Ron Helwig

Writing, recipes, and practical notes — personal site of Ron Helwig

Ron's Manly Buns

Hearty sandwich buns with white and whole-wheat flours, flax meal, and hemp seed. The original kitchen notes called for a KitchenAid, bun rings, and a Silpat — and the full method is preserved below.

Historical note: this was the “original recipe” on the old site; some later tweaks lived only in a spreadsheet. Treat proportions as a working family recipe, not a lab formula.
Yield About 6 buns (~150 g each) plus scraps
Time Several hours (mostly rising)
Difficulty Intermediate

Ingredients

  • 1¾ teaspoons active dry yeast
  • 1⅔ cups lukewarm water
  • 2 tablespoons honey
  • 2 cups unbleached white bread flour
  • ½ cup whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • ¼ cup flax seed meal
  • ¼ cup hemp seed nuts (shelled)
  • 2 teaspoons sea salt

Equipment (as recorded)

KitchenAid mixer, glass bowl, kitchen towel, baking sheet, Silpat mat, and bun rings.

Instructions

  1. Warm rising space. Turn the oven to its lowest “warm” setting, then turn it off when it reaches temperature. (A microwave with a kettle of boiled water works too.)
  2. Put the water in the mixer bowl and bring it to about 85°F (29°C). Stir in honey, sprinkle yeast over the top, and let sit about 5 minutes until foamy.
  3. Meanwhile, loosely hand-mix all dry ingredients in a glass bowl.
  4. With the mixer on low (setting 1) and the paddle, gradually add the dry ingredients to the yeast mixture.
  5. Switch to the dough hook and knead on medium (setting 3) until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. If sticky, sprinkle in a little more flour while kneading.
  6. Form into a ball, place in a lightly oiled glass bowl, cover with a floured towel, and rise in the warm space 2.5–3 hours until doubled.
  7. Turn out onto a floured board, punch down, and tri-fold a few times. Portion into pieces of 150 g ± 5 g (about 5¼ oz). Shape, tuck sides under, and place in oiled bun rings on a Silpat-lined sheet. Makes about 6 buns plus leftover dough.
  8. Cover and rise about 1.5 hours more. After 45 minutes, preheat the oven to 425°F (220°C).
  9. Bake about 25 minutes. Internal temperature around 190–205°F (88–96°C) is fine; tops should be slightly hard. Cool on a rack out of the rings.

Health notes (from the original write-up)

Flax meal and hemp seed add omega-3s. Rough original estimates per bun:

  • Hemp: ~615 mg omega-3 and ~3.4 g protein
  • Flax: ~740 mg omega-3
  • Combined: on the order of ~1355 mg omega-3 per bun (estimates, not lab assays)

Tool notes

  1. Bun rings were cut from 5-inch O.D. stainless tubing (deburred) so the buns bake up about 4¾ inches across instead of spreading flat.
  2. Cornmeal and oiled sheets were tried earlier; Silpat won — nothing sticks.

Storage

A paper bag firms the crust; a sealed container keeps them softer.

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