I’ve been wanting to treat myself to some mini bannetons since I saw them on Amazon a while ago. They’re the perfect size for making bread rolls or sourdough burger buns. I came across a seller offering a set of ten for £48.50 with free P&P which I thought was good value.
They’re 13cm/5″ in diameter and can hold around 225g/8oz of sourdough – enough to make an extra-small boule. On this occasion, I only put 140g/5oz of dough in each – a perfect amount for sourdough burger buns.
Prior to use, give each a wipe with a clean, dry cloth or tea towel and sprinkle with flour to stop the dough from sticking. For this, I’ve used plain flour and semolina; however, I’ve found that rice flour is by far the most successful option.
I’ve tweaked and speeded up my favourite 24-hour sourdough loaf recipe to make half a dozen rolls.
The addition of a sprinkling of black sesame seeds makes them look pretty and adds a lovely nutty flavour.
They may be burger buns – however, they’re also perfect for bacon sandwiches, sausage sandwiches, fried egg sandwiches… or a combo of them all!
Click here to save the recipe to Pinterest
- 290ml/10¼fl oz water at 27ºC
- 90g/3oz 1:1 (100% hydrated) fresh, active sourdough starter
- 450g/15½oz strong white bread flour
- 4g/⅛oz fine sea salt
- 1tbsp sesame seeds (I used black sesame seeds)
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the warm water and starter and mix well
- Add the flour and, using the dough hook, mix until all the ingredients just about come together into a ragged ball shape. Cover with a damp tea towel or large plastic bag/cling film and allow the dough to rest in a warm place for an hour
- Sprinkle over the salt and knead until it is evenly distributed. Cover again with a damp tea towel or large plastic bag/cling film and allow the dough to rest in a warm place for about 2 hours or until the dough has doubled in size
- Dust each bun banneton generously with rice flour
- Lightly sprinkle a work surface with bread flour, pour out the dough and divide it into 6 equal portions (you can weigh them out) - each piece should be about 140g/5oz)
- Carefully form each piece of dough into a ball and place them into the bun bannetons
- Sprinkle with rice flour and cover the bannetons with a damp tea towel. Allow to prove in a warm place for an hour or two, or until the dough has doubled in size
- Preheat the oven to 220ºC/425ºF/Gas mark 7 (put your baking stone in now, if you have one)
- Once the oven (and baking stone) has reached the correct temperature, dust a peel with rice flour, turn the buns out on to it and slide them onto the baking stone. If you don't have a peel, dust the baking tray with the rice flour before turning the buns out on to it
- Using a spray bottle on the fine mist setting, dampen the tops of the buns and sprinkle with sesame seeds
- Carefully slide the buns off the peel (if using) on to the baking stone (if using) or slide the baking tray into the hot oven
- Bake for 5 minutes before turning the heat down to 200ºC/375ºF/Gas mark 5. Bake for a further 5-10 minutes until the tops are golden brown and they sound hollow when knocked on the bottom
