Make your active starter by combining 3 Tablespoons runny discard starter with 1 cup flour and 1 cup water. Total volume of the mixture should equal about 1 1/3 cups. One cup will be used for the recipe and the remaining 1/3 cup can be refrigerated and saved as your reserve starter.  Mix the starter, flour and water. Mark it’s volume height in the bowl/jar with a marker or a rubber band. Then cover and leave in a warm spot to rest for the following 8 to 10 hours. (I like to do this step overnight!)  When your starter is active, bubbly, and doubled in size after the feed, it’s time to start making the dough. 

Combine the water, sugar, and 1 cup of active starter (210 grams)  into a bowl or mixer. Gently stir.

Add the salt, butter/oil, and egg to the yeast mixture. Stir to combine.

Gradually and slowly add the flour, about 1 cup at a time, mixing/kneading well as added, being careful not to add too much flour. Add just enough flour so that the dough is still tacky but isn’t overly sticking to your fingers. When the dough stops sticking to the bowl, you have enough.

Knead the dough for 4-5 minutes by hand or 2-3 minutes if using a stand mixer.

Put into a lightly oiled bowl (or leave it in the mixer), then cover and let rise until it has doubled in size. This generally takes between 4 and 8 hours depending on the strength of your starter and the ambient temperature.

Take the dough out of the bowl and onto a lightly floured surface. Gently divide the dough into 10 or 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a smooth ball, tucking any seams underneath.  Put them onto a cookie sheet lined with Parchment paper.  Then using the palm of your hand, gently flatten each ball so it is about 1/2 inch tall, forming a disk. It will look small and you might wonder how it will ever rise to be big enough. Trust me, as long as your starter is strong enough, it will be a big beautiful bun soon!

Cover with a clean dish towel or some plastic wrap, and let rise until doubled in volume. This can take anywhere from 2 to 5 hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F

Take a raw beaten egg and gently brush it onto the dough. I usually like to leave mine plain, but if you would like, go ahead and Sprinkle with sesame seeds or Everything but The Bagel seasoning. Another great idea for a pretty bun is to score a couple of lines on top of the dough after you brush the egg wash.

Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden. Let cool completely.

Right before serving, slice buns in half.

Optional (but strongly recommended): butter the inside of the buns and toast on a pancake griddle until barely golden. This is a major flavor/texture upgrade to your burger. So good!

ENJOY!