Soft hamburger Buns
If you’re looking for a good soft hamburger buns recipe, better than store-bought ones, these homemade buns are it. A perfect recipe for making both cheeseburger sliders and delicious homemade hamburgers, with a good-quality ground beef patty and the toppings of your choice.
At one point, my kids were hooked on McDonald’s. I wanted to offer them homemade burgers they’d enjoy just as much, if not more. I tried quite a few recipes until I found this one, which produces truly perfect burger buns.
Every weekend, it’s either raclette night or hamburgers. I sometimes prepare the buns well in advance and freeze them. All I have to do is take them out a few hours before dinner. Once reheated in the oven or microwave, they regain their softness, as if freshly baked. This recipe really is perfect.
The crumb of the buns is airy, light, spongy, and brioche-like.
Table of Contents
How to Make Perfect Soft hamburger Buns?
As with all yeast dough recipes such as light, airy brioche, croissants, or well-aerated homemade bread, the secret lies in proper kneading, good dough hydration, and proper proofing. You should neither under-knead nor over-knead the dough.
If you knead this burger dough using a stand mixer, the dough should become smooth and pull away from the sides of the bowl. Knead for about twelve minutes.
For hand kneading, you’ll need to knead a little longer to achieve a smooth, supple, but non-sticky dough.
By following this recipe, you’ll get a well-hydrated dough that yields super light buns. However, liquid absorption can vary from one flour to another. The dough should be fairly soft and slightly sticky at the end of kneading, but easy to gather into a ball. If your dough is too sticky, add a little flour.
Make sure to let it double or even triple in volume during the first rise before shaping. Once the dough balls are shaped, let them rise again, covered with a towel, until they double in size.
Hamburger Buns Recipe Video
Ingredients
For 10 buns
- 500 g all-purpose flour (17.6 oz)
- 30 g granulated sugar or brown (1 oz)
- 25 g fresh yeast or 10 g instant dry yeast (0.88 oz fresh / 0.35 oz dry)
- 250 ml lukewarm milk (8.45 fl oz)
- 60 g soft unsalted butter (2 oz)
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 8 g salt (0.28 oz)
Egg wash and topping:
- 1 to 2 egg yolks mixed with a few drops of milk to thin it out slightly
- Sesame seeds or a mixed seed blend
Preparing the hamburger Dough
In the bowl of the stand mixer, pour the flour, sugar, and dry yeast. If using fresh yeast, dissolve it first in lukewarm milk.
Add the slightly warmed milk, then knead for 3 minutes on low speed.
Gradually incorporate the soft butter.
As soon as the butter is added, increase the speed to 2 and knead for 3 minutes.
Add the whole egg and continue kneading for 3 minutes at speed 2.
Finish by adding the salt, then knead for another 3 minutes.
Total kneading time: approximately 12 minutes (3 minutes on low speed, then 9 minutes at speed 2).
The dough should be soft, smooth, and pull away from the sides of the bowl, forming a beautiful, homogeneous ball.
Gather the dough into a ball and let it rise in the stand mixer bowl or transfer it to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then place a towel over it.
Let rise for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until the dough has doubled or even tripled in volume.
Once the dough has risen, degas it by pressing down firmly with your fist until it loses all its volume.
Weigh the dough and divide it into 10 equal portions. I got balls weighing about 90 g each.
Shape each piece into a smooth, round ball.
Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them well apart as they will expand during proofing.
Cover the baking sheet with a clean towel and let the dough rise for about an hour (or longer if needed). The balls should puff up nicely.
When proofing is complete, preheat the oven to 170 °C (340 °F).
Gently brush the dough balls with an egg yolk mixed with a few drops of milk. Use a soft brush to avoid flattening them.
Sprinkle the buns with sesame seeds or a mixed seed blend.
Bake for about 15 minutes, until the burger buns are golden brown.
Place them on a wire rack as soon as they come out of the oven, then cover them with a clean towel to retain their moisture and softness.
How to Store homemade Buns?
Place the still-warm burger buns in tightly sealed bags.
They can be stored in the refrigerator for 2 to 3 days or frozen for several weeks, up to 3 months.
Before eating, let them come back to room temperature, then warm them slightly in the oven.
You can also use a vacuum sealer, which is very convenient for preserving food such as cakes, bread, pastries, etc. It allows you to keep food in airtight bags, ideal for refrigeration or freezing.
Tip for Very Soft Hamburger Buns
Oven temperature plays a key role in achieving soft buns.
Every oven is different: at the same temperature, results can vary from one to another.
Personally, I bake them at 170 °C (340 °F) for about 15 minutes. When they come out of the oven, the buns are spongy and ultra-soft.
What to remember: regardless of the oven, the buns should bake quickly.
If baking seems too slow at 170 °C (340 °F), don’t hesitate to increase the temperature to 200 or even 210 °C (390–410 °F), depending on your oven.
Hamburger Buns Recipe (Extra Soft )
INGREDIENTS
- 500 g all-purpose flour
- 30 g granulated sugar or brown
- 25 g fresh yeast or 10 g instant dry yeast ( 0.35 oz dry)
- 250 ml lukewarm milk
- 60 g soft unsalted butter
- 1 egg at room temperature
- 8 g salt
Egg wash and topping:
- 1 to 2 egg yolks mixed with a few drops of milk to thin it out slightly
- Sesame seeds or a mixed seed blend
PREPARATION
- In the bowl of the stand mixer, pour the flour, sugar, and dry yeast. If using fresh yeast, dissolve it first in lukewarm milk.
- Add the slightly warmed milk, then knead for 3 minutes on low speed.
- Gradually incorporate the soft butter.
- As soon as the butter is added, increase the speed to 2 and knead for 3 minutes.
- Add the whole egg and continue kneading for 3 minutes at speed 2.
- Finish by adding the salt, then knead for another 3 minutes.
- Total kneading time: approximately 12 minutes (3 minutes on low speed, then 9 minutes at speed 2).
- The dough should be soft, smooth, and pull away from the sides of the bowl, forming a beautiful, homogeneous ball.
- Gather the dough into a ball and let it rise in the stand mixer bowl or transfer it to a large, lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap, then place a towel over it.
- Let rise for 1 hour 30 minutes to 2 hours, until the dough has doubled or even tripled in volume.
- Once the dough has risen, degas it by pressing down firmly with your fist until it loses all its volume.
- Weigh the dough and divide it into 10 equal portions. I got balls weighing about 90 g each.
- Shape each piece into a smooth, round ball.
- Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, spacing them well apart as they will expand during proofing.
- Cover the baking sheet with a clean towel and let the dough rise for about an hour (or longer if needed). The balls should puff up nicely.
- When proofing is complete, preheat the oven to 170 °C (340 °F).
- Gently brush the dough balls with an egg yolk mixed with a few drops of milk. Use a soft brush to avoid flattening them.
- Sprinkle the buns with sesame seeds or a mixed seed blend.
- Bake for about 15 minutes, until the burger buns are golden brown.
- Place them on a wire rack as soon as they come out of the oven, then cover them with a clean towel to retain their moisture and softness.
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