Bread and Yeast Goods

Homemade Hamburger Buns

January 14, 2016

These are my favorite hamburger buns. They’re airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Top with sesame or poppy seeds. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

My favorite hamburger buns - airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

Erez and I used to have this tradition of having fancy hamburger dinners once every few months. After a few successful meals with mostly store-bought ingredients, I decided to upgrade this tradition! We started making our own homemade buns, burgers, and sauce. This turned out to be a really great idea and now we can’t go back!

My favorite hamburger buns - airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

How to make the best hamburgers

Homemade buns are soft, fluffy, shiny, and just the right size for a standard burger. In fact, they’re so good that you may find burger night being an excuse to eat more buns!

Toast your buns! Spread a light layer of butter on the inside of your top and bottom bun. Place the bun buttered-side-down in your burger frying pan juices or on the grill for about 30-60 seconds. It makes all the difference!

Perfectly seasoned hamburgers and burger sauce. This delicious homemade burger sauce has been our go-to all summer long and takes only 10 minutes to assemble. It tastes like your favorite burger joint’s “secret sauce” and is very similar to Mac Sauce or Thousand Island Dressing.

How to make homemade hamburger buns

Making homemade hamburger buns is much easier than you think! Once you finish mixing the ingredients into a dough in your stand mixer with a dough hook, you need to let the dough rise.

There are two rising times, each of which takes about 1 to 2 hours, so plan ahead! The warmer your house is, the faster the dough will rise. If it’s cold, just be patient and the dough will eventually rise or try to find somewhere slightly warm (oven, fireplace, sunlit window) to place it.

My favorite hamburger buns - airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

If the dough feels too sticky you can add additional flour, one tablespoon at a time. Keep in mind that the dough should be slightly sticky, but if you press it with your finger, it shouldn’t stick to it. However, it’s important for you to know that the more flour you add, the less soft the buns will be. The results will still taste very good, but if you’re aiming for the softest buns possible, let your dough be on the sticky side. If you’re using a mixer then this shouldn’t be an issue because you won’t need to handle the dough yourself. After resting, it will lose some of its stickiness and be easier to handle, and if not, keep flouring your hands while handling it until the stickiness fades.

My favorite hamburger buns - airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

Can I make homemade buns ahead of time?

To make the buns ahead of time and bake them in the morning, follow all of the steps up to when you shape the dough into balls, place them in the pan, and cover. Instead of letting them rise this second time, place the pan in the fridge. In the morning (or up to 24 hours later), take the rolls out of the fridge, leaving them to reach room temperature and rise more if needed—until almost doubled in size. If they had risen enough while they were in the fridge, just bring them to room temperature (about 30 minutes) and bake them.

My favorite hamburger buns - airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

More delicious homemade bread recipes:

  • Cinnamon rolls – The perfect balance between delicate, fluffy dough and a sweet cinnamon filling.
  • Monkey bread – Sweet and sticky caramel bread created with several layers of fluffy dough balls coated in brown sugar and cinnamon.
  • Dinner rolls – Similar recipe with the same amazing taste and texture.
  • Perfect challah – Lightly sweet and dairy-free, this beautiful braided challah has a pillowy texture that no one can resist!
4.72 from 7 votes
My favorite hamburger buns - airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.
Hamburger Buns (with dairy-free option)
YIELD: 8 buns
 
These are my favorite hamburger buns. They’re airy, soft, thick, fluffy, and simply perfect. Plus, they can be made dairy-free.

