Barbecue Slider Buns and a Non Fatal Blowout

This first project has been on my proverbial back burner for a while. Kansas City is rightfully known as one of the great barbecue hot spots of the US and since I live 25 miles away as the crow flies from the city center, I've thought long and irreverently about contributing to the local BBQ lore with a sandwich bun.

Rather than imitating the soon to be forgotten "Wonder Bread" abominations, I used both a sourdough starter and corn flour. It remains a work in progress but still possessing enough merit to justify at least two more attempts.

Here's what I figured out so far. First, I scaled my pieces to 100-105 g. 150 g would bring them closer in size to a standard hamburger bun size. Next, I really don't need to use a sourdough starter because the flavor isn't noticeable. A preferment will be in my next try. Also, using an egg as part of the formula is worth a try as well. The finger poke holes in the dough before proofing seem to have contributed to a bun that seems to be normal in appearance after baking rather than too round like a dinner roll. Before I know it, I may have something entirely different from where I started.

Starter
150 g at 100% hydration

Main Dough
280 g bread flour
120 g corn flour
250 g  water at 85F
1/2 tsp active dry yeast
10 g brown sugar
9 g kosher salt
1 Tbs olive oil
All of starter

The finished buns have a slightly sweet flavor to them but with a smear of mustard or some barbecue sauce on the brisket, it's just fine. As a plus, the bun doesn't go all spongy on me like normal white bread would.

The current loaf in the house suffered a blowout during the bake. I'd like to think that it was all a case of not being proofed long enough even though it spent three hours on the counter at room temperature-70F- before being loaded into the oven.There's also a possibility that it was simply a weak seam on the loaf during the shaping. I do like the flavor in this variation.

Starter
145  g at 75% hydration
Main Dough
280 g bread flour
100 g Hard red winter wheat flour
20 g spelt flour
10 g kosher salt
12 ml honey
All of starter

Our fine feathered friends are busy fattening up for the winter weather. There is a forecast of 2-5 inches of snow predicted for Wednesday night so i might be calling this correctly. Sparrows have been finding their way back in numbers and their eating habits are just as scatter shot as the finches. The juncos which usually don't perch at feeders aren't so discriminating as to turn the beaks up when presented with such bounty from above. The goldfinches have their lost their bright plumage for the season. I haven't observed any hawks or crows in the area lately. Should we actually get some snowfall that sticks, the birds will be crowding the feeders and that should bring the hawks back to the neighborhood.

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Comments, humor, and questions are welcome.