Super Soft Burger Buns
My recipe for Super Soft Burger Buns is so easy to make at home and tastes miles better than store-bought. Give your burgers the buns they deserve!
If you’re grilling burgers this weekend, don’t serve them with sad, squashed buns from the supermarket! Now is the time to up your burger game and make your own buns.
My easy recipe for Super Soft Burger Buns will take your hamburgers and sloppy joes to the next level.
Are burger buns hard to make?
Soft Hamburger Buns, once you get the hang of them, are actually very simple to make. These burger buns made from a basic enriched yeast dough.
That means they are a little like a brioche roll, only without so much butter. (I know, I know, butter makes everything better, but this reducing the butter means the dough is easier to handle).
This is a tried and tested Hamburger Bun recipe
A lot of people are unsure about making homemade burger buns, however, buns are one of the easiest and most rewarding bread recipes to make.
Because I make these burger buns nearly every week over the summer months I have streamlined the recipe as much as possible.
To make life easier I use a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment, so if you have a kitchen machine these are a breeze.
No kitchen machine? Don’t worry! This is a great recipe to knead by hand, and it is perfectly easy to make with a bit of arm-power, something I often find myself doing when we are on holiday. (Yay, holidays!)
Ingredients
We’ve hit one of my favourite topics. You only need very simple ingredients to make burger buns, so you can avoid all the odd preservatives and fungicides (yes, truly!) that are present in commercial breads.
Homemade burger buns are made with flour, milk, a little butter, instant yeast, sugar and salt. Most of these ingredients you likely already have in your kitchen!
How do I get beautifully brown and shiny burger buns?
It’s very simple! For a beautiful shiny glaze on burger buns the secret is to use a simple egg wash, in this case a mixture of egg white and milk. This egg wash bakes up glossy, and as a bonus means all your toasted sesame seeds stick to the top.
Instructions
- First, combine the ingredients in a stand mixer bowl (or a large bowl if you are kneading by hand) and mix to a smooth, soft dough.
- After the dough has risen once (be sure to give the dough enough time for best results), it’s rolled into shape.
- After a short second rise, you can glaze the buns, scatter over some seeds and bake to golden brown perfection.
The complete ingredient list and detailed instructions are in the recipe card at the bottom of the page.
Don’t stress about perfection!
This is SO important. While this is a straightforward recipe, your first attempt might not be as beautiful as you want. That’s OK! Nobody can be perfect the first time round. Bread baking only gets better and better the more you practice, so keep going!
Trust me, the second time you bake them they will be even more beautiful and you’ll have homemade buns to be proud of.
This dough is good for other recipes too.
A good, lightly enriched dough is the cooks best friend. You can use this same dough to make other soft buns, dinner rolls for example. You can also let the dough rise in a loaf pan to make sandwich bread.
Perfect for parties
The hamburger bun recipe below makes 8 medium or 6 large burger buns, so keep in mind the size of your burger patties when you are dividing the dough.
The buns freeze well, so if the recipe makes more than you need, simply allow the buns to cool after cooking, then slice them in half, wrap and freeze.
These buns will keep until at least the next day, stored in an airtight container.
What to serve with homemade burger buns?
Looking for a really good burger recipe to go with these buns? Why not try my Spicy Pork and Bacon Burgers?
If you fancy a vegetarian option, my Chickpea or Black Bean burgers are delicious too.
Grilling more this weekend? Don’t miss my recipe for 4 Awesome Pork Chop Marinades!
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
Can I halve or double the Soft Burger Buns recipe?
The recipe can be doubled, though I prefer to make two batches instead. Rather than halving the recipe where you will end up with odd amounts like half an egg yolk, I’d suggest making the full batch and freezing any you don’t need on the day.
Can I use wholewheat/spelt/rye flour to make Soft Burger Buns?
It is possible, though especially with wholewheat and rye flour I would substitute more than ¼ of the total weight of the flour, otherwise, they will end up tough and a bit chewy. All variations of flour absorb different amounts on liquid, so you’ll need to experiment.
How Can I fix Dough that is too wet or sticky?