Ingredients
  • 3 1/4 cups (450 g/16 oz) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
  • 3 tablespoons (40 g/1.5 oz) granulated sugar
  • 2 1/4 teaspoons (7 g/0.25 oz) instant dry yeast
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) lukewarm water*
  • 1/2 cup (120 ml) lukewarm milk*
  • 1 large egg
  • 1/4 cup (55 g/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened or melted
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt
For topping:
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • ½ teaspoon sugar
  • Sesame seeds or poppy seeds , optional
Instructions
  1. Place flour, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a standing mixer and mix until combined. Attach the dough hook to the mixer and add water, milk, egg, and butter. Mix on low speed until dough comes together, 2-3 minutes. If the dough feels too sticky, add more flour, but keep in mind that this dough should be quite sticky and will be easier to handle after resting. Add salt and continue mixing for another 8 minutes on low-medium speed. Dough should be soft and slightly sticky, and should stick to the bottom of the bowl.
  2. Place dough in a large bowl brushed with oil, and toss to coat (the fat will keep the dough from drying out). Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a warm place or on the counter for 1-2 hours, or until doubled in size.
  3. When the dough has risen, gently punch it to remove air. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions (each weighing 100 grams) and shape each one into a smooth ball. Arrange on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, keeping as much space between them as possible. Cover and let rest for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
  4. Meanwhile, set the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 400F/200C.
  5. Create an egg wash by mixing 1 egg with 1 tablespoon water and ½ teaspoon sugar. Gently brush the tops of the rolls with this mixture and sprinkle with sesame seeds if using. Bake for 15 minutes, until the tops have a deep brown color (if you didn’t use an egg wash the tops won’t get as dark). Allow pan to cool on a wire rack for 5 minutes, then transfer rolls to a wire rack to cool completely.
  6. Serve warm or at room temperature.
  7. Rolls are best the same day they are made, but can be frozen for up to 2 months.
Recipe Notes

*Lukewarm water/milk should be around 110F-115F. If you don’t have a thermometer, it should feel lukewarm to the touch. You can heat them up together in the microwave or on the stove. Make sure the mixture isn’t too hot or it will kill the yeast.

*For dairy-free buns, replace the milk with 1/2 cup lukewarm water for a total of 1 cup, and the butter with 1/4 cup canola/vegetable oil. It will be just as good!

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24 Comments

  • Reply
    Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits
    January 14, 2016 at 7:15 pm

    These hamburger buns look like perfection!

    • Reply
      Shiran
      January 16, 2016 at 3:42 am

      Thank you so much, Lisa 🙂

  • Reply
    nicole (thespicetrain.com)
    January 14, 2016 at 7:40 pm

    These buns look so beautiful and perfect, I’ll try your recipe next time! (My burger buns always end up looking blotchy for some reason…).

    • Reply
      Shiran
      January 16, 2016 at 3:41 am

      Thank you, Nicole! These are so perfect, you must try them!

  • Reply
    Tilly's Momma
    January 16, 2016 at 11:57 am

    I made these last night and set them in a cold room as I wanted to bake them for lunch today. I was VERY impressed with the dough. So easy to shape into rolls. I wanted to make “sliders” so I made smaller sizes and got 16 rolls from one batch! With poppy seeds atop they baked up so nice and soft to the touch. I have a crockpot of sloppy joe to feed hungry men today. Hoping they are as impressed with the rolls as I was with making them. I keep slapping my hands to keep from trying one but will wait till lunch is served. This is definitely pinned on my bread board! God Bless you for sharing….

    • Reply
      Shiran
      January 18, 2016 at 1:20 pm

      The dough is indeed dreamy to work with after the first rise! Thank you for your sweet comment, and I hope that all those hungry men were impressed with the rolls! 🙂

  • Reply
    Katherine Talley
    June 6, 2019 at 11:29 am

    I made the dairy-free version of these last night and they were delicious! My boyfriend kept eating them and asked to take the leftovers home! Thank you for this wonderful recipe!

  • Reply
    Andrea
    July 21, 2019 at 6:40 pm

    These turned out perfectly! I used the weight measurements in grams and topped some with sesame seeds and some with everything bagel seasoning. Thanks!

