From Hamburg To Hoboken A Brief History Of The Hambuger Recipes

Steps:

• The hamburger ranks as one of the most popular dishes in the world. At least, if you figure by numbers. According to Jeffrey Tennyson, author of Hamburger Heaven: The Illustrated History of the Hamburger, Americans consume more than 38 billion burgers a year-three burgers a week for each American man, woman, and child. Add foreign consumption and you've got a food phenomenon unique in human history.The hamburger's history begins, logically enough, in Hamburg, Germany, which in the eighteenth century was the largest port in Europe. According to Tennyson, German seafarers acquired a taste for chopped beef in Russia, where steak tartare had been a staple for centuries. Tartare takes its name from the Tartary (or Tatary) plains in Central Asia, home to the nomadic warriors known as the Mongols. Mongol horsemen, so the legend goes, enjoyed their beef raw, tenderizing it by placing it under their saddles. (The riding action reduced it to a tender pulp.)History neglects to tell us whether it was a Mongol, Russian, or German who first had the idea to cook the chopped beef. We do know that by the time the hamburger reached North America, with German immigrants, it was cooked-and beloved and respected. The first North American restaurant to propose hamburger on its menu was the legendary Delmonico's in New York, which in 1834 offered "hamburger steaks" for the princely sum of 10 cents-twice the price of roast beef or veal cutlet.As the hamburger became more familiar, the price dropped. By the turn of the century, hamburgers had become the food of the masses, sold at horse-drawn lunch wagons, soda fountains, and newly invented luncheonettes. Somewhere along the line, the tomatoes and pickles were added-and the patty was placed on a bun, making the ham-burger the ultimate convenience food you could eat on the run.

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Place yeast into bowl of a large stand mixer; whisk in 1/2 cup flour and warm water until smooth. Let stand until mixture is foamy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Whisk 1 egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt thoroughly into yeast mixture. Add remaining flour (about 3 cups).
• Fit a dough hook onto stand mixer and knead the dough on low speed until soft and sticky, 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape sides if needed. Poke and prod the dough with a silicone spatula; if large amounts of dough stick to the spatula, add a little more flour.
• Transfer dough onto a floured work surface; dough will be sticky and elastic but not stick to your fingers. Form the dough lightly into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking loose ends underneath.
• Wipe out stand mixer bowl, drizzle olive oil into the bowl, and turn dough over in the bowl several times to coat surface thinly with oil. Cover bowl with aluminum foil. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled, about 2 hours.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface and pat to flatten bubbles and form into a slightly rounded rectangle of dough about 5x10 inches and about 1/2 inch thick. Dust dough lightly with flour if needed. Cut dough into 8 equal pieces. Form each piece into a round shape, gently tucking ends underneath as before.
• Use your hands to gently pat and stretch the dough rounds into flat disc shapes about 1/2 inch thick. Arrange buns about 1/2 inch apart on prepared baking sheet. Dust buns very lightly with flour. Drape a piece of plastic wrap over the baking sheet (do not seal tightly). Let buns rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Beat 1 egg with milk in a small bowl, using a fork, until mixture is thoroughly combined. Very gently and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash without deflating the risen dough. Sprinkle each bun with sesame seeds.
• Bake in the preheated oven until lightly browned on top, 15 to 17 minutes. Buns will stick together slightly where they touch. Let cool completely, tear the buns apart, and slice in half crosswise to serve.