I have to apologize. See, I got so excited about the idea of homemade hamburger buns that....well, I forgot the burger. When you make these, be sure you don't do that because these soft and oh-so-fluffy buns deserve to be crowned with some mighty fine burgers.
Hamburger buns so rarely get to be the star of the show. But that's because we're usually using flimsy, texture-deprived, bland-tasting buns as a vehicle for our burger consumption. These homemade buns are anything but that.
These buns are pillow soft but with just enough chewiness to make them interesting. They taste yeasty and just slightly sweet. They'll hold your burgers, your pulled pork, and your sandwiches without blinking twice or falling apart on you. (And P.S. leftover buns make a mighty fine breakfast with a little butter and jelly.)
Hamburger buns are also remarkably simple to make at home. There's no mystery or magic to them. They are, after all, basically oversized dinner rolls. You likely have most or all the ingredients in your pantry right now, and can make a batch of fresh buns in about two hours.
Take a peek at the notes when you get to the end of the recipe, too. I have some suggestions for making Whole Wheat Burger Buns, for doubling the recipe, and for freezing buns for later.
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Makes 8 buns
1 tablespoon active-dry yeast
1/2 cup (4 oz) warm water
1/2 cup (4 oz) milk (whole, 2%, or skim)
1 large egg
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups (15 oz) all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon butter
In the bowl of a standing mixer (or a large bowl, if mixing by hand), stir the yeast into the warm water and let it sit until dissolved.
In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg, oil, sugar, and salt. Add this to the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Add all the flour and stir until it forms a shaggy dough. Knead at low speed, or by hand against the counter, for 10 minutes. The finished dough should be smooth, feel slightly tacky, and spring back when poked.
Return the dough to the mixing bowl and cover. Let the dough rise in a warm spot until doubled in bulk, about an hour.
Dust your work surface with a little flour and turn out the risen dough on top. Divide the dough into 8 pieces and shape each into a tight ball. Transfer the balls to a baking sheet and let rise until they look puffy and hamburger-sized, roughly 30-40 minutes.
Pre-heat the oven to 375°F.
Melt the butter and brush it over the risen hamburger buns. This helps the tops to brown and keeps the crust soft. Bake the buns until golden, 15-18 minutes.
Let the buns cool to room temperature before slicing and using. They are best if eaten within the next day or two, but will keep in an airtight container on the counter for up to a week.
Additional Notes:
• For Whole Wheat Buns - Substitute 1/2-1 cup of the all-purpose flour with whole wheat flour and prepare the recipe as usual. The texture of the buns will be a bit more dense, but still very delicious and burger-worthy.
• Doubling the Recipe - Double all of the ingredients except for the yeast. To make even more buns, it's best to prepare separate batches as the dough becomes too cumbersome to work with easily.
• Freeze Buns for Later - Wrap the buns in aluminum foil and then store in an air-tight container or freezer bag. Let them thaw in their packaging overnight on the counter. Foil-wrapped buns can also be thawed more quickly or re-warmed in a 300°F oven for about 10-15 minutes.
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(Images: Emma Christensen)
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Homemade buns or like-homemade from a good bakery do elevate a burger. I don't make them but the ones I get locally at Thee's Bakery in the Original Farmer's Market (Los Angeles) are superb.
Buns are not just for burgers....A good bun makes a decent sandwich amazing.. just saying.. give up those hard rolls and try a well made Bun!
I will have to try these, not for full size hamburgers, but for sliders! My boyfriend and I love sliders, and have been making them at home (using the tiny Hawaiian rolls as buns), but I think this would be MUCH nicer!
@caralovesyou - Brilliant! I'd recommend making 16 or so mini-rolls with this recipe.
Oh excellent. A couple months ago when we got our first grill and made some burgers, I searched here for a recipe for homemade burger buns but didn't find anything quite right. And then was too lazy to look elsewhere online. :) Definitely bookmarking this one!
I've made about 2 dozen hamburger/hotdog buns in the past month but none of them seem to come out quite right. More dense than fluffy anyways.
I'll try out this recipe, anyone have any tips for making them with a bread machine and replacing the active yeast with bread machine yeast?
We LOVE homemade buns. But, with six kids, we go through a batch really quickly.
Tammy has a great technique for making them a little more fancy: http://www.tammysrecipes.com/node/4385 I do it like this all the time now.
And here is how to prepare your delicious bun: butter both sides. Place the bottom of the bun on a medium hot griddle and then turn the top of the bun upside down and place it over the bottom of the bun. The heat from the toasting bottom bun will soften the top. When the bottom is browned to your satisfaction, turn it all over so that the top of the bun is now on the griddle (or fry pan) and the bottom will stay warm on the top.
If I served a cold, un-buttered, un-toasted bun to my family, they would go into shock :)
What, no sesame seeds? That's what separates a first class bun from a second rate bun- sesame seeds.
