Perfect squishy and soft potato hamburger bun recipe! The secret is a little potato and potato cooking water in the dough. These buns also make great soft sandwich buns!

soft hamburger buns on cooling rack

Why you’ll love this potato hamburger bun recipe

  • There are a lot of ways to enjoy a hamburger and one of my favourites is with a squishy soft hamburger bun! These potato hamburger buns fit the bill perfectly, as they are light as a feather, but still sturdy enough that they don’t melt or fall apart.
  • You need only a little bit of mashed potato and potato cooking water to make these buns. Potato is the secret to soft buns.
  • This soft hamburger buns recipe can be doubled or tripled to feed a crowd or to stock up the freezer, as they freeze beautifully!

Ingredients and substitutions

Potatoes – You can use either baking potatoes (such as Russet) or white or yellow mashing potatoes (such as Yukon Gold). I have used both with success.

Yeast – Use either Active Dry Yeast or regular Instant Yeast, such as SAF Brand yeast. Quick or Rapid-Rise yeast is not recommended.

Step-by-step photos

photo collage of steps to make soft burger buns 1
  1. Cut up the peeled potatoes and place them into a pot of cold water.
  2. Bring potatoes to a boil, then reduce heat slightly and cook until very tender (test with a knife to be sure!).
  3. Remove the cooked potatoes to a bowl, reserving the required amount of potato cooking water.
  4. Mash the potatoes really well with a fork (or you can run them through a potato ricer, if you have one).
photo collage of steps to make soft burger buns 2
  1. Add the mashed potatoes and the potato cooking water to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and add the oil.
  2. Add the honey to the bowl.
  3. Stir together with the paddle attachment until smooth and cooled to at least 105F.
  4. Add the yeast and mix in.
photo collage of steps to make soft burger buns 3
  1. Measure out the flour and mix together with the salt.
  2. Add about 1/2 of the flour mixture and mix in with the paddle attachment.
  3. Switch to the kneading hook and mix in the remaining flour mixture.
  4. Knead the dough until it wraps the hook and clears the bowl. It should be quite moist and slightly sticky.
photo collage of steps to make soft burger buns 4
  1. Remove the dough to a floured work surface. and knead, adding a bit more flour as needed if it is sticking to your hands or the work surface. Don’t add too much flour. You want to keep the dough very moist.
  2. Form dough into a ball.
  3. Place dough in a greased container and cover.
  4. Allow to rise until doubled, about 45-60 minutes.
photo collage of steps to make soft burger buns 5
  1. Deflate the dough and weigh the dough ball. Divide the total weight by the number of buns you are making (6 for the 1X recipe). Mine were 73g.
  2. Weigh out the individual buns and set aside.
  3. Form dough pieces into balls by stretching out the top until smooth, then flipping over and pinching together well at the bottom.
  4. Flip back over with the smooth top-up and repeat with all the dough pieces.
photo collage of steps to make soft burger buns 6
  1. Place the dough balls onto a baking sheet, allowing lots of room between the buns.
  2. Use the palm of your hand to gently flatten the balls slightly.
  3. Cover with a clean towel and allow to rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
  4. Brush with egg wash before baking.

FAQ

Can I use leftover mashed potatoes?

You could. Just keep in mind that they are probably seasoned, so reduce the added salt accordingly.

Can I use instant mashed potatoes?

Again, you could, but you won’t have access to the potato boiling water if you go that route, which may affect the finished texture of the buns to some extent. If using instant mashed, replace the potato boiling water with lukewarm water.

Can I double or triple the recipe?

Absolutely! Just use the handy dandy “2X” or “3X” buttons in the Recipe Card below and the ingredients will automatically double or triple for you.

Can I freeze these buns?

You can and you should! If you can’t use the buns up when fresh, pop the buns into the freezer and enjoy them later. They freeze beautifully. To thaw, simply take out the buns you need and leave them sitting on the counter for 15-20 minutes, or until thawed.

soft hamburger buns on cooling rack
soft hamburger buns on cooling rack

Get the Recipe: Soft and Squishy Potato Hamburger Buns

Perfect squishy and soft potato hamburger bun recipe! The secret is a little potato and potato cooking water in the dough. These buns also make great soft sandwich buns!
5 stars from 5 ratings
Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Rising Time:: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours 10 minutes
Yield: 6 buns

Ingredients

Dough:

