Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

There was a girl singing Summertime (and the living is easy) outside of my window as I made these Sloppy Joes today.  She wasn’t the best singer in the world.  I imagine that if I had the gall to sing in public, I’d be just around average as well.  A lot of times it’s way more about feel and guts when it comes to singing in the streets.  You just have to step out there and mean in.  That’s just about everything.

I’m feel the same way when I step in the kitchen to make bread.  Feel and guts, every time.

I’ve had every intention of making homemade hamburger-type buns for (no joke) two years now.  Two years!?

I think that’s called self-procrastination.  Sometimes even the best laid plans take years to activate.  Feel and guts!  I’m telling  you.  It’s so real.

Here’s the deal with my baby steps into this homemade hamburger bun situation:  I wanted my hamburger buns to be as rich and lovely as brioche buns without the tremendous amount of work it takes to make actual brioche buns.

I wanted a cheat!

I’ve had my eyes on Deb’s recipe from Light Brioche Buns for (you guessed it) years.  With just a bit of butter and a bit of egg, her recipe seems just right.

Except…  I forgot to add the egg.

Two years and I forget the egg!!!!!

Luckily, this hamburger bun story still has a happy ending.

We’re working with bread flour, mixed with a bit of all-purpose flour.  Truth be told I used just a bit of while whole wheat flour.  I don’t often make so many intentional and not so intentional substitutions.  I promise.  Butter is worked into the flours, kinda like we’re making biscuits!

Warm water, milk, years and sugar are stirred together and added to our flour mixture.

This is just a bowl and spoon happening.  No mixer needed!

The dough starts shaggy.

And stays pretty shaggy.

We knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes.

The dough will be tacky, but not overly sticky.  That’s because I forgot the egg.

There’s no need to add extra flour.

After 10 minutes the dough will be pretty, smooth, and happy.

We leave it to rest in a big bowl coated well with olive oil.

While the dough rests, the Turkey Sloppy Joes come together!

Onions, red bell pepper, a bit of jalapeño, and a good amount of garlic.

Tomato sauce and paste, barbecue sauce, and hella Worcestershire sauce, too!  I like to shake in the hot sauce as well.  That vinegar spice is perfect!

Brown sugar for sweetness, and chili powder for that round spice flavor.  It’s all very good!

Ground turkey, of course!

It’s cooked down with the onions, peppers, and garlic.

Once the vegetables and turkey is cooked down we add the chili powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

Tomato paste helps deepen the rich tomato flavor.

All mixed up and so hard not to devour by the spoonful!

Just as the sloppy joe filling finishes simmering, the dough finishes its first rise.

The dough is divided into 16 pieces.  Each piece is rolled into a little bun and placed on a lightly greased piece of parchment paper.  Before we brush with egg and sprinkle with poppy and salt, the buns need to rest for another hour or so.  They need more time to fluff (don’t we all).

Lightly brushed with egg wash and sprinkled generously with sea salt and poppy seeds.

Baked to golden!

If we tap the buns just out of the oven, they’ll sound hollow.  That’s how we know they’re done.

A major amount of sloppy joe filling, please!

The buns, even without the egg, are light and fluffy.  The dough was totally easy to work with, and I love how golden and brioche-y these buns are!   Two years was worth the wait… but wwwhhhyyy did I wait?

Check out Deb’s recipe for Light Brioche Burger Buns for her plus-egg recipe although I had great results and a super manageable dough by making it without the egg.

This is a most lovely summer meal! It’s perfectly comforting and familiar.