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).
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Get the Recipe: Simply Perfect Homemade Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) water, warmed to about 105-110F
- 3 Tablespoons (45 g) milk, warmed slightly to lukewarm
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) active dry yeast or regular Instant yeast, not quick or rapid rise yeast
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons (33 g) white sugar
- 1 large egg, beaten with a fork
- 3 cups (375 g) bread flour, spooned and levelled
- 1/3 cup (45 g) all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 1 1/2 teaspoons (9 g) fine salt
- 2 1/2 Tablespoons (35 g) unsalted butter, at room temperature
For egg wash:
- 1 large egg
- 1 Tablespoon water
- Poppy or sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- Before you start! Scroll down to the Recipe Notes for some important tips for working with sticky dough.
- 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, but 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 (not fan assisted) with a rack in centre 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
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 schooled by trial and error and almost 40 years of getting dinner on the table! I love to share my favourite recipes, both old and new, together with lots of tips and tricks to hopefully help make your home cooking enjoyable, stress free, rewarding and of course, delicious!
These turned out perfect. Looked and tasted great and were easy to make. Talk about a sticky dough though, I’m glad I resisted adding any more flour. I’ll be making these on a regular basis.
So glad to hear, Claire :) Thanks so much!
Hi Jennifer, mine rose beautifully but they “collapsed” when I did the egg wash😔 they were very light and tasty but a bit “flat”. I used a silicon brush to do the egg wash.
Hi John, I suspect a yeast issue. What kind of yeast did you use? Rapid rise?
This recipe was awesome! I followed your instructions easily, and made wonderful burger buns for my husband and I. Thanks so much!
So glad to hear, Aili! Thanks :)
I’ve made these a few times now and they work out perfect every time. They are the only hamburger buns we use in our house now. When our freezer is getting low I just whip up another batch and keep them frozen until needed. Thank you so much for this recipe.
So glad to hear, Melanie :) They are always in the freezer here, too. Thanks!
These buns were absolutely amazing! The flavor is sweet and buttery, and the texture is very light and fluffy. They were perfect when paired with a grilled hamburger and lots of ketchup! One thing I noticed, however, is that my dough was white dry after adding all the flour, even though the recipe says it should be sticky and moist. I added a little bit more milk and water, which resulted in a reasonably moist, but easy to handle dough. Additionally, to make my dough rise faster, I used quick rise yeast and proofed them in a slightly warm environment. By doing these things, my dough took about 70 minutes to rise each time. I baked mine for 15 minutes, but they weren’t quite as dark as the original recipe pictures. I personally thought leaving my buns in longer to get that color might result in over baked buns, which simply aren’t good. However, they were still marvelous and I definitely will be making them again. I would highly recommend making these buns, they truly are delicious!
Hi Katie and so glad you enjoyed them :) Thanks so much.
When it comes to adding flour to yeast doughs, bear in mind that the measurement is always “approximate”. You may not need to add it all. Every kitchen is different and flours are different. I always like to hold back the last cup and add it at the end, adding only as much as needed to get that smooth, moist dough. As you probably discovered, it’s not that easy to add liquid to a dough. Much easier to reduce the flour, if need be. Also, I wouldn’t worry too much about baking these a few minutes longer. I love darker breads. Dark = flavour.
Easy recipe, delicious buns… Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.
So glad to hear, Kamia :) Thanks so much!
Hello!!
Would you recommend using a stand mixer for this recipe?
Maybe adding the flour little at s time to the wet mixture in the mixer bowl? Or is that not recommended?
:)
Hi Claire and you can totally do this one without a mixer (I just like to let the mixer do the work, because I’m basically lazy :) Your plan of a bowl and flour a bit at a time is great. Start with a spoon. When you can’t stir it anymore, turn it out onto a floured surface and knead in more flour there, just as much as is needed to get a smooth, moist (but not too sticky) dough.
I am a newbie to baking bread but I was really excited to find a Canadian burger bun recipe and with all the great reviews, I was sure I would have success…….unfortunately that was not the case. I followed the instructions to a T – risings to where dough was double were about 1.25 hours for each rising- they looked amazing . Unfortunately, when I brushed on the egg wash, the buns started to deflate a bit and when I went to bake the buns, they collapsed completely and I have 8 beautiful looking buns that are maybe an inch thick each. Note I used new yeast and flours so the only thing I can think of is that maybe I need to make some adjustments as I am at higher altitude ( 4000 feet plus). Any advice?
Hi Barb and yes, high altitude bread baking is a whole different ball game. I don’t bake at altitude, but from what I understand, as a start, you’ll want to always use 25% less yeast than specified. Rising time will also be shortened (so I’m thinking your 1.25 hours for each rise was probably too long). Without doing those things, your yeast doughs will collapse, as yours did, as they are over-fed and over-risen.
I found this while searching for a recipe for hamburger buns.Thank you very much .The result was great.I love the color.This will be my recipe in making again the hamburger buns.
So glad to hear! Thanks so much :)
I have tried other burger bun recipes and several bread recipes. I don’t have a mixer or a bread maker. I followed this recipe, and this was a home run. My buns looked like the photos, tasted excellent, and I will be using this recipe for a long time. They were awesome!
I get so excited when a recipe results in a perfect product, and that is what happened here.
Do not look any further for burger bun recipes!
So glad you enjoyed them Bradley :) Thanks so much!
These turned out beautifully! I’m vegan so I didn’t try them but my kids loved them and my husband said they’re the best burger buns he’s ever tasted (that’s huge because he’s very fussy when it comes to burgers). I followed the recipe ever so carefully, and really appreciated your detailed instructions on how to manage sticky dough, and how to shape them. I think that was essential in how well they turned out. Definitely making these over and over again!
So glad to hear, Alison! Thanks so much :)
These buns are delicious. I just found this today, made them and am so impressed. I even had to substitute and use only all-purpose and salted butter, and they’re great.
So glad you enjoyed them! Thanks so much :)
Again – these buns are amazing as well (I just commented on your hot dog bun recipe). These turned out so beautiful. I can’t wait to eat them for dinner tonight. As I stated in my other comment, I’ve never had much luck with bread recipes and these turned out perfectly. It’s like magic. Thank you again!
You are on a roll! (no pun intended ;) Glad to hear. Thanks!
These look wonderful – I’m going to have to make these for my family now.
Have you tried doing these with a tang Zhong? I have to imagine they’d be even more wonderful!
Thanks Ron and no, I haven’t. As these are brioche-type buns (light brioche, anyway), I’m not sure if the tang Zhong would be a great fit for these.
Wondering how critical the split between bread flour and all purpose flour is…could you just use all purpose if you don’t have bread flour?
Hi Jen and yes, absolutely go ahead and use all all-purpose (the split is intended for normal shopping circumstances :) Just keep in mind that the amount you need with all all-purpose will vary slightly. Hold back some of the flour and add just as much as you need to get that smooth, moist (but not sticky) dough. Enjoy!
Can I substitute the butter with olive oil??? Thanks:)
Hi Mary and yes, you can. It will obviously produce a bit different type of bun, but it will work just fine.