Nice Buns

This past summer, I fell in love with these amazing buns, these dreamy, perfect, fluffy buns. I discovered this bun wonder at Eat Spot in Northport, Michigan, where it contained roasted turkey, provolone, pesto mayo, and roasted red peppers and was purely magnificent. I do not lie when I say that my mother and I fell in love with this sandwich and we had, I think, eight of them (sheesh! not sixteen total! eight between the two of us!) during a mere one week this summer. The bun holds other sandwiches, too, like the chicken bacon swiss, the hamburger, and the roast beef -- all very dreamy in their own right, but the turkey one is just so nice. When I returned to the Bun Mecca again in October, I had the sandwich, of course, and I later found myself traveling home with an entire bagful of the buns. I took a bit of a plunge that day when I sheepishly asked the clerk for the recipe, but imagine my delight when she assured me that the owner would certainly part with the recipe -- he gives it out frequently! -- and he would be happy to send me the recipe. Ha! Brilliant! My very own buns. Perfect buns were coming to my very own kitchen!

So, I need to actually tell you about these buns. And my bun history. I'll spare you the gory details, but I'll tell you the most important bits. They are light, so light, and dusted in flour. You poke the bun and it sinks softly and generously under your finger, but then instantly rises back up. The inside is airy but still very substantial, the perfect consistency. Now onto this whole onion thing. At first, I didn't really read this bun as an onion bun because the onion-ness is so slight, but I've learned that that is what makes them so amazing. The slight aroma of onion, the tiny onion bits strategically placed throughout, the whispering onion aura...the most unterrifying bun you could imagine! The bun could survive deliciously without the onion, but the onion just takes it higher. Higher!

My bun-making history is a bit grim. I've tried several times, but it just didn't work. And by "not work," I mean they ended up resembling evil, horrible rocks. You may remember a post from last winter -- perhaps a sausage adventure post? -- in which Meghan and I made buns that ended up as weapons, not edible food. It was rather embarrassing, yet funny. Not delicious. That was one of my first bun times. I vowed afterward that I would get it right, and I did get it better, but not right. I think I like to act like the recipe was the fool, not I, but that's awfully silly. I tend to think about all of the buns out there, and how many are stale or tough or just nasty, and then I think about the glorious buns, which, honestly, are few and far between. When I met the onion bun, it took me by the shoulders, shook me madly, and told me GET ME INTO YOUR LIFE. IT'S TIME. So I've been doing that. You have to listen to what buns tell you. You just have to.

I've been experimenting with the onionness. The first batch was way too oniony; I used 2 small onions, diced, but I didn't dice them nearly small enough. The buns were studded with loads of onion bits that really didn't cook as much as I thought they would, so they were still crunchy, which grossed me out a little. I decided that if I was going to proceed with the raw onion thing, I would need to mince the onions to hell. Alternatively, cooking or caramelizing them seemed even more practical. Most importantly, less would turn out to be more. I tried these approaches, and it worked, but they still just weren't quite right. Somehow the Eat Spot bun's onion bits really work, and mine needed help. I ended up finding a solution that really makes me thrilled out of my mind, and it's called...dehydrated onion flakes. You can plop some into the dough while you're mixing it up, or you can just sprinkle them on the top so that they stick to that oil you sprayed on. (Try not to be confused when you gaze up at the photo -- it's from that first floppy batch with the onion-boulders, so you won't see the onion flakes. Use your imagination, you talented chefs!)

Onion Buns
recipe courtesy of Bruce Viger, owner of Eat Spot in Northport, Michigan

Try not to be nervous! These are not tricky buns to make! The recipe is staggeringly simple, and you don't even have to knead them! You will be astounded by the complete ease of bun-ness.


1 1/3 C warm water
1 package yeast
1/4 C honey
4 C flour
1 tsp salt
1/4 C oil
dehydrated onion flakes (other options are sesame seeds, poppy seeds, garlic, caraway seeds, or even a combination!)

Mix water and honey with a whisk. Add yeast and mix. Add flour, top with oil and salt. Mix with wooden spoon until incorporated but try not to overmix. Portion out the buns by pulling off pieces and rolling them gently into balls; you should end up with 9 or 10 of them. Spray a cookie sheet (or two) with cooking oil. At this point, you can lightly dust the buns all over with flour, but it's not crucial. Place buns approximately 4 inches apart and spray a bit of oil on top of each bun. Cover all the buns with plastic wrap or a lightweight tea towel and let rise for an hour or until doubled (or almost doubled) in size. I like to turn my oven on and place the cookie sheet on the back burners so that the warmth radiating from the oven helps them rise. As with any kind of bread, if your kitchen is really cold or really humid, it could affect the rising, so keep this in mind. Sprinkle tops with dehydrated onion flakes and place in a preheated 350 degree oven for 16-20 minutes or until very slightly golden on top. I'd say that you might want to start with 10 minutes and then keep an eye on them. If the tops get brown, that means the insides will be too dry! Take buns from oven, remove to a cooling rack and let them cool for 14 seconds or until you can't possibly stand to wait anymore! Eat one! Burn your mouth! It's worth it!