It’s 2ºF outside and here I am making homemade hamburger buns…
By the time some of you find this recipe, we’ll be deep into summer and you’ll have stumbled upon this post after searching for a homemade bun option for your upcoming BBQ.
But we’re not BBQing here at the moment. The grill is buried under snow and everything outside is frozen. The pick-up truck door was frozen shut the other day. And the poo is frozen to the ground. And the water hoses? Forget about it… Everything just feels harder in the winter time.
Anyway, enough whining– let’s talk burgers. I realize hamburgers aren’t typical January fare, but I just submitted my cookbook manuscript for its first round of edits (more to come on that soon. Eeek!), and dang it! I just felt like burgers. The problem is we are bun-less, and I can’t really justify driving 40+ miles just for buns, celebration or not.
Thankfully, homemade burger buns take less than 15 minutes of hands-on time, and taste a million times better than storebought. I’ve tried a number of recipes over the years and they often felt a bit lacking. They were too dry, or too bready, or too crumbly, or whatever. But this recipe is perfection, my friends. These buns are soft and fluffy with the perfect crumb, not to mention they are show-stopping gorgeous! Who cares about pretty buns? Well, I do. Who wants to eat an ugly bun? No one, that’s who.
Slide a hamburger patty between one of these babies and you’ll be a burger rockstar, and if burgers aren’t your jam, try them with the Slow Cooker Pulled Pork instead.
Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe
Makes 8 buns
(Adapted from King Arthur Flour)
Ingredients:
- 1 cup warm milk (100ºF)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated whole cane sugar (I use this sucanat)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use this one)
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (where to purchase)
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
- Sesame seeds (where to purchase)
Instructions:
Combine the milk and yeast in a mixing bowl (this one’s my favorite) and stir until dissolved. Mix in the sugar, butter, and egg, then add the salt and flour.
Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
Set aside in a warm place to rise in a covered bowl for 60 to 90 minutes.
Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal balls. Press each ball into a 3-inch circle. Rise for 30 minutes, or until the buns are round and puffy. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg/water mixture, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. These are best if eaten within 1 to 2 days of being made– store leftovers in an airtight container.
(P.S. If you want to try your hand at making 100% whole wheat hamburger buns, here’s a recipe for that.)
Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 15 mins
- Total Time: 25 mins
- Yield: 8 buns 1x
- Category: Bread
Ingredients
- 1 cup warm milk (100ºF)
- 1 tablespoon active dry yeast
- 1/4 cup granulated whole cane sugar (I use this sucanat)
- 2 tablespoons butter, melted
- 1 egg
- 1 teaspoon fine sea salt (I use this one)
- 3 to 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (where to purchase)
- 1 egg, beaten with 1 teaspoon of water
- Sesame seeds (where to purchase)
Instructions
- Combine the milk and yeast in a mixing bowl (this one’s my favorite) and stir until dissolved. Mix in the sugar, butter, and egg, then add the salt and flour.
- Knead for 6 to 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.
- Set aside in a warm place to rise in a covered bowl for 60 to 90 minutes.
- Punch down the dough and divide into 8 equal balls. Press each ball into a 3-inch circle. Rise for 30 minutes, or until the buns are round and puffy. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg/water mixture, and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Preheat the oven to 375ºF. Bake for 14 to 16 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown. Cool on a wire rack. These are best if eaten within 1 to 2 days of being made– store leftovers in an airtight container.
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Could we freeze them for future use?
If you tightly wrap each individually with plastic wrap, they’re decent for a couple weeks. Or at least my hoagie rolls homemade are.
After waiting apparently way too long I finally made these and I have to say my whole family thinks these are some of the best bread I’ve ever made (I have made a LOT) and I’m NEVER going to buy them from the store again. NEVER!
SO glad to hear this!
Loved how easily these buns were made and they looked beautiful when I removed them from the oven. Unfortunately, they were dry and crumbly when we ate them. What did I do wrong?
Perhaps too much flour.. your final dough should be tacky, not sticky where it comes off on a finger when touched, just tacky where it almost does.
These are, by far, the best hamburger buns I have ever had… or made. We have them basically every 2 weeks! Easy recipe to follow and they turn out great every time.
Just like her bread ,soo easy to do. During the pandemic I’ve made my own bread with her recipe.
Double wrap each individually in plastic wrap, then again in foil and freeze.
I don’t think these will freeze very well. It will probably make them dry and crumbly.
Hi, I just want to say that I freeze these all the time and they are always great! I’ve never had them turn out dry or crumbly. We let them thaw in a plastic bag with a paper towel under them. Then we butter and grill them in a pan for serving. I don’t think we could ever go back to store bought. Thanks for making it so easy to learn how to bake.
