12tablespoons 1 1/2 sticks, 3/4 cup butter, softened
1additional eggbeaten (for glaze)
Instructions
In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine 1 of the eggs, yeast, 1 cup of flour, and the warm milk. Mix together to form a sponge and let stand about 10 minutes for the yeast to start to grow.
Use the dough hook to mix in 1 more cup of flour, the sugar, salt, and the remaining eggs. Mix on a low speed, adding the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, until the dough starts to come together.
This is a very wet dough. Knead on low for 10 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl if needed to get everything worked in to this very wet dough.
Add in the butter 1 tablespoon at a time, letting it knead in before adding the next tablespoon. Once all the butter has been added you'll have a smooth, yellow dough that is very sticky.
Transfer the dough to a large well-greased bowl. Turn it to grease all the sides of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours.
Put the mixing bowl of dough into the fridge. Chill at least 6 hours, or overnight (up to 24 hours)
When you are ready to shape and bake the dough, remove the dough from the fridge and use lightly floured or greased hands to quickly shape the dough into 12 balls (for regular buns), 18 for mini burgers, or 24 balls for sliders. The faster you work, the less the dough will stick. Place the balls onto two parchment-lined baking sheets. Flatten them with the palm of your hand so that they are about 1/4-inch thick disks. *To shape them into a twist as pictured, see cooking lesson below.
Cover shaped buns and let rise for about 30-40 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush the buns with a beaten egg to form a nice glaze. Bake buns for 20-25 minutes, until golden brown. Smaller buns will require a decrease in cooking time. Watch closely after 15 minutes.
Transfer cooked buns to a wire rack to cool for at least 10 minutes before slicing.