Elevate your burger game with this delicious, homemade hamburger buns! These brioche-like buns are light in texture and high in flavour.
This is the only hamburger buns recipe I've used to make hamburger buns for years! While these buns are enriched with eggs and a bit of butter for flavour, they somehow still manage to be light in texture, yet sturdy enough to hold all the burger and the toppings.
I love that I can make these burger buns without a stand mixer. The simple dough comes together easily in a large bowl.
So if you're looking to elevate your burger game this Summer, these delicious homemade hamburger buns are a great place to start. They freeze beautifully, so make a couple of batches and load up the freezer and you're always ready for a leisurely Summer BBQ
Key Ingredients
Bread flour: You'll get the best results if you start with bread flour and even better, if you start with unbleached bread flour. Here in Canada, that's not the easiest to find on the shelf in grocery stores. I get mine at Bulk Barn. Failing that, bleached bread flour is fine. You can use just all-purpose, but your buns might not rise quite as high.
Active Dry or Regular Instant Yeast: Active dry yeast needs to be proofed (soaked) in warm water before using. I never use dry active yeast myself, but prefer to use Instant Yeast (such as SAF Brand). While Instant Yeast doesn't require proofing in water before using, it doesn't hurt if you do, so I just go ahead and proof the Instant Yeast in the same manner as described in the recipe. Instant Quick-rising or rapid-rise yeast will not work with these buns and are not recommended.
Video: How to make homemade hamburger buns
I think the one thing that tends to trip people up when making buns is the shaping of "the ball". It's quite understandable that someone might think that you just need to grab a piece of dough and form/squeeze it into a ball shape. In fact though, there is a bit of a technique to creating "a ball" with dough, that creates what's known as surface tension or tightness on the top of the ball. It's this tension that encourages the dough to rise higher, while also creating a lovely smooth top.
The technique for forming the dough into buns is shown in this video. It's the easiest way I think and produces great results.
1. Stretch the top to create a smooth top.
2. Flip over and stretch the sides in towards the centre and pinch together.
3. Do this all around the edges, until the sides are smooth, too.
4. Flip the ball over, so your pinched part is down.
Baking Tips
- The first thing you need to know about this dough is that it is very moist and almost sticky when made as prescribed. To get the best (lightest) results, you want to avoid as best you can adding much more flour here. Add just the bare minimum you need to, so you can handle the dough.
- This dough is also a slow riser, so be patient and allow it to rise for however long it takes to double etc. In a warm Summer kitchen, it will probably rise a little more quickly.
- I like to weigh the whole dough before dividing into balls. I then divide the total weight by 8, to calculate the dough weight of each roll. Weigh them out separately and you will have 8 identically sized rolls!
- Right after egg washing the buns and just before popping them in the oven, top buns with sesame seeds, poppy seed or "everything" mix if you'd like to add some toppings to your homemade buns.
Top Tip!
Be sure to brush the egg wash on the dough evenly and thoroughly, being sure to get all around the bun and right to the bottom. Any bare spots left from your brushing will leave pale spots on the finished burger buns.
Making ahead, storing and freezing homemade hamburger buns
These are best enjoyed on the day they are made, but it is perfectly fine to make in the morning and enjoy for dinner.
Store rolls in an airtight container, until needed, up to 24 hours. Freeze for longer storage.
These buns freeze beautifully up to 2 months! Simply remove the buns from the freezer and thaw on the counter. It will only take a short time to thaw (30 minutes, or so).
Recipe
Simply Perfect Homemade Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- 1 cup water, warmed to about 105-110F
- 3 Tablespoons milk, warmed slightly to lukewarm
- 2 teaspoons active dry yeast or regular Instant yeast, not quick or rapid rise yeast
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons white sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten with a fork
- 3 cups bread flour
- 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
- 1 1/2 teaspoons fine salt
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
For egg wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- Poppy or sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- In a small bowl or 2-cup measuring cup, combine the warm water, warmed milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until bubbly, about 5 minutes.
- In a large bowl, whisk together the bread flour, all purpose flour and salt. Add the butter. Using your finger tips, rub the butter in to the flour mixture, making even crumbs.
- Add the yeast mixture and the beaten egg to the bowl and using a dough scraper or silicone spatula, stir until a moist, sticky dough forms.
