Hoagie Buns from Scratch

Don't these look yummy?
My absolute favorite sub is a meatball hoagie but you could use these buns for a all kinds of subs.

5 1/2 cups flour
1 tbsp. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
2 tbsp. yeast
1 tbsp. softened butter
1 3/4 cups warm water
olive oil

Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, the sugar, salt and yeast in a large mixing bowl.
Add butter and mix well.
Gradually add the remaining flour, alternating with the warm water.
Knead until smooth, 10-15 minutes.
(I used the dough hook on my KitchenAid mixer and let it run 5-6 minutes.)
Place dough in a greased bowl, cover and let rest for 20 minutes.
Cut dough into 6 equal sections and shape each into a hoagie bun. As you will see in the photo below mine were not in perfect even shapes but it doesn't matter. Once they rise they will be fine.
Place buns on two greased cookie sheet and spray the tops with cooking spray.
Cover pans loosely with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Remove pans from refrigerator.

Bake 15 minutes in a 425 degree oven.

This really was easy to make and they tasted so much better than store bought. I sliced each bun down the center, placed several homemade meatballs cooked in spaghetti sauce on them and topped it with mozzarella cheese. Place the subs back in the oven for 5 more minutes just to melt the cheese.  

Enjoy!