Burger Buns: the easy, soft bun recipe

Many home cooks never think about making their own burger buns. They either think it’s too difficult or that the buns just won’t come out the same way as the ones you’ll get in the restaurant. Well, we’re here to tell you that making buns from scratch is easy with this recipe. The flavor of these buns is full-on. They’re slightly sweet, while the texture is soft and fluffy—just what you need to hold all your hamburger ingredients.

What do you need to make them? Water, milk, vegetable oil, flour, yeast, and a few sesame seeds. Prepare to make the Best Hamburger Buns you ever had—they’re so much better than store-bought ones!

How to make Burger Buns from scratch

To make burger buns from scratch isn’t difficult, but it does require some patience. After mixing together all the ingredients and kneading until smooth, you need a few resting periods to give the gluten enough time to develop. After these rising periods, the buns are shaped and baked until golden.

Tips for the Best Hamburger Buns

To make vegan hamburger buns, mix together 4 ¾ cups flour, 2 tbsp sugar, 2 ¼ tsp instant yeast, 2 tsp salt, 1 ½ cups warm water, and 4 tbsp olive oil. Proceed with the recipe as normal.

To make burger buns without yeast, mix together 2 cups flour, 2 tsp baking powder, ½ tsp garlic powder, 1 tsp salt, ¾ cup milk, and 2 tbsp olive oil. Proceed with the recipe as normal.

How to store Burger Buns

You can store the homemade burger buns in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 4 days. You can also freeze them, just make sure to cover them properly.

Instructions

Mix together the water, milk, oil, eggs, sugar yeast with half of the bread flour. Mix to form a loose batter.

Now add in the remaining flour and salt, then mix to form a fluffy but wet dough.

Turn out onto a work surface and using a dough scrape knead with one hand and scrape from the surface with the other. You need to knead for 5-6 minutes until the dough comes together. Now stretch and fold using the dough scrape for a further 8-10 minutes, thou dough will still be very sticky, that is good.

Spray a bowl with oil and then drop in the dough flipping to ensure it is covered in oil. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to prove for an hour.

Remove from a bowl onto a lightly oiled surface. Stretch out and fold into thirds, then rotate around 90 degrees and repeat this process. Return to the bowl, cover with plastic wrap and prove for another hour.

Remove from the bowl onto a lightly oiled surface and cut into 6 even pieces (around 125g) Form into loose balls and cover in plastic wrap and prove for 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes dust with flour and then press flat. Fold in the sides and pinch the using two hands form into a tight ball.

If making tall buns for double-decker buns use 10 cm forms lined with a baking paper collar for the final prove. If making normal buns just place them on a baking sheet lined with baking paper.

Prove for 90 minutes or until trebled in size.

Brush with water and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in the oven at 190°C or 375°F for 14-16 minutes.

Remove and allow to cool on a cooling rack before using.

Notes

Use this recipe to make miniature buns sliders — this is a perfect idea if you want mini hamburgers for appetizers.