Barbari Buns

Through the years I’ve gotten some great complements about my Mini-Lamb Burgers Afrique:
http://www.foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/lamb-burgers-afrique_topic2673.html

One shortcoming is that the pumpkin buns I’ve used in the past were too dense. Result: The fillings often squeezed out when you bit into it. So I’ve been on a search for a more perfect bun. And I think I’ve found it.
Barbari is a Persian breakfast bread. Although risen, it’s more like focaccia than a regular loaf. Flavorwise, I thought, it would be perfect for the sliders, so decided to adapt it. Here’s the result:

BARBARI
Persian Breakfast Bread

1 tsp honey
1 ¼ cups warm water
2 tsp active dry yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour
1 ½-2 tsp salt
2 tbls olive oil, plus additional for glaz
2 tsp black, white, or a mixture, sesame seeds

Stir the honey into 2/3 cup of the water. Sprinkle in the yeast, stir to dissolve, and let bloom five minutes.

In a large bowl mix the flour and salt. Make a well in the center and pour in the yeast mixture. Draw in enough flour to make a soft paste. Cover bowl and let the sponge form until slightly risen and frothy, about 20 minutes.

Pour about half the remaining water and the olive oil into the well. Mix in the rest of the flour, adding as much of the reserved water as needed to form a firm, moist dough. Turn dough out on a lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, shiny, and elastic, about ten minutes. Of use the dough hook of a stand mixture five minutes.

Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to cover with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size, about 90 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Punch down the dough and transfer to a lightly oiled work surface. Flatten into a rectangle, roll into a log, cover, and let rest ten minutes. Cut the dough into slices: for sliderbuns make 16, for dinner rolls or regular burger buns, make 12. Roll each slice into a ball and flatten slightly to achieve the width you want.
Lightly dust a min-bun pan or parchment-lined sheet pan with fine cornmeal or semolina. Transfer dough patties to the pans. Brush liberally with olive oil and sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake until lightly browned and cooked through, about 16 minutes. Finished buns will sound hollow when their bottoms are tapped.

Ron, see my The Perfect Slider Bun post (http://www.foodsoftheworld.activeboards.net/the-perfect-slider-bun_topic4829.html) for my latest adaptation of Barbari. It's basically the above recipe with the addition of Ras el Hanout.