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.
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.
Would you like to save this recipe?
We'll email this recipe link to you, so you can come back to it later!
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.
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.
UPDATE: I have created another recipe for sandwich buns that keeps them fresh for days after baking as well as a whole wheat version. The super soft bun recipes have become my preferred bun recipe when I need already baked buns days ahead of time without going stale.
How to form hamburger buns (VIDEO)
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!
- Super soft sandwich buns – white buns or wheat buns.
Hamburger Buns (with dairy-free option)
Ingredients
- 3 ¾ cups (450 g/16 oz) all-purpose flour, plus more as needed
- 3 tablespoons (40 g/1.5 oz) granulated sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 g/0.25 oz) instant dry yeast
- ½ cup (120 ml) lukewarm water*
- ½ cup (120 ml) lukewarm milk*
- 1 large egg
- ¼ cup (55 g/2 oz) unsalted butter, softened or melted
- 1 ¼ teaspoons salt
For topping:
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- Sesame seeds or poppy seeds , optional
Instructions
-
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.
-
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.
-
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. Start by pinching together the corners to form a ball with a smooth top. Roll the ball gently on the countertop with your hand cupped over it, pinched side down to create 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.
-
Meanwhile, set the oven rack to the middle position and preheat to 400℉/200℃.
-
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 or poppy 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.
-
Serve warm or at room temperature.
-
Buns 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 water for a total of 1 cup liquid, and the butter with ¼ cup canola/vegetable oil.
*For the soft version of these buns that stays fresh for days, here is the soft sandwich bun recipe and soft sandwich whole wheat bun recipe.
Lisa @ Healthy Nibbles & Bits says
These hamburger buns look like perfection!
Shiran says
Thank you so much, Lisa 🙂
nicole (thespicetrain.com) says
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…).
Shiran says
Thank you, Nicole! These are so perfect, you must try them!
Tilly's Momma says
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….
Shiran says
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! 🙂
Katherine Talley says
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!
Andrea says
These turned out perfectly! I used the weight measurements in grams and topped some with sesame seeds and some with everything bagel seasoning. Thanks!
Arnie Shuchat says
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.
Thaiss says
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!
Shiran says
I’m glad you like them! Thank you 🙂
Miranda says
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!
Shiran says
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.
Mark says
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?
Shiran says
Thank you, Mark! You’ll need to double the yeast 🙂
Emil Alexandru says
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.
Shiran says
Thank you so much Emil 🙂 unfortunately I currently don’t have a youtube channel.
Da Cipriano says
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
Shiran says
Thank you so much 🙂
Janet Bedell says
Made them dairy free …..just perfect!
Alicia says
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.
Chantel says
These were perfection.
Curious if I could attempt them gluten free??
Chantel says
Can you make these gluten free?
Stephanie @ Pretty.Simple.Sweet. says
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?