  • 1/2 cup (85 g) mashed potatoes, from 1 large baking potato or two small mashing potatoes, such as Russet or Yukon Gold
  • 1/2 cup (125 ml) hot potato cooking water
  • 2 Tablespoon vegetable or canola oil, or other neutral-tasting cooking oil
  • 1 Tablespoon runny honey, lightly flavoured or *see Note 1 below
  • 2 1/4 teaspoon instant or dry active yeast
  • 1 teaspoon fine table salt
  • 1 1/2 cups (200 g) all purpose flour, unbleached recommended, plus more as needed

Optional Egg Wash:

  • 1 large egg
  • 1 teaspoon water

Instructions
 

Prepare the mashed potatoes:

  • Cut the potatoes in evenly sized pieces and place in a medium-large saucepan. Cover potatoes with at least an inch of cold water. Bring to a boil over high heat, then lower heat slightly and continue cooking until potatoes are tender. DO NOT DRAIN YET! Place a strainer over a medium bowl and pour potatoes and water over, reserving the potato water in the bowl and the potatoes in the strainer. Remove strained potatoes to a bowl and mash really well with a fork (or run through a potato ricer, if you have one). Measure out the required amount of potato cooking water and set aside.

Prepare the bread:

  • In a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, dd the measured mashed potatoes. *Tip! If you potatoes are a little lumpy still, run the mixer on low with the paddle attachment to smooth them a little more before proceeding. Add the potato cooking water, oil and honey to the bowl and mix in. Allow mixture to cool to at least 105F. Check with a thermometer to be sure. If the mixture is too hot, it may kill the yeast.
  • When potato mixture has cooled as required, add the yeast and mix in. *Tip! If using Active Dry Yeast, allow the yeast to stand in the liquid 5 minutes before proceeding. Measure out the flour and stir in the salt. Add 1/2 of the flour mixture to the bowl and mix in with the paddle attachment. Switch to the kneading hook and mix in the remaining flour mixture until you have a moist dough ball, not sticky to touch, but almost. You may need to add a bit more flour than specified, but be careful you don't add too much. You want to stop when the dough clears the bowl and wraps the kneading hook, but is still very moist.
  • Remove dough to a floured work surface and knead a minute or so, adding a bit more flour if necessary, only if the dough is sticking to your hands or the work surface. Don't add too much! Keep the dough as moist as possible.
  • Place dough into a greased bowl, cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise until doubled, about 45-60 minutes.
  • Preheat oven to 350F (regular bake/not fan-assisted).
  • Remove dough to a floured work surface and gently deflate. Divide dough into 6 equal pieces (*see Note 2 below). Form each piece into a ball (*see Note 3 below) and place onto a baking sheet, leaving about 3 inches between the dough balls.
  • Cover the baking sheet with a clean tea towel and set aside to rise until doubled and puffy, about 30 minutes.
  • Before baking, you can brush with egg wash (mix together egg and water and brush on top of buns). Be sure to cover the buns completely and thoroughly with the egg wash, all the way to the bottom. to ensure an even baked colour. The egg wash will produce a slightly shiny, golden colour. Alternatively, you can dust with flour instead. The buns will not be shiny and will be lighter in colour after baking. I like to use the egg wash then sometimes I will dust lightly with flour after baking.
  • Bake the buns for 20-23 minutes, rotating the pan halfway through baking. Bake until just lightly golden on top and not yet browning on the sides. Cool rolls in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove to a cooling rack to cool completely. If not enjoying immediately, store in an airtight container or freeze for longer storage.

Notes

1. You can replace the 1 Tbsp honey with 1 1/2 Tbsp white sugar if you don’t have honey.
2. I like to weigh the entire dough ball, then divide that weight by 6, to figure out what the weight for each bun should be. That way all the rolls will be the same size and cook at the same rate, as well. My dough balls were about 73g each.
3. To form the dough into balls, take the piece of the dough and using both hands, stretch dough out from the 3 and 9 o’clock position to smooth, then flip over and pinch together well, creating tension on the smooth side of the dough. Flip back over with the smooth side up.
Cuisine: American, Canadian
Course: Bread
Serving: 1bun, Calories: 169kcal, Carbohydrates: 33g, Protein: 7g, Fat: 1g, Saturated Fat: 0.4g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 0.3g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 0.003g, Cholesterol: 31mg, Sodium: 408mg, Potassium: 145mg, Fiber: 2g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 46IU, Vitamin C: 4mg, Calcium: 13mg, Iron: 2mg
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