Different flours can soak up different amounts of liquid, so you may need to adjust the amounts slightly to suit your local ingredients. If the dough is still very wet after you have added the second portion of flour in the recipe you may have too much liquid for your flour. Simply add a little extra flour 1 tablespoon at a time until you can handle the dough without it sticking.
After kneading and rising, you should find that your dough is much less sticky, but, and this is important, it should still be a little sticky! I means the dough will rise nicely and have lots of lovely air bubbles
How do I make vegan burger buns?
To make vegan burger buns you need to make a couple of changes. Replace the butter with olive oil or vegetable spread, use a milk alternative in place of the dairy. You can leave out the egg yolk altogether. To get that lovely brown on top of the buns I’d recommend using a little maple syrup mixed with a vegan milk alternative.
Do I need bread flour to make Good burger buns?
I make burger buns with whatever flour I have handy. I find that all purpose or plain flour is fine, but if you like a little extra chew, go ahead and use bread flour.
It’s always worth making the full batch of this recipe as Soft Burger Buns freeze perfectly.
Super Soft Burger Buns
If you’re grilling burgers this weekend, don’t serve them with sad, squashed buns from the supermarket! Now is the time to up your burger game and make your own burger buns. My easy recipe for Super Soft Burger Buns will take your hamburgers and sloppy joes to the next level.
Ingredients
for the dough:
- 250 ml full cream milk
- 50 g unsalted butter
- 500 g plain or all-purpose flour, , separated 300g / 200g (2 cups / 1 cup)
- 50 g white sugar
- 1 tsp sea salt
- 7 g active dry yeast
- 1 large egg, separated
for the topping:
- reserved egg white from the dough
- 1 Tbsp milk
- 2 Tbsp sesame seeds or poppy seeds
Instructions
- HEAT THE MILK: Begin by heating the milk slightly in a small saucepan until it is just warm. Remove from the heat, add the butter to the pan and set aside.
- KNEAD THE DOUGH: In the bowl of a stand mixer with the dough hook fitted, or a large mixing bowl, stir together 300g of flour, the sugar, sea salt and yeast until well combined. Add the milk, butter and egg yolk to the flour and yeast mixture, then knead on high-speed or stir vigorously until smooth.
- FIRST RISE: Add all the remaining flour, then knead for 5 minutes until you have a smooth, pliable dough. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until doubled in size. Keep an eye on room temperature, dough takes longer to rise in a colder room.
- SHAPE AND SECOND RISE: Line a baking tray with parchment paper and set aside. When the dough has doubled, lift it out of the bowl, weigh the dough, then divide into 8 equal pieces (weigh them for accuracy). On a clean work surface, using a circular motion, roll each piece of dough into a tight ball, pinching the edges to seal. Place on the prepared tray with the pinched side down. Make sure to leave plenty of space for the dough to expand. Cover with a clean tea towel and allow to rise for another 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- BAKE: When the dough has nearly finished rising, heat the oven to 180°C / 350°F / Gas 4. When the dough has risen, whisk together the reserved egg white with the milk and use a pastry brush to brush the risen buns gently, but thoroughly with the mixture. Sprinkle sesame or poppy seeds over the top of each bun, then bake the buns in the preheated oven for 15 minutes, until well risen and golden brown.
- COOL AND SERVE: Allow to cool on a wire rack before halving and loading with your favourite burger filling.
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Nutrition
Serving: 1burger bun | Calories: 328kcal | Carbohydrates: 56g | Protein: 9g | Fat: 7g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 2g | Trans Fat: 0.2g | Cholesterol: 38mg | Sodium: 318mg | Potassium: 136mg | Fiber: 2g | Sugar: 8g | Vitamin A: 242IU | Vitamin C: 0.003mg | Calcium: 56mg | Iron: 3mg
Tried this recipe?I’d love to hear how it went! Please leave a review or a star rating and let me know how it was! Use the hashtag #daysofjay on Instagram so I can see your delicious creations.
Made these by hand. They turned out absolutely wonderful. Thanks!
Hi Eva! I am absolutely delighted these were a success for you, I hope your arms aren’t too tired from all that kneading! Thank you so much for your lovely feedback. J.