I think Joshua Weissman is a genius when it comes to ingredients, but every time I watch his videos, the first thing I think is, “Good lord…SURELY there is an easier way!” The second thing I think is, “Someone ELSE must be washing all those dishes…pots…pans…bowls…sieves…spatulas….!”

Now, I veganized (and streamlined) his first amazing tanghong burger-bun recipe ages ago, and I make the buns in my bread machine all the time, so I thought I’d try the same thing with this new recipe that Joshua claims is even better.

I veganized the recipe by replacing the butter with vegan butter, the eggs with aquafaba, and the milk with oat milk. I also replaced the water with potato water.

Next, I streamlined the recipe by blending the cooked potato with the milk, water, and butter, and I used my bread machine on the dough program to do most of the work.

Now, you might think I’m crazy for deviating so far from Joshua’s process, but with his regular burger buns, I stuck to his process the first couple of times before I went the bread machine route, and there was honestly not one bit of difference.

So let’s get going on these little pillows of joy!

Vegan Potato Burger Buns

First, peel, cut into 1.5-inch chunks, and boil until soft:

• 1 large russet potato

Reserve a cup of the potato water.

Next, place in the Vitamix:

• 245 grams plant milk (I used oat)
• 55 grams potato water
• 122 grams of the potato chunks
• 30 grams plant-based butter

Blend until smooth. Add the mixture to the bucket of your bread machine, along with the following ingredients in the following order:

• 85 grams aquafaba (liquid from a can of chickpeas)
• 50 grams white sugar
• 14 grams sea salt
• ½ tsp turmeric powder
• 25 grams vegetable oil
• 575 grams bread flour
• 7 grams active dry yeast

Set your machine to the Dough program, which is about an hour and forty minutes.

When the program is complete, spray your work surface with oil, place the dough on the oiled surface, and spray the top with oil. Divide into twelve pieces of about ninety-five grams each.

Place shaped dough balls onto a couple of rimmed sheet trays lined with parchment paper. Leave a couple of inches of space between the dough balls. Spray the tops of the dough balls and cover with a tea towel so that the dough will not dry out.

Let rise at room temperature for another 1-2 hours, or until doubled. Before baking, brush with vegan egg wash made of:

• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 2 TBS plant milk

I sprinkled half of mine with sesame seeds, and left half nude.

Bake at 375 degrees eighteen minutes (internal temperature = 207) until golden brown.

Remove and brush with melted vegan butter.

And, of course, we had to try one before it cooled with a little schmear of vegan butter! They are delicious, but I honestly think the tangzhong ones are a bit better!

We’ll do a taste test this evening because I’ve made James his favourite vegan pulled “pork,” and I have some of the tangzhong buns on hand, so I’ll make him one sammy with a potato bun and one with a tangzhong bun.

Will report back with the verdict!

And the song of the day is Boz Scaggs’ “Georgia” because I was at a creativity workshop recently, and the young woman sitting beside me told me her daughter’s name is Georgia.

“Oh–like the song!” I said.

“I…guess?” She said.

“You know–the Boz Scaggs song!” I said, and, when she looked confused…yes, I did…

I STARTED TO SING IT FOR HER…

…sitting at a table with ten other women…in a hotel ballroom filled with 457 people.

I tell ya, this post-retirement, old lady disinhibition is getting more profound by the day.

In any event, it’s a great song that is FORTY-NINE years old now: