These homemade hamburger buns are soft, fluffy, and slightly sweet, making them the perfect foundation for your best-ever cheeseburger. Easy to make from scratch, they add a fresh, bakery-quality touch that will elevate any burger night.
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🍶 The Ingredients
With just a few simple, yet essential, ingredients, these buns come together effortlessly to create light, fluffy perfection every single time. Find ingredient notes (including substitutions and variations) below.
Expert Tip
Exact measurements are critical for successful baking. We highly recommend weighing your ingredients to get the right amount of each ingredient. A digital kitchen scale is great for weighing larger amounts, such as flour, but a palm scale is perfect for weighing minuscule amounts, such as yeast.
👉 Substitutions and Variations
- Flour – We have used both all-purpose flour and bread flour and had success. We like the crumb (the texture of the sliced bun) best with all-purpose.
- Diastatic malt powder – This is completely optional. Malt powder helps provide a little boost to the yeast and adds a hint of barley flavor, but you’ll still get great buns without it. We use it with almost all of our baking recipes.
- Yeast – We go with Active Dry Yeast, but Instant Yeast (aka Rapid Rise) will work great, too.
- Sugar and salt – Both are essential for flavor. You can substitute honey for the sugar, if desired. We use fine sea salt, but regular iodized table salt will work just fine.
See the recipe card (with video) below for a full list of ingredients and measurements.
👩🏼🍳 How To Make Hamburger Bun Dough
- Step 1: Whisk together the yeast and sugar with the warm water and let rest until foamy, about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Step 2: Add the flour, malt powder, butter, salt, and egg.
- Step 3: Mix on low with the dough attachment until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
- Step 4: Allow dough to proof in a warm location until doubled in size, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.
🧑🏾🍳 How to Form Hamburger Buns from Dough
- Step 1: Gently punch the dough down to deflate it.
- Step 2: Turn the dough onto an unfloured surface and cut it into 8 equal portions, about 3 ounces each.
- Step 3: Use your hand to form a smooth, tight ball.
- Step 4: Place the dough ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment or silicone and gently press it down with the palm of your hand, about 3 inches in diameter.
- Step 5: Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let proof until visibly expanded.
- Step 6: Brush with egg wash, sprinkle on sesame seeds, and bake until golden, about 15 to 18 minutes. Let cool on a baking rack.
Expert Tip
We use our proofing container to allow the dough to rise. They work wonderfully; however, you can also place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Just make sure the bowl is big enough for the dough to double in size. If you proof the dough in your oven (on the proofing setting or with the light on – but no heat), then you’ll need to remove the dough about 15 minutes before it’s done proofing so you can turn the oven on.
🙋🏽♂️ Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, you can substitute whole wheat flour for all-purpose flour, but keep in mind that the buns may be denser and have a nuttier flavor; using a mix of both flours often yields the best texture.
Absolutely! Simply divide the dough into smaller portions (1½ to 2 ounces) before baking to create perfectly sized slider buns that are soft and fluffy, ideal for mini sandwiches or appetizers.
Homemade buns are best enjoyed within 2-3 days when stored at room temperature in an airtight container, but you can extend their freshness by freezing them for up to 3 months. However, we find they are at their best when made the same day as serving.
To keep buns fresh, place them in a sealed plastic bag or an airtight container at room temperature for short-term storage, or freeze them individually wrapped for longer storage, thawing at room temperature before use.
🍔 Burgers for Homemade Burger Buns
Ready to take your outdoor BBQ to the next level? Seriously…your guests will be so impressed! Go for it!
And when you do, be sure to take a photo, post it on Instagram, and tag @HowToFeedaLoon and hashtag #HowToFeedaLoon!
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Video
Equipment
- Stand-mixer, or electric mixer, preferably with dough attachment
- Digital scale optional (but very helpful)
- Palm scale optional (but very helpful)
- Sheet pan with rack or a baking sheet with rack
- plastic wrap
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water 85°F to 95°F (180 ML)
- 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast 1 package (0.25 ounces)
- 3 tablespoon sugar (38 grams)
- 3½ cups all-purpose flour (420 grams)
- 1 teaspoon diastatic malt powder (5 grams) optional
- 2 tablespoon unsalted butter room temperature
- 1 large egg divided, room temperature
- 1½ teaspoon fine sea salt or table salt
- cooking spray
For the Egg Wash and Toppings
- 1 large egg lightly beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ cup sesame seeds or everything bagle topping (recipe in NOTES)
Instructions
- Add the warm water to the bowl of your stand mixer. Whisk in the yeast and sugar until dissolved. Let it sit for 5 to 7 minutes, until foamy.¾ cup warm water, 2¼ teaspoon active dry yeast, 3 tablespoon sugar
- Add the flour, malt (if using), butter, egg, and salt. Mix on medium-low for 8 minutes, or until the dough is smooth and elastic.3½ cups all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon diastatic malt powder, 2 tablespoon unsalted butter, 1 large egg, 1½ teaspoon fine sea salt
- Remove the dough and form it into a ball. Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl. Spray some oil over the top of the ball. Cover with plastic wrap and proof in a warm, non-drafty area until doubled in size, about 90 minutes to 2 hours.cooking spray
- Punch the dough down and then scrape the dough onto an unfloured surface. Use a bench scraper (or knife) to cut the dough into 8 equal portions (weighing them helps – weigh the dough, then divide that number by 8).
- Fold the dough up (or down) with your finger to form them into smooth balls and place on one or two baking sheets lined with a silicone mat(s) or parchment paper, 3 inches apart. Use your palm to flatten the ball into a 3 to 3½ inch disc. (see video for visual guidance).
- Loosely cover with plastic wrap and let proof for another hour to 90 minutes. They should have puffed visibly. In the last 15 minutes of proofing, preheat the oven to 375°F (remove the pans from the oven at this time if you are proofing them in the oven).
- In a small bowl, mix together the water and egg. Gently brush the egg wash over the tops of the risen buns, trying not to deflate them. Sprinkle on the sesame seeds (or everything bagel topping).1 large egg, 1 tablespoon water, ½ cup sesame seeds
- Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until golden brown, switching the pans (if using 2 pans).
- Cool on racks. Cool completely. Slice just before serving.
Notes
- 4 teaspoon white sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoon black sesame seeds
- 2 teaspoon poppy seeds
- 2 teaspoon dried minced garlic
- 2 teaspoon dried minced onion
- 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt
Kimberlee Koldste says
I only have one bun pan. What do you do with the remaining dough while the pan is occupied?
Kris Longwell says
Hi Kimberlee..you can wrap the dough in plastic wrap and keep it in the fridge. If you leave it unused for more than a few hours, it may still continue to rise. Just keep an eye on it. It can also be frozen for up to 2 months. Hope this helps!