i'd rather be baking

We have some serious pumpkin love around here and in fact, I try to restrain myself from breaking out the spicy-sweet recipes until October arrives. But when it does, boy am I ready.

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This summer I read this post by Smitten Kitchen lauding the merits of these hamburger buns, and I’ve made them at least once a month since then. At first I didn’t quite believe that something could be so simple and delicious as to make buying hamburger buns a thing of the past, but I’m 100% sold on these bad boys. She’s completely and utterly right, that with such a bun existing in our world, eating those boring store-bought ones just feels like a crime.

We quickly began making them for occasions other than just burgers. They’ve hosted grilled veggie sandwiches in late summer, deli meat and veggies for many a lunch, and breakfast melts on particularly hungry mornings. They’ve even held together the occasional peanut butter and jelly. These buns are pretty much ready for any sort of sandwich you want to throw at them.

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I have never quite understood the fear and intimidation so many folks feel about baking bread. I guess I know the feeling — it’s the same one I have when thumbing through Julia Child’s cookbook — this just isn’t my particular fear.

I’ve never been a science-y girl, but I understand bread. There will always be variables, like which type of grains you choose, what binding agents do the trick, and which seasonings make sense. But the main things remain constant — yeast, salt, flour. It’s really pretty simple.

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