  • Reply
    Arnie Shuchat
    August 20, 2019 at 10:48 am

    Thank you for posting this. I have tried a few others but cannot seem to generate the store-bought lightness of the usual burger buns. Too stiff and the burger slides out…. Over the last while, my burger buns have morphed into my challah recipe divided into burger bun portions…and it looks pretty similar to your recipe. Part of the problem seems to be our desire to have a rushed product given that hamburgers are kind of a last minute, freezer type item. The truth is, as I have discovered, one cannot rush a good product. Mine came out just like yours in the pictures, but do you think it might help soften the texture with the following slight changes? 1. a half a tablespoon of lemon juice in the mix; 2. longer second rise time 3. slightly lower oven temperature? I bake my challah at 350 degrees F in a convection oven and I would change nothing…fluffy even with 50% whole wheat; Of course, challah is much larger, but hamburger buns are not traditionally crisp on the outside and perhaps it might yield a softer product? tks again.

  • Reply
    Thaiss
    April 3, 2020 at 2:08 pm

    These are the best buns you will ever try! So soft and airy, the fast food ones don’t compare to these. 10/10
    Thank you so much for sharing, Shiran!
    They’re heavenly!

    • Reply
      Shiran
      April 6, 2020 at 7:30 am

      I’m glad you like them! Thank you 🙂

  • Reply
    Miranda
    April 24, 2020 at 10:45 am

    Hi! These look so good and I needed a dairy free bun so this works perfectly. Just wondering if I can freeze these and use them a few days later? Are they just as good? Also, can I use active dry yeast? That’s all I have!

    • Reply
      Shiran
      May 11, 2020 at 5:34 am

      Hi Miranda. Active yeast would work, you can google it to see how it can be replaced properly (it needs to be activated first by mixing it with a liquid). And yes! I freeze all my breads for up to 2 months.

      • Reply
        Mark
        May 22, 2020 at 11:57 am

        I made these and they were amazing thank you! I wanted to know if I want to double the amount, do I need to double the yeast too or does that stay at 7g?

        • Reply
          Shiran
          May 24, 2020 at 12:51 pm

          Thank you, Mark! You’ll need to double the yeast 🙂

  • Reply
    Emil Alexandru
    June 11, 2020 at 4:32 am

    Hi, I am really glad I found your recipe. I think until now I used about 15 of them , all different by a bit. Most of them had a bit more flour than water, yours has more moisture.
    I made them baked them and they are the best i have ever made. Thank you.
    Might i also suggest 1 large spoon of YOGURT, will make it AMAZING!
    Also if you have an youtube channel i’d gladly subscribe.

    • Reply
      Shiran
      June 14, 2020 at 1:51 am

      Thank you so much Emil 🙂 unfortunately I currently don’t have a youtube channel.

  • Reply
    Da Cipriano
    October 9, 2020 at 8:47 am

    Hi. I really like your site and posts, the recipes and images are fantastic and inspiring. I will try it, they look delicious!! Keep up the good work and stay safe!! Da Cipriano

    • Reply
      Shiran
      October 13, 2020 at 10:30 am

      Thank you so much 🙂

  • Reply
    Janet Bedell
    April 26, 2021 at 2:20 pm

    Made them dairy free …..just perfect!

  • Reply
    Alicia
    September 16, 2021 at 3:07 pm

    These rolls are the bomb! Perfect for burgers or pulled pork. I follow the dairy free option. I’ve subbed both water and oat milk for the milk and oil and margarine for the butter and they come out amazing every time no matter which route I go.

  • Reply
    Chantel
    May 14, 2023 at 3:58 pm

    These were perfection.

    Curious if I could attempt them gluten free??

  • Reply
    Chantel
    May 17, 2023 at 5:17 pm

    Can you make these gluten free?

    • Reply
      Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet.
      May 21, 2023 at 3:52 pm

      Hi Chantel, I have not tried making these gluten free as the gluten is a major component in getting buns to be the perfect consistency. Please let me know if you find a good workaround using gluten free flour?

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