Ingredients

• FILLING
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• DOUGH
• ¼ cup warm water
• 1 tablespoon yeast
• ½ cup milk, scalded and cooled
• 1 egg
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• 3 cups Unbleached All-Purpose Flour
• GLAZE & TOPPING
• 1 egg
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• Parmesan cheese, or poppy and/or sesame seeds

Method

To make the filling: Cut the onion into fine dice, and set aside. Melt the butter in a frying pan, add the onion, and sauté over medium-low heat for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the onion is light brown. Stir in the sugar, and sauté an additional 5 minutes. Let cool to room temperature.

In a mixing bowl, dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Add the milk, egg, butter, sugar, salt and flour. Stir to combine, then knead the dough till it's smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to coat all sides, cover it with lightly greased plastic wrap, and let the dough rise till it's doubled in bulk, about 2 hours.

Punch the dough down, and knead in the sautéed onions. This is easily done with a mixer (or in a bread machine), but it's also a fairly simple matter to do it with your hands.

Shape the dough into a ball, and let it rest for 10 minutes. Roll or pat it out into a 3/4-inch thick circle.

Using a regular-sized tuna can (or other can or cutter about 3 1/2 inches across), cut the dough into nine rounds. Transfer the rounds to a baking sheet, leaving about a 1-inch clearance between them. Brush the rounds with the glaze, which you've made by beating together the egg and salt. Top the rolls with a light sprinkling of Parmesan cheese (to taste). Cover them with lightly greased plastic wrap, and set them aside to rise till light and tall, about 1 1/2 hours.

Bake the rolls in a preheated 350°F oven for 20 minutes, or until they're golden brown. Remove from the oven, and cool on a wire rack.

Notes

What could possibly top a great burger but a great burger roll! You may never buy a store-bought roll again.

I used a mixture of poppy and sesame seeds for topping in place of the Parmesan, and they were delicious.

Nutritional information per serving

1 roll, 105g: 282 cal, 13g fat, 7g protein, 31g complex carbohydrates, 4g sugar, 1g dietary fiber, 78mg cholesterol, 555mg sodium, 120mg potassium, 1mg vitamin C, 2mg iron, 128mg calcium, 96mg phosphorus.

Categories

bread, main dishes