When you freeze them do you do so before or after the second rise? Also do you freeze uncovered individually then put in a bag or something different all together? Thanks!
I just saw this, sorry so late to respond. I freeze them after baking completely. I reheat them after thawing in a skillet with butter on them.
I imagine you could freeze the dough, right after you divide into 8 pieces. Thaw, let rise and bake.
Thanks for this recipe! I made hamburger buns last week – same reason as you, wanted hamburgers, no buns, couldn’t justify driving somewhere to get them. But I wasn’t super happy with the recipe I tried so I’ll use this one next time.
I do find that homemade hamburger buns are best fresh like you said, but with only 2 people eating there are bound to be leftovers in my house. We solve that problem by using the extra buns for our pb&j the next morning (toasted), and then for lunch sandwiches.
I cut the ingredients by half, made 8 mini buns (abouy 3 bites each).
The recipe is amazing.
There’s just two of us also. Great idea! Small batch, bake more often. Like shopping for fresh food daily as some do.
I live with a bread lover who also loves sandwich/burger buns that are soft & squishy. THIS RECIPE lives up to everything that has been said about it. My guy is SO happy! This recipe is easy to make as well. I made it exactly as the recipe is given with one exception. I wanted a longer slower rise (I aim for at least 7-8 hours) so I reduced the instant yeast I use to 1 teaspoon. They turned out very well, smelled wonderful when baking, looked just like the pic posted with the recipe inside & out. Like store-bought but so much better. Winner! Thank you!
SO glad to hear this!! 🙂
I’m with you. Only 2of us at home. Will need to figure out how to use them is 4 days. 2 a day.
Can I use self rising flour in these? I dont have any AP flour ??
Self-rising flour is just AP flour that also has baking powder and salt added. It’s usually used for things more like pastries, quick breads, and that sort of thing. If you use self-rising flour in place of AP, just keep in mind that the flour already has a leavening agent in it, and the dough will probably rise rapidly.
Same here. Just the hubby and I. I usually do a roasted chicken the previous, next or same day for chicken sandwiches (or make tuna salad).
What can I substitute milk for? I’m lactose intolerant, but any milk products don’t agree with me anymore.
Is lactose free milk not available in your area? There’s more and more stores carrying it (and other dairy products) where we live. It’s my life saver.
Hi there, can I freeze them after I baked them, cool down of course and how do I freeze them ,??? colleen
Of course! Just freezing them in any airtight container or bag should work just fine.
These buns look so good! Really handy to be able to make them when you want them instead of having to go to the shops.
I just made these and omg they’re so delicious! Thank you. I will definitely be making more.
Yay! So glad to hear that.
Why do you use all purpose instead of self rising?
Yeast is the leavening agent in this recipe. (The thing that produces CO2 gas, that creates bubbles which make the bread rise.) Self-rising flour has a different leavening agent already added to it, usually baking powder, which may interfere with your yeast or make your yeast bread taste different. You could also use bread flour, which is made from wheat with a higher protein content which works fabulously in yeast breads. Just don’t use the self-rising flour along with yeast unless the recipe specifically asks for it.
I find that self-rising is too salty for my liking. I like to control each ingredient.
It’s 10degrees outside here and 65 in my house. Where would you place your dough to rise? Near the wood stove?
Turn your oven on for about 3 min, then turn off. Put the dough in to rise with the door closed. This should be just enough warmth to do the trick
This is what I do as well, and it works great. I do the second rise in my toaster oven. These came out great!
A cool trick I learned awhile back was to take a pot of boiling water and put on your bottom rack in your oven. place your dough on the top rack with a cloth over it and it will rise really well.
Fill a Dutch oven about halfway with water and bring it to a boil. After boiled, put the d.o. With the water in your oven with the dough. It’ll keep your oven warm for about 1.5-2 hours
Can I use my kitchenaid to knead? Can’t wait to try!
Turn on your oven light. Put dough to rise on top rack near light and close the door. Works like a charm…no drafts!
All I have is regular sugar. Would that cause them to fail?
Can you freeze these buns?
sorry just saw your reply to freezing them,,,
I saw this and was so excited. I expected home milled flour. Do you home mill your flour? I would like a good recipe using home milled flour for well-mannered (rises, soft texture) hamburger buns. Do you have that?
at http://www.familybaker.com they show how to make hamburger and hot dog buns using milled flour.
If I want to use instant yeast instead of active dry, how much do you think I should use?
Thanks for this version – I too adapt recipes. Love your posts and also the King Arthur Newsletters and recipes. I will be making these buns.
I wonder if this would adapt well if I used gluten-free flour? It is a struggle to find bread I can make/buy that does not cost $5 for a VERY small loaf.
