Bloom The Yeast: In a small bowl, mix together the yeast, lukewarm water, and sugar. Allow the yeast to bloom for 5-6 minutes or until you see the mixture becoming frothy.

Prepare The Dough: In a large bowl mix together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour (or bread flour) and salt. Then gradually pour in the bloomed yeast mixture and start mixing with a spoon until it comes together. When the dough gets hard for the spoon to mix, then start kneading it with your hands in a circular motion, helping the yeast mixture evenly incorporate into the dough. Certain flours may require more water, so add more water, if needed, slowly 1 tbsp at a time. Keep doing this till the mixture comes together as a moist dough.

Knead The Dough: Transfer the dough onto an unfloured clean surface and knead the dough for 10 minutes. Just keep pushing, pulling and folding the dough over and over till you have a soft and smooth dough. This will help the gluten develop and make the dough more elastic. After 5 minutes of kneading, add in your softened butter and continue to knead.

1st Dough Rise: Shape the dough into a ball by tucking the edges underneath and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place for 20 minutes.

Knead Again: After the dough has proofed, knead like you did before for another 10 minutes, pushing and pulling.

2nd Dough Rise: Fold the dough again into a ball and and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover the bowl with a damp cloth and let rest in a warm place for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until doubled in size. This dough tends to rise slowly, so make sure to be patient and allow it enough time to properly rise. In a warm kitchen, the dough will rise faster. Mine took about 1 hr 45 minutes.

Divide The Dough: Once your dough has risen, gently take it out onto a lightly floured work surface. Use your fingers to flatten the dough and release any air bubbles. Then, lightly tuck and fold the dough into a ball, being careful not to over-knead and disturb the gluten. Divide the dough into equal sized balls. If you have a digital scale, you can weigh each portion to be the same weight. Use scissors to remove extra dough when weighing as opposed to using your hands, because it doesn’t disturb the gluten. I made about 9 buns that each weighed 50 grams.

Shape The Buns: For each ball of dough, tuck the ends inwards and pinch them together to seal in the center. Then, put each ball seam side down on an unfloured surface and place your palms on the dough and gently roll it into a bun shape. Make sure there's no flour on your work surface, otherwise you'll have difficulty rolling the ball. Shape the dough with light and gentle hands. To see exactly how to shape the buns, watch the instructional video that's with the recipe as it's important to get the shape just right.

3rd Dough Rise: Place the buns on a baking tray lined with parchment paper. Cover with a damp cloth and let it rest in a warm place for about 1 hour until they're puffy and risen. The time will vary based on the temperature, so you might need to let it rise for another half hour or so. If the buns don't rise, they will become dense and hard.

Bake: While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 375°F/190°C. Mix together the maple syrup (or honey) and whole milk and brush them all around the buns. Be sure to brush the mixture evenly to get that golden brown color because any bare spots will be pale after baked. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds if desired. Bake for 15-18 minutes until golden brown. Watch the buns as cook time will vary from oven to oven.

Glaze: Once ready, glaze with butter for the shine and let cool completely on a wired rack.

Enjoy as a burger with your favorite ingredients or as a dinner roll with a simple casserole!