frugal cooking, frugal living, Uncategorized

Save Money, Make Your Own Hamburger Buns!

Grace: I was thinking of stopping over on Sunday.

Me: Great!  Will you be staying for dinner?

Grace: Probably, but I’m not sure.

Me: I’ll BBQ!

Grace: Sounds tempting.

Me: How about if I make homemade hamburger buns?

Grace:  Hmm.  Sold.

Dear reader, inflation and the Trump tariff taxes are taking a toll on all of us, and I have been encouraging folks to save money by cooking from scratch.  This is my small way of trying to help others during these troubled times.

When I rediscovered my bread maker, I was excited to remember how effortless it was to make really delicious bread, and how much cheaper it was to bake rather than buy. Is the cost of buying a bread maker worth it?  Absolutely, but not everyone has cash to burn, and I knew that used bread makers could be purchased for pennies on the dollar. 

To illustrate my point, I visited a local second-hand store and bought a bread maker for $14.

I never used a bread maker to make hamburger buns, and I was surprised by how simple it was using the dough function on the machine.  I just tossed in the ingredients, and 90 minutes later, I had perfectly kneaded dough.  Since the dough was well-kneaded, it was easy to form into buns.

You can buy cheap hamburger buns for a few dollars, but good buns are considerably more expensive.  Since this recipe uses an enriched dough , I wasn’t sure if my homemade efforts would save any money. However, when I did the calculations, it was clear that my homemade buns were considerably cheaper than not only the upscale rolls, but also cheaper ones.  Plus, they were really delicious! For those wondering, an enriched dough has extra ingredients like milk, eggs, and sometimes more sugar. This results in a richer end product, but more ingredients means a greater cost.

I wanted to share the recipe with you.

Alas, I can’t credit this internet recipe as I saved the image without the author’s info. Remember to add the ingredients in the order listed. Bake at 350°F (175 °C) for 12-15 minutes. I checked at 12 minutes and added a few more minutes to achieve my desired color for the buns.
My $14 thrifted bread machine. I usually weigh the flour instead of using volume measurements.
This machine does not have a warming pre-cycle. I used hot tap water and added the cold milk and egg to it. This resulted in a warm solution. Remember, if it is too hot to keep your finger in it, it is too hot for the yeast.
I melted the butter in the microwave using short bursts of time (10 seconds). If you just blast the power, your butter will pop and splatter, making a mess. Into the bread pan it went. By the way, I really like this Oxo measuring cup. It has easy-to-see markings.
In went the sugar. I was too lazy to convert 1/3 cup of sugar into grams. Perhaps next time.
In went the flour. I substituted AP flour, and it worked fine. However, bread flour will give you a slightly better texture. Weighing the flour is vital as flour can settle, giving you wildly different amounts if you measure using a cup.
In went the salt. I always put the salt far away from the yeast. Concentrated salt can kill yeast.
Now the yeast. I made a little well and added the yeast. I buy my yeast in bulk, and it is significantly less expensive than in those little jars or packets. You can purchase it online or from places like Costco and Gordon Foods.
I selected the dough cycle on the bread maker and pressed start. I had perfect dough 90 minutes later!
This thrifted bread maker made perfect dough ready for shaping!
I cut the dough into six pieces. Honestly, I should have cut the dough into 8ths as my buns were huge.
I shaped them into balls and then flattened them a bit. Yes, I’m not the best shaper. Then, I covered them with a tea towel and let them rise for 30 minutes. I then baked them at 350°F (175 °C) for 12 minutes. I checked them and added an additional 3 minutes to achieve the color that I wanted.
This step is optional. After the buns rose, I gave them an egg wash and added some poppy seeds. I didn’t include the seeds in my cost calculations as I had some in the pantry and had no way to calculate their price. I’m using parchment paper, but you could use a reusable silicone mat or any other option that suits your preference.
All baked and ready for today’s BBQ. I’m storing them using a cake cover to keep them fresh. But what about the costs?

Cost analysis

This recipe made over 1.5 pounds of dough. The cost of ingredients was $1.62. Cost would be less if I bought the flour in bulk. Cost would be more if I bought the ingredients at a more expensive grocery store.

I’m comparing prices by the ounce. Buns are from Walmart.com.

These are cheap hamburger buns. A 15 oz package is $1.97. These buns were 1.8 x more expensive than my homemade buns and not near the quality. This surprised me as I thought my buns would be more expensive.

These 16 ounce Brownberry buns were $3.78 and represent a better quality bun. However, there were other hamburger buns at Walmart.com that were even more expensive. These buns were 3.4 x more expensive than my homemade buns!

I thought making hamburger buns would be more difficult than it was. With the bread maker doing most of the work it was then simple to shape and bake the buns in the oven. I’m sure I’ll do this again.

I knew that my buns would be less expensive than the Brownberry buns, but I was surprised to see that the price per ounce was 3.4 times more. Even more surprising was the fact that the cheap, Bimbo buns were 80% more expensive than my much higher quality home made buns.

Yes, you can save money by making your own hamburger buns, and it was really simple to do so. The $14 bread maker made light work out of a normally labor intensive task!

Peace

Mike

images are my own or screen shots from websites. All images are for educational purposes only.