I just made these with the GF flour including xantham gum, and it was a big flop. They didn’t rise. The smell was amazing, but they stayed as small, flat patties.
I was wondering the same question: Would this recipe work with gluten-free flour? I have an intolerance to wheat. I am planning to try this recipe with Cup2Cup flour and hope they rise. I agree with you,
These look amazing! I love baking bread. Thank you for sharing your recipe.
A wonderful recipe.These buns look so good. Everyone here is excited about making Hamburger Buns at home & me too :-). Thanks
I put the ingredients in my breadmachine
Even easier ?
These buns look so amazing. I just pinned it for the future. Can’t wait to make them!
Is there a way to make these without the sugar (or sugar substitute)? Looks great but I don’t like the idea of adding sugar.
Thanks!
My go-to! use this recipe all the time! Your blog is even better than my stack of Taste if Home mags from the ‘90s (and that’s saying something).
These are the best buns I’ve ever had! I had no problems with the leftover ones I froze. I thawed them in the microwave making sure not to let them go too long to get weird and then toasted them in the oven, since I like my buns toasted. My boyfriend only thawed them and served them another time and they were still just as good.
Can you make these in a bread maker on the dough cycle?
I just finished making these by utilizing my bread machine. I used the dough cycle, and bread-machine yeast. Everything else I did according to the recipe, though. They turned out lovely!
I’ve made these twice now and they’re the best. Great for burgers and sandwiches and they don’t fall apart. Careful not to use too much egg wash or the buns will stick to the pan!
So glad to hear this!
I love reading comments, but even more I’m thrilled to know that Jill has YOU, Kayla!
I was having a hard time wrapping my head around how she could do all of this in her own. . Superwoman, maybe?!?
?
Mine didn’t rise much once I punched them down. We’re they supposed to be covered for the second rise once there are eight of them?
I’d probably cover the buns for the second rise just to prevent them from forming a crust, which also helps them rise.
Can these be made with whole wheat flour?
Totally! Jill also has a wheat bun recipe already: https://www.theprairiehomestead.com/2014/03/whole-wheat-bun-recipe.html
Can I use Regular Sugar for these?
For sure.
Hi, when I make hamburger buns, I weigh them at 3 oz. each, place on greased sheet pan. Take a sheet of parchment or wax paper, brush oil one side of paper, place oiled side on top of balls. Place another sheet pan on top of paper, weigh down with iron skillet. After 10-15 minutes, the balls will be the shape of buns, remove top sheet pan, and oiled paper. Raise till double in size. Bake for 15 minutes at 350 degrees.
Pretty sure this one is impossible to mess up! I did everything wrong (added the egg to the dough way too late, couldn’t spare an egg for the egg wash, used. a glass casserole dish instead of a baking sheet) and they still came out delicious. Perfect flavor and texture.
So glad to hear this! Who doesn’t love a foolproof recipe? 🙂
Could I use my sour dough to make these? And if so, how much should I use? Thank you.
Made these today and they were delicious! No more buying buns that are full of things that I don’t want to eat. Thank you!
I would like to make these using my sourdough starter. How would I go about that? I don’t use traditional yeast.
Can I substitute the dairy in this recipe for hamburger buns? My 8 years old is allergic.
Oh. My. Lord. These are amazing! They have the same texture as the expensive grocery store buns but they taste 100x better! They seriously only took like 15 minutes of hands on work and they turned out beautifully. Thanks for sharing this one!
Hi
My dough is too sticky. Why? Are you counting each cup of flour for 120 g?
Thanks
Same here! I had exactly 3 1/2 cups of flour and used it all so I can’t add any more 🙁
Has anyone ever tried to use Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour?
Jill, thank you so much for this recipe! When I made these and my husband was eating a burger, he said: “That’s it! These are perfect!” I was looking for that perfect hamburger bun recipe and came to your website hoping you had one, and I wasn’t disappointed. Next I’ll try the whole wheat kind with my home milled flour. Thank you!
wow look great. can i use the same recipe for bread,
Why don’t your recipes have a print tab? I may forget where I saw this but if I print it out, I can put in a folder and have it forever
Thanks for letting us know the print button disappeared! We worked on the issue and it is fixed. You should be able to see the print button on the recipe now. Enjoy!
Can these be made Gluten Free? I can not have Gluten.
Sure. You can use a gluten-free flour mix (there are some ones on the market now that can be used in a 1:1 ratio).
This may be a silly question. The recipe says it makes 8 buns but the recipe says to roll the dough into 8 circles. So does it only make 4 buns? I’m going to make these but wanted to ask so I have enough. Thank you!
You make 8 buns from the 8 circles. After they have baked, you cut them in half to use as buns.