Hurry Up Slider Buns

I decided that barbecue shredded pork sandwiches would be good for dinner. I had the leftover pork from the night before, and I figured it would be great if I shredded it and added some more sauce.

But I didn't have any buns.

Decisions, decisions.

I'd already been to the store once, and I wasn't really in the mood to go back.

I looked at the clock. 3:26. We usually eat at 6.

Yeah, I can do it.

And I did. There were out of the oven at 5:05 and had plenty of time to cool before dinner.

Hurry Up Slider Buns

1 1/4 cups warm water
2 1/4 teaspoons yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
2 1/2 cups (11 1/4 ounces) bread flour
1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
Cornmeal
Olive oil
White Rice Flour

Combine the water, yeast, and sugar in the bowl of your stand mixer and give it a quick stir. Let it sit while you gather the other ingredients.

Add the flour, potato flakes and salt. Knead with the dough hook attachment until the dough is smooth and elastic. Add the olive oil and continue kneading until the oil is incorporated and the dough is smooth, shiny and elastic.

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set aside for 20 minutes. This isn't about the dough rising (but it will rise some) but it's more about letting the gluten relax.

Sprinkle cornmeal on a baking sheet and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

When the 20 minutes are up, lightly grease your hands with a bit of olive oil. This will keep the dough from sticking. Take the dough out of the bowl and shape it into a rough square-like shape. Place it on the prepared baking sheet and push, pull, stretch, cajole, or roll it into a rough rectangle that's about 2 inches from the edges of the baking sheet on all sides. It doesn't have to be perfectly shaped. It won't be. Don't worry about it.

Use a sharp knife, pastry cutter, or pizza cutter to cut the dough into four roughly equal strips lengthwise.

Cut it into six roughly equal pieces in the opposite direction so you have (uh... six times four is ...) 24 square-ish pieces. They will naturally pull apart at the cut edges. Separate them a bit so they have space to grow as they rise.

Sprinkle the tops of the buns with rice flour, then loosely cover with plastic wrap.

Set aside until the buns have just about doubled in height and feel puffy - about 30 minutes.

Remove the plastic wrap and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until nicely browned.

Let them cool completely on a rack. Or, if you like, rip 'em apart and eat warm.

Yum