- Using a silicone bowl scraper, scrape the dough on to a very lightly floured counter or work surface. At this point the dough is very moist and sticky and not really able to be kneaded as you traditionally would. You will be tempted to dust with flour resist the urge to start. Instead of traditionally kneading, use your dough scraper or silicone spatula to scoop up the dough and then slam it back on the counter. (Don't just drop it, slam it. It's therapeutic :) Use your scraper to turn it over a few times on the counter, then pick it up and slam it again. Repeat this slaming/turning action for a couple of minutes. You should find that it is a sticking to the counter a little less. If you feel it isn't progressing after a couple of minutes (is still super sticky), very lightly dust the counter with flour and turn the dough over it to flour very lightly (Not too much flour. Just a dusting). Continue doing the slam and turn action for several more minutes. At some point, after about 5 minutes or so of this routine, your dough should stop sticking to the counter. Though it will still be a quite moist dough, you should be able to form it into a ball. *If your dough is still sticking after 5-7 minutes of working it, dust with a tiny bit more flour, as needed, until it is no longer sticking, but is still nice and moist.
- Shape dough into a ball and place into a greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, 1-2 hours. Note that this dough is a bit of a slow-riser. Allow it to rise until doubled, no matter how long that takes.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a dough scraper, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. (* I like to weight the dough ball and then divide that weight by 8, to get a weight for each piece. I then weigh out each piece to that weight, to get 8 exactly equal pieces. My last bake, the individual balls were 101g apiece. Yours may vary somewhat.)
- If your dough is still too sticky at this point to form into balls, very lightly dust with a tiny bit of four.
- Form each of the 8 dough pieces into balls (* See video above the recipe card on how to do this!). Place balls on parchment lined baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let rise until doubled again, 1-2 hours.
- Set a large shallow roasting pan of water on the lowest rack of the oven. Preheat oven to 400F, with a rack in center of the oven, as well.
- When buns have doubled, beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush the buns thoroughly. * Be sure to brush the entire bun, top and sides, right down to the pan, as any areas you miss will be pale-coloured once baked. If desired, you could sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds at this point, as well. Bake, turning sheet 180 degrees halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes.
- Immediately transfer buns to a rack to cool completely.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional information provided for general guidance only and should not be relied upon to make personal health decisions.
Adapted from "Light Brioche Buns" by Jane Sigal as shared by the New York Times
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Hi! I'm Jennifer, a home-cook of many years and a lifelong seeker of delicious food! I'm an equal opportunity eater. I enjoy eating all the foods!
C Wolf says
These buns top all of the other recipes I have made and my family will only eat these now! Can I substitute the milk and butter with non-dairy products?
Jennifer says
So glad to hear! You can certainly replace the butter with an equal amount of vegetable (or similar) oil. This swap may require a touch more flour over-all. I haven't tried non-dairy milk, but there is no reason it won't work. Both changes may have change the texture of the finished bun in some way. I can't say how much, as I haven't tried it myself. If you do, let me know how they compare.
Rebecca Walls says
I only had a tbsp of yeast and otherwise filled the recipe. They are fluffy and beautiful buns. So happy with this recipe!
Jennifer says
Glad to hear, Rebecca :) Thanks so much!
Brenna says
I’m obsessed with these, as are all the people I’ve shared them with! Thank you for such a perfect, easy-to-follow recipe. I actually started using this dough to make long brioche rolls for sausages or sandwiches as well. I get 4 buns and 6 rolls out of one batch. The rolls get shaped and scored, then baked for 12-13 minutes. I did the math out - I’m now spending $4 a month on rolls/buns for my 2-person household instead of $15, and none go to waste!
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Brenna and yes, once you start making them, it is such a game changer :) Thanks so much!
Jacqueline says
I tried these for the first time yesterday. They have a great texture (sturdy enough for hamburgers) and flavor. But mine did flatten out during cooking. So they are wide & flatter than a hamburger bun. What might I have done wrong?
* I did increase the recipe size (to make 12 rolls). (Used the ingredient calculator provided on the website.)
* I did use bread flour as recommended in recipe.
* They doubled in size beautifully on the first rise.
* As recommended, I weighed each individual roll before forming & the 2nd rise
* They rose more on 2nd rise.
* I did have water in oven for steam.
Any input would be appreciated!
Jennifer says
Hi Jacqueline, it's always hard to nail down, but if I had to guess based on the information you provided, I would look at possibly over-proofed on the 2nd rise. You said "they rose more on the 2nd rise", which may suggest they rose too much (sometimes a warm, Summer kitchen can speed up that 2nd rise). Other than that, what yeast did you use? Using quick or rapid rise yeast could also cause an issue like this.
Steve says
Thank you so much for having a website and recipe that is so convenient and well written. Thank you for not going on for pages about your grandmother’s hamburger buns and how much you loved eating them and spent 30 years researching how to duplicate them (or some other dumb story no one cares about).
