 cup milk
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 egg white

I used chives for my herb sprinkling.

Whisk together and brush on buns after the second rise.   At this point you can also sprinkle them with herbs.

Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes.

I served my burgers on these rolls with a little chipotle spiced mayo, some muenster, tomatoes, and fresh basil.DO NOT COMPARE THIS WITH THE PICTURE FROM The Tavern on Brady, PLEASE!

Next on my list for these burgers, master the Cognac cream sauce!  🙂

Note:   This is another post from my archived drafts.