Makes about 40-46 1 1/2-inch appetizer buns
3/4 cup whole milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons warm water
1 1/8 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (plus additional for rolling dough)
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
sesame or poppy seeds
olive oil to season bowl
In a small saucepan, bring the milk and cream to a simmer and remove from heat.
In a stand mixer bowl, stir the water and yeast and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Fit your stand mixer with a dough hook. Add the warm milk/cream mixture, sugar, flours and salt to the mixer bowl and set the mixer to low speed. Scrape the sides of the bowl to fully incorporate. When the dry ingredients have incorporated, increase to medium speed and beat for at least 6 minutes. The dough consistency will be sticky. Rub some olive oil on your hands and transfer the dough to a lightly oiled bowl and turn to lightly coat dough. Cover with a non-terrycloth, kitchen towel and let dough rise in a room temperature, draft-free environment until it has doubled, about 2 hours.
Line two baking sheets with silicon baking mats. Punch down the dough and roll out on a floured surface to 1/2-inch thick. Using a 1 1/2 or 1 3/4 round floured cutter, cut out dough rounds. Place on baking sheet and set about 2-inches apart. Reroll scraps once and cut dough rounds with any leftover.
Lightly oil plastic wrap to cover the baking sheets and set the dough rounds on the baking sheets in a warm, draft-free environment for about 2 hours.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and place racks in upper and lower thirds of oven. Brush the tops of the buns with egg wash and sprinkle either sesame or poppy seeds on the top of each. Before placing pans in the oven, turn the oven down to 350 degrees and immediately set baking sheets to the oven. Bake for 6 minutes and then rotate the baking sheets (move the bottom one to the top, etc.). Bake another 6-7 minutes (for a total of about 12-14 minutes). Do not overbake.
Transfer the buns to a cooling rack to completely cool before slicing horizontally for mini appetizers.
Store buns in an air-tight container or freezer bag.