Thank you for embedding the video right into the screen so you can watch this as you’re reading the recipes.
Very well done.
Jennifer says
Thanks so much, Steve :)
Debbie says
Absolutely wonderful. Easy instructions. Delicious.
And I LOVE the quantity changer. THAT'S PERFECTION.
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed them, Debbie :) Thanks so much!
Jenna says
I’ve made these buns a handful of times and they are amazing. Partner refuses to buy store bought buns now, and would rather have burgers at home then out haha. I use vegan margarine and Just Egg as subs and it still works perfect ❤️
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Jenna :) And good to know the vegan subs work well, too! Thanks so much.
C Wolf says
What did you use as a milk substitute for your vegan version? Thanks!
Wanda says
My husband is addicted to your honey whole wheat bread ! I've made it quite a few times now
We love it ! Now today I'm trying your hamburger bun recipe , looks like another hit!!!!
Question,,, can this bun recipe be doubled???
Thanks From Northern Saskatchewan!!
LOVE your recipes !
Jennifer says
Hi Wanda and so glad you all are enjoying the bread, too! And yes, you can absolutely double this recipe. These freeze so well, it's great to have a stock of them in the freezer for the Summer. Thanks so much!
Gail says
Amazing buns but I have to say the easiest way to shape them so they are equal is to flatten out the dough and cut them with a glass or donut cutter with the middle cutter removed. They seem to bake up better that way too
Jennifer says
Hi Gail and glad you are enjoying the buns! What you describe is how I would cut dough for yeast donuts. It definitely is easy, but generally, for buns, you want to shape with some surface tension to get a nice "bun" shape and a good rise. I suspect the buns cut this way are flatter and wider (which is maybe how you like your buns :)
Mary says
Hi Jennfier, Thank you for sharing this! These rolls were a huge hit and easy to make. Lots of "this is SOOO good". Glad to have come across your blog. Next to try is your "Oven or Slow Cooker Pork and Beans".
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Mary! Thanks so much :)
Mary says
Hi Jennifer, is the fine salt referenced in the recipe, fine sea salt?
Jennifer says
Hi Mary, I only ever use fine sea salt myself, so that's what I've used here. I don't specify as I'm not sure there is a ton of difference in the finished buns if using either fine table salt or fine sea salt (though I stand to be corrected :)
Julie says
Would it work to use my bread machine to make the dough and then shape/rise/bake?
Jennifer says
Hi Julie, I don't know myself, as I don't have a bread machine. It's a very sticky dough to start, so I'm not sure how well bread machines do with that. Maybe someone has tried it and can weigh in for your.
Cheryl says
Love this recipe for hamburger buns, I have made it several times and it never disappoints! Thank you for posting ❤
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Cheryl :) Thanks so much!
Sarah says
Hi! How do you best defrost these buns from frozen? Do you let them thaw in the freezer overnight? Or do you bake them in the oven again from frozen to warm them up? Or is there any other way you suggest?
Jennifer says
Hi Sarah, if you just set the frozen buns on the counter, they will thaw in 20-30 minutes, so I just take them out a little ahead of dinner. Once thawed, can re-warm them or toast them, just as you would any other hamburger bun.
Gaby says
Hi! Thanks for the recipe! One question, have you frozen them before baking? would that work?
Jennifer says
Hi Gaby and no, I haven't frozen them before baking myself. In theory, it should work, but honestly, they freeze/thaw fabulously, I've never felt the need to do it any other way. If you try it though, let me know how it works out.
Connie says
These buns were so good! I'm fairly new to breadmaking, but they were perfect. I've made them several times and they have spoiled us - no more of those from the supermarket!. Could I bake the dough in a loaf pan for sandwich bread? Is so, will it make one or two loaves, or maybe one loaf a a few rolls? Thanks!
Jennifer says
So glad you enjoyed them, Connie :) And yes, you could definitely make a loaf. It should make a 9x5 loaf or and 8x4 loaf and a couple of rolls.
Talie says
These were delicious! I will definitely be making them again. The texture was incredible- soft but plenty of structure. Thank you
Jennifer says
So glad to hear, Talie :) Thanks so much!
Lea says
Thank you for this great recipe! Because I had lots of rye flour, I substituted in one cup of rye flour and only used 2 cups of bread flour, following the recipe otherwise. They turned out really great and my partner said he thought they were the best he'd ever tasted.
Jennifer says
Glad you enjoyed them, Lea :) Thanks so much!