# Whole Wheat Bratwurst Buns



## disco

I have been making buns for my bratwurst but had a problem that they always seemed to spread out and didn't come out in a shape I liked. Here is my experiment to deal with this problem.

I note that  you get a good shape in rolls when they are cooked in a pan so I used 8 by 8 inch pans to make the bread. I like my buns 6 inches long so I made 8 dinner rolls to shorten the brat buns up. It worked well.

I used a recipe from the Fleischmann's Bread World Site that I have used for whole wheat rolls before.

The ingredients are:


3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 to 2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour


2 envelopes Fleischmann's[emoji]174[/emoji] RapidRise Yeast


2 tablespoons sugar


1 teaspoon salt


1-1/2 cups water


3/4 cup milk


1/4 cup molasses


1/4 cup butter OR margarine
I find using weight instead of measuring flour works way better than trying to measure in a measuring cup. I used 14 ounces of whole wheat flour and 8 1/2 ounce of all purpose flour. I mixed the flours, yeast, sugar and salt together. 













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I put the rest of the ingredients in a microwave safe bowl and heated to 130 F in the microwave. Note the butter will not totally melt and that is ok.













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I put the flour mixture in my KitchenAid bowl and added the liquid. I used the dough hook to mix until the dough just started to pull away from the sides. I scraped the bowl down and used the dough hook for 8 minutes.













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I turned the dough out onto a floured counter and kneaded for a few seconds until the surface is smooth. I cut out a quarter of the dough and rolled it into eight balls.













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I cut the remaining dough into halves and cut each of those halves into four pieces. I rolled those pieces into logs. I sprayed two 8 by 8 inch pans with baking spray. I put the small balls along one edge of each pans and put 4 of the longer longs in the remaining space.













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I covered the pans with a tea towel and let them rise to double, about 1 hour.













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I put the buns in a 375 F oven for 20 to 25 minutes. I like to make sure the internal temperature is over 200 F. Then turn the rolls out and cool them on a rack.

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I couldn't resist trying a couple of the rolls right away.













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Soon after was bratwurst time!













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*The Verdict*

This worked great. The buns came out like New England style hot dog buns. I cut them down from the top. They were a great size for a bratwurst! This is the way I will make bratwurst buns from now on. However, my buddy does prefer white buns so I will make a batch of white buns using the same pan technique.

Disco


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## gary s

Nice Job  Looks Great    
	

	
	
		
		



		
			






Gary


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## pc farmer

I tried makin some rolls before.   FAIL!!!!!!!!!!


Yours look great.


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## worktogthr

Oh man disco!! Those look great!  I too have tried bread only once and it was an epic fail.


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## dirtsailor2003

Disco, you have great looking Buns!!!!! 
POINTS!


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## foamheart

Great job Disco. Yes sir nice job.


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## DanMcG

That's great Disco, I was talking about making my own buns just the other day, and now this post might just inspire me enough to get it done.


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## chef willie

Nice job Disco....and I like the New England cut for brats & dawgs. I've been on a baking binge myself of late, trying to master the sour dough breads. Have you considered some Rye flour for the Brat buns?? perhaps with a sprinkling of caraway seeds in the dough or on top? Endless possibilities ahead.....Willie


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## mdboatbum

OK I'm not totally onboard with the whole wheat thing, but the rolls at the end to make the buns the proper length? FREAKIN' BRILLIANT!! I'd been making them on a sheet pan and wasn't happy with the way they turned out. Looked for new England roll pans on Amazon and was dismayed to see they're absurdly priced. Finally found little 6x9 foil broiler pans at the grocery store for $3 for a 3 pack so I've been using those, but now it looks like I won't have to buy any more! Thanks for another great idea!


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## gary s

Disco always does a super nice job   Love seeing all his pictures

Gary


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## old bones

Darn it!!   I'm looking for Bear's Butt and Dave's Salsa so I can post a butt and do links to them and now I find this..... 

Disco, that Brat in the Bunn looks good enough to have for Breakfast.  The better half is a nurse so we get up at 4:00 am and she leaves about 5:00.......   Once she is gone, I could slam down two of them 'Bad Boy Brats" - take a little nap and still be outside to wake up the Rooster.   I like the looks of those buns and will need to try making them soon as I explain to the wife why I need a KitchenAid mixer to go with the bread machine that I needed earlier.   ;-)        Good Job!!


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## disco

gary s said:


> Nice Job  Looks Great
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> Gary


Thanks, Gary.


c farmer said:


> I tried makin some rolls before. FAIL!!!!!!!!!!
> 
> 
> Yours look great.





worktogthr said:


> Oh man disco!! Those look great! I too have tried bread only once and it was an epic fail.


