Hamburger Buns (Page 614)

• Date: Tuesday, April 22, 2008 -- 9pm
• Location: Bloomington, IN
• Kitchen: My Apartment
• Dining Companions: Many mathematicians and their families
  
• Recipe Rating: B+
  

I am trying to make some practical food for the next few weeks so that when I leave Indiana for the summer my freezer isn't overflowing with leftovers. We are having a department picnic on Sunday, so I made these buns and froze them until then. I am always enchanted by homemade bread. Perhaps it is the smell that fills my apartment, but I invariably have a positive feeling about a bread recipe before I even taste it. I had never made hamburger buns before, so I wasn't sure exactly what to expect. The verdict: they are good. I'm not confident that these are the best hamburger buns that it would be possible to make, but they are certainly better than anything you would buy in a store. They had a nice flavor to them, and a good texture. I have two complaints though. One, they came out a little dry inside. And two, they are a bit small for hamburgers. If you are going to make a homemade bun and fill it with a delicious juicy burger, then you are probably going to want a pretty big one! I think a 3 1/2 or 4 inch cutter rather than a 3 inch one would have made more appropriately sized buns. Overall though, they are pretty good. I am looking forward to hearing what everyone else thinks of them on Sunday!

This recipe isn't online.

Happy birthday to me! I woke up this morning a little bit bummed about spending my birthday without my special gentleman, or any of the other friends I usually spend my special day with. But so far the day has gone just swimmingly, so I am having a much better attitude about it. I have gotten some lovely emails containing birthday wishes from friends near and far, and when I got to my office this morning there was a beautiful handmade birthday card from Cornelia! I also signed the sublease papers this morning with the very nice and responsible person who will be living in my apartment for much of the summer while I am away. I am relieved to be done with that. So basically, all is well. Next up on the agenda: teaching my last class of the semester! Happy birthday to me! I give my last lecture today and then I am holding a review session tomorrow. The final is Monday and then I am done! Whoo-hoo!

I decided not to have a birthday party this year. It's the first time in many years that I haven't had one. I had a lot of good reasons for deciding not to do one this year, but now I am regretting it a bit. I love birthdays, and I love parties! I did make myself a cake last night (A birthday without a party seemed manageable, but a birthday without a cake seemed like too much to deal with!). So I packed myself an extra-special lunch today with a big slice of cake in it. Yum!

Speaking of, I should finish planning my class so I have time to eat my delicious lunch before lecture!