These easy homemade pizza buns are just like the ones at the grocery store! Save money by making your own pizza buns at home. They are easy and freezable, too!
In just about 90 minutes and about $4 in ingredients, you can make a dozen pizza buns that are guaranteed to be immediately popular with your family!
Since these pizza buns freeze beautifully, fill your freezer and always have ready-to-heat-and-eat snacks or lunch box treats.
Ingredients and substitutions
A few notes about the key ingredients …
Yeast – you can use either Active Dry Yeast or Instant Yeast to make these pizza buns. Be sure to see the special instructions in the Recipe Card if using Active Dry yeast.
Pizza Sauce – use your favourite canned pizza sauce (I love Mutti™!) or make your own.
Cheese – I used cheddar cheese, because that’s what the pizza buns in the store have on them. I generally use an Old cheddar, for the most cheddar flavour. Of course, you can always use mozzarella (or another cheese), if you like. Or a mixture of different cheeses. That’s the great thing about making your own pizza buns. You get to make all the decisions :)
How to make pizza buns
- Mix the dough until it is still moist, but wraps the dough hook and cleans the bowl in places.
- Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead briefly. The dough shouldn’t stick to your hands or the work surface. Add a bit more flour if it does.
- Form dough into a ball.
- Place the dough into a greased bowl or 4-cup measuring cup and cover with plastic wrap.
- Allow the dough to rise until doubled, about 30-40 minutes.
- Remove the dough to a floured work surface and deflate.
- If you have a scale, weight the dough, then divide by 12, to get the amount needed for each piece.
- Weigh out each piece (mine were 53g apiece).
- Form all the pieces into balls.
- Start stretching the dough, stretching out to about 3-inches in diameter. Place onto baking sheet.
- Stretch the dough rounds a bit more, until each one is about 5-inches in diamter.
- Top each dough round with pizza sauce (spreading right to the edges!) and cheddar cheese. Allow to rest 20-25 minutes on the pan, then bake.
Recipe video
This pizza bun recipe is also available in a longer form video in my YouTube “Cook Along” playlist. Great for beginner bakers, as you can see the process in more detail. View the longer Pizza Bun Recipe Video on YouTube.
Recipe tips!
- This pizza buns dough is a fast riser! It usually doubles for me in 30-35 minutes, so don’t wander too far :)
- If you don’t want to bake two baking sheets at one time, you can place the second sheet into the refrigerate after stretching the dough to 5-inches, but before topping. Keep in the refrigerator while the first batch bakes, then remove from the fridge, top with sauce and cheese, then let rest about 30 minutes before baking off.
- Baking at 375 F. will produce a crispy crust. If you prefer a softer pizza bun, bake at 350 F. instead and extend the baking time slightly. Also, be sure to use parchment paper to line the baking sheets. Finally, if you place the buns into an airtight container while still slightly warm, they will be softer.
Making ahead, storing, freezing and reheating
Store baked pizza buns in an airtight container in the refrigerator for 3 or 4 days or freeze for longer storage. They will keep well in the fridge for 3-4 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.
These buns freeze really well. Transfer to an airtight container or freeze bag. Enjoy straight from the freezer, with no need to thaw. Just place the frozen buns on a baking sheet and warm in a preheated 400° oven for 7 or 8 minutes until warmed through.
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Get the Recipe: Homemade Pizza Buns
Ingredients
For the pizza bun dough:
- 2 1/2 – 3 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and levelled
- 2 teaspoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 1/4 teaspoon Active Dry or Instant yeast
- 1 cup lukewarm water, lukewarm, about 105F
- 1 Tablespoon vegetable, canola or other neutral oil
For the toppings:
- 1 1/2 cups pizza sauce, store bought or make your own
- 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
Instructions
- I have recently updated this post, but rest assured that the original recipe above has not changed. I have adjusted the yield of this recipe from 16 buns (original) to 12 buns (new), for a bit bigger pizza buns. I've also added some additional detail to the instructions.
- *For Active Dry yeast, you'll need to proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of the lukewarm water and a pinch of sugar before adding to the bowl. Be sure to reduce the additional lukewarm water added accordingly (only use 3/4 cup).
- For the dough: In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the kneading hook, mix together 2 cups of the flour, the sugar, salt and the Instant yeast. In a measuring cup, combine the lukewarm water with the oil. Add the lukewarm water mixture to the dry ingredients and mix to combine. (Add the Active Dry yeast mixture now, if using). Knead by hand or with the mixer, adding more flour in small increments, as needed, until the dough comes together into a smooth dough, that wraps the kneading hood and cleans the bowl. (I find I generally end up using just shy of 3 cups of flour in total.) Remove the dough to a floured work surface and knead briefly. The dough shouldn't stick to your hands or the work surface. If it does, add a touch more flour, as needed. Grease a bowl and place the dough ball into the bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled, about 30 – 45 minutes, depending on how warm your kitchen is.
- Prepare two large baking sheets. You can use bar or line with a sheet of parchment paper. Set aside.
- Remove the dough to a floured work surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces You can do that by weighing the entire piece of dough, then dividing by 12 to calculate the weight for each piece, then weighing out the pieces individually (mine were 53g each). Alternately, you can cut the dough evenly in half. then cut each piece in half again, repeating until you have 12 roughly equal sized pieces.
- Take a piece of dough. Form it in to a ball, then stretch in to a circle about 3 inches in diameter. You don't need to stretch them completely at this point. Once you have stretched each one, go back and stretch each piece to about 4-inches diameter. Repeat with each piece of dough, placing 6 on each of the prepared baking sheets (you can place them fairly close together as they don't spread much, but don't allow them to actually touch each other). On the baking sheet, stretch the rounds one last time, until they are about 5 inches in diameter.
- Using a Tablespoon measure from your cutlery drawer, top each piece of dough with with a heaping Tablespoon of pizza sauce, spreading it over the top, going right to the edge, as far as you can without it spilling over the sides. Top with a generous amount of shredded cheddar cheese. Repeat with all the buns. Let stand 20-25 minutes, while you preheat the oven.
- With racks in the upper and lower third of your oven, preheat oven to 375° F. (regular bake setting/not fan assisted). *For softer pizza buns, bake at 350F and extend the baking time slightly. After the buns have stood for 20-25 minutes or so (or until they look a little puffy around the outside edges), bake in preheated for 20-25 minutes , switching the pans from top to bottom half way through baking. Cook golden and bubbly. Remove from oven then immediately remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. Enjoy immediately or place in an airtight container and refrigerate. Or see below for freezing instructions!
- Freezing: These buns freeze really well. Freeze them on baking sheet and then transfer to a freezer bag. Enjoy straight from the freezer, no need to thaw! Just place the frozen buns on a baking sheet and warm in a preheated 400° oven for 7 or 8 minutes.
Notes
More recipes to love!
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!
Amazing recipe! Quick and easy
Thanks so much, Alyssa :)