 Hey, cfarmer and worktogthr, keep trying. It can't be too hard if I can do it.

Disco


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## disco

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Disco, you have great looking Buns!!!!!
> POINTS!


Thanks, Case! Sadly you can only get a true rating of my buns by tasting them!


Foamheart said:


> Great job Disco. Yes sir nice job.


Thanks, Foamheart! I do like my brats.


DanMcG said:


> That's great Disco, I was talking about making my own buns just the other day, and now this post might just inspire me enough to get it done.


Have at her Dan! You won't regret it!

Disco


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## dirtsailor2003

Chef Willie said:


> Nice job Disco....and I like the New England cut for brats & dawgs. I've been on a baking binge myself of late, trying to master the sour dough breads. Have you considered some Rye flour for the Brat buns?? perhaps with a sprinkling of caraway seeds in the dough or on top? Endless possibilities ahead.....Willie


Oh man the Rye and caraway with a corned beef sausage! Guldens spicy brown mustard, sauerkraut, Yumm!


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## disco

Chef Willie said:


> Nice job Disco....and I like the New England cut for brats & dawgs. I've been on a baking binge myself of late, trying to master the sour dough breads. Have you considered some Rye flour for the Brat buns?? perhaps with a sprinkling of caraway seeds in the dough or on top? Endless possibilities ahead.....Willie


Thanks, Willie. I like the idea of a light rye roll for bratwurst. So much to try, so little time!


Mdboatbum said:


> OK I'm not totally onboard with the whole wheat thing, but the rolls at the end to make the buns the proper length? FREAKIN' BRILLIANT!! I'd been making them on a sheet pan and wasn't happy with the way they turned out. Looked for new England roll pans on Amazon and was dismayed to see they're absurdly priced. Finally found little 6x9 foil broiler pans at the grocery store for $3 for a 3 pack so I've been using those, but now it looks like I won't have to buy any more! Thanks for another great idea!


It should work well with white rolls as well. I have a buddy who doesn't care for whole  wheat either and I will make him some white ones next time. Thanks for the kind words!


gary s said:


> Disco always does a super nice job   Love seeing all his pictures
> 
> Gary


Aw, Gary, I'm blushing.

Disco


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## disco

Old Bones said:


> Darn it!! I'm looking for Bear's Butt and Dave's Salsa so I can post a butt and do links to them and now I find this.....
> 
> Disco, that Brat in the Bunn looks good enough to have for Breakfast. The better half is a nurse so we get up at 4:00 am and she leaves about 5:00....... Once she is gone, I could slam down two of them 'Bad Boy Brats" - take a little nap and still be outside to wake up the Rooster. I like the looks of those buns and will need to try making them soon as I explain to the wife why I need a KitchenAid mixer to go with the bread machine that I needed earlier. ;-) Good Job!!


Thanks, OB. I don't want to kill your argument for a KitchenAid but these can be made by hand easily. Just start by mixing the liquid with 1/2 the flours until sticky. Then put the dough on the counter and work in the rest of the flour. When it starts to smooth out, knead it for 8 minutes by hand. 

I'm just too lazy when I have a stand mixer,

As for brats for breakfast, you are going to get me in trouble. She Who Must Be Obeyed and I are retired and if I ate bratwurst for breakfast I would be observed and scorned!

Disco


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## chef willie

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Oh man the Rye and caraway with a corned beef sausage! Guldens spicy brown mustard, sauerkraut, Yumm!


Yeah, baby.....sounds like a winner to me as long as there is some kraut mixed into that CB brat. If you recall I did one of those back in Oct 2013, devising a way to use up some CB

http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/151586/corned-beef-sausage


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## disco

dirtsailor2003 said:


> Oh man the Rye and caraway with a corned beef sausage! Guldens spicy brown mustard, sauerkraut, Yumm!





Chef Willie said:


> Yeah, baby.....sounds like a winner to me as long as there is some kraut mixed into that CB brat. If you recall I did one of those back in Oct 2013, devising a way to use up some CB
> 
> http://www.smokingmeatforums.com/t/151586/corned-beef-sausage


Stop it you guys, I am already too fat.

Disco


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## dirtsailor2003

Disco said:


> Stop it you guys, I am already too fat.
> 
> Disco



Ya know with left over corned beef and cabbage, you could take the rye rolls and go all out Irish  cheese steak! 

Disco don't worry my wife thinks I'm too fat too. She makes me eat salads way too often now...


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