@SunnyBlue- I use a schmear of mayo on one bun before toasting. Butter is OK, but I already have the mayo out and ready since it's burgers.
this sounds great but how about a tip on freezing the dough so it could be baked off whenever you need to? not a fan of freezing fully baked bread.
I have made hamburger buns in my bread maching using the dough cycle and organic active dry yeast. They turned out great. I like to add a 1/4 cup of bran to make them more healthy. Homemade is so much better that that grocery store junk!!
This is a great recipe. I'll sub honey for the sugar, and swap out some of the flour for whole wheat.
@jess13 - To freeze these, try lining a muffin tin with plastic wrap, placing a ball of dough in each well, and then popping them out of the tin when they're frozen to store in a freezer bag/container. Let them thaw in the fridge and then shape/bake as usual (allowing for a little extra rising time).
@toni6921 - So glad you like the recipe!
Just finished rolling into the tight bun and am proofing as I write. This is a lovely dough and will go nicely with this week's meals. Thanks for getting this posted and getting me back into baking.
I just made these today for burger night, and I'm extremely pleased with the outcome. Super simple recipe, came together very nicely, and it is a delicious bun.
Resist the urge to add more flour as it's kneading in the mixer. My dough seemed a tad wet, but I left it to knead for the full 10 minutes, and it came out perfectly. Thanks for this wonderful recipe. Good buns aren't always easy to come by.
These turned out splendidly despite my many human errors. They held up admirably under the weight of an ungodly amount of toppings and a 1/3 pound patty! This burger snob just got snobbier :)
can anybody help is it 3 cups of lour or 15 oz what did everyone use
thank you
flour
Hi, Roseann - 3 cups is the volume measurement and 15 ounces is the weight measurement. You can use either method for measuring the flour and get the same results.
Followed the recipe exactly, but ended up with bread resembling a dinner roll--very dense, didn't rise much during the second rise or during the first 5 minutes in the oven.
Love this recipe! But I have a couple of questions. I followed the recipe, but may have kneaded the dough for too long, as it wasn't very sticky and didn't double when rising... end result was still a tasty hamburger sized roll - but dense, more like a biscuit. When kneading the dough, can I use an electric hand mixer (I don't have a full sized beater.)
Also, can this recipe be used to make fluffy bread for sandwiches?
I was well overdue in making a batch of hamburger bun from scratch. I tried this recipe today and the taste and aroma of these home baked burger buns were incredible. The only downside was the burgers were a tad dense. I was striving for a lighter fluffier consistency. Perhaps the proportions are off or I overkneaded the dough. Any ideas?
Can you use unsweetened almond milk in this recipe? Or does it have to be dairy milk? Also, could olive oil work? Thanks!
I am a Montana girl, born and raised in the heart of cattle country, so I know a good burger. Right now, I am living in Africa, and that is one food I have been missing a lot. But my friends here have an oven and just happened to have a pound of ground beef. I found this recipe on Pinterest since I was put on bun detail. They were the best burgers I have ever tried, thanks so much to these buns. They were delicious, just the right flavor and texture, didn't overpower the burger, but added to its flavor. I will never buy buns again. So good.
thank you thank you thank you!!!! I made a batch of these tonight for a potluck I'm going to tomorrow. They came out perfectly. I actually double the recipe just fine using my kitchen aid to do all the work. I also used 2 cups of wheat flour and 4 cups of white. The buns were springy, chewy, great crust on top and bottom because of the butter and they just look delish! I can't wait to serve them tomorrow at the potluck with some homemade veggie burgers I whipped up as well.
This recipe was SO easy to follow. I am not a baker, but I sure felt like one today! Thanks again!
Warmly,
Noelove
oh my goodness! I forgot to add, I was out of white sugar, so I used 4 Stevia packets instead. The buns were just a touch sweet and totally perfect. (I had to try one tonight, warm, with a little butter!)
I have just mixed my dough and left for the first rise but not sure it is correct.
My dough is very solid and don't think there is enough water in it.
I am in the UK so using metric measurement. I used:
113ml of warm water
113ml of milk
425g of flour
Is this correct?
Thanks.
In essence this recipe is great, but the first time I tried it I didn't lke the results. Too dense as previous people have mentioned. So instead of regular flour I used bread / strong flour and the results were much more rewarding. If you know the basics of bread making and apply them accordingly the results are seriously satisfying.
I should have also added, there is a lot of liquid in this recipe. If you add it all at once you are going to end up with a sticky mess that will glue to your fingers and work surface and pretty much everything (I'm talking from experience). Instead, add liquid little by little and make sure the flour soaks it all up. It's still going to be sticky but manageable. After a few minutes of kneading the dough will start to smooth up and become beautifully sikly.
Also resist the temptation to add more flour at any stage. Even when your kneading don't use flour to dust the surface, use a smear of olive oil instead on the work surface. The oil itself will make the dough lighter and more fluffy. (I'm no expert, the god of bread making Paul Hollywood taught me all of this!)
I made these once, exactly as the recipe directs, and they turned out perfectly. No density issues at all.