Hamburger Buns in 30 Minutes

My dear friend Kris* was coming to dinner and I needed to whip up something -- and fast.  So when I discovered a recipe called Hamburger Buns in 30 Minutes, I couldn't resist.  (I could have walked to the corner bodega and purchased a package of buns in about five minutes, but what fun is that?)

Like most things in life, shortcuts in baking don't always yield the best result.  And so it was with these buns.  The big surprise was that they even worked.  If you ever find yourself on a remote island or in a country house miles from the nearest grocery store, this unusual recipe may come in handy.

Mix warm water, oil, yeast and sugar in a large bowl and let it rest for 15 minutes.

It should "grow" and look like the mixture below.

Add the flour and other ingredients.  Mix well.  Do not knead.  Do not wait for it to rise.  Forget everything you've ever learned about baking with yeast.

Form this mixture into "the size and shape of a hamburger patty" instructs the recipe.  Let rise about ten minutes.

Bake for ten minutes and voila.  You have hamburger buns, sort of.  (Actually, I baked them for way longer than ten minutes and then toasted them.)

If you've added up the time required as stated on the recipe, it's 35 minutes, which leads me to believe that the author of this recipe is as math challenged as I am.

I meant to take some pictures of Kris "enjoying" the hamburger buns, but we had wine and got distracted.   But even better, below are two paintings by Kris, a wonderful and imaginative artist who left Brooklyn more than a decade ago and now lives in Rhode Island.