Homemade Hamburger Buns from Scratch

Beautiful Homemade Burger Buns are easy to make! Use your favorite bread recipe; or try ours for dependably soft, airy, golden hamburger buns.

Jump to:

• What's the Story Behind this Recipe?
• What Goes into this Recipe
• How to Make Homemade Burger Buns
• Related Recipes
• Soft, Airy Homemade Hamburger Buns

What's the Story Behind this Recipe?

Every two weeks, Mr. B gathers with four or five of his buddies to play poker, catch up on life, and talk fish or sports or work or whatever. They've been doing this for nearly two decades, rotating houses and taking turns hosting. Whoever hosts usually provides at least a substantial snack, and more often, a full-on meal. 

I always try to make a good dinner for the guys. I've made these homemade hamburger buns for pulled pork sandwiches, and Sloppy Joes, and all sorts of other manwiches over the years. Each time I do, the first thing Mr B says to me at the end of the night is, "Baby, the guys all love your buns!"

Well, alrighty then.

What Goes into this Recipe

The burger bun recipe presented here are made with one of our favorite bread recipes; a basic, slightly sweet bread, made with egg and milk. It makes dependably soft, airy, golden hamburger buns that always taste delicious.

That said, you can make homemade hamburger buns from scratch using almost any bread recipe. We do find that egg-based breads result in softer, fluffier buns.

How to Make Homemade Burger Buns

Make Dough

Use our bread dough recipe below, or make your favorite bread dough and let it rise once. You can do this first step in a bread maker or by hand: either way works fine.

TIP: We often throw in a handful of finely chopped onion into the dough for a little extra flavor.

• Bread Machine: Layer ingredients into bread maker in the order shown on the recipe card. Set it to the Dough Setting, and have yourself a cup of Russian Tea. 
• Manual Kneading: Once you have mixed up your dough, transfer to a lightly-floured surface and knead for 6 to 8 minutes; until the dough is soft and slightly elastic. Place kneaded dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow dough to rise for about an hour; until it doubles in volume. 

You can find excellent general directions for making bread without a bread machine here.

Form Buns

After the dough has completed the Dough Cycle (or the first rise if you are kneading by hand) turn it out onto a lightly floured counter.

Using a pizza cutter or sharp knife, and divide the dough into equal square portions. You can also use a large round cutter to cut the buns.

We often make a combination of sizes so that there is something for every appetite.

TIP: Use a kitchen scale for uniform buns.

• Larger Buns: Allow about 3oz / 85gm of dough for each roll.
• Slider Buns: Allow about 1½oz / 42gm of dough for each roll.

Don’t stress if your little dough squares aren’t exactly the same. You can always take a bit from one and add it to another if you want.

Now you will have a counter full little square dough-patties, ready to set out for the second rise.

• For Square Buns: Continue to the next step.
• For Round Buns: Gently pull the four corners of each square dough-pattie together and pinch them together, and give the pinched portion a slight twist. Turn the pinched dough side down, and pat gently to form a round pattie shape. Take care to not work the dough too much.

Proof Buns (2nd Rise)

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat mat. Place the dough-patties at least 1 inch apart on the lined baking sheet. Cover with a towel, and set in a warm place to rise again for about an hour.

(Optional) Just before you put the dough-buns in the oven, brush the tops with an egg wash (1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon of water or milk).

Be gentle as you do this, taking care to not deflate the rolls in the process. If you want to make poppy or sesame seeds buns, sprinkle the seeds on top right after you brush them with the egg wash.

Bake & Serve

Put the tray of rolls in the oven and bake at 375º | 180ºC for 15-20 minutes (depending on size) or until slightly browned on top.

Remove from the oven and cool on wire rack.

To keep your buns soft, cover them with a clean kitchen towel immediately after they come out of the oven.

Allow the buns to cool on the tray for about 10 minutes, and then remove them to a wire rack to continue cooling. Keep them covered until you are ready to eat.

Now your buns are ready to slice, toast, and serve up with your favorite burger fixings.

As with all fresh, preservative-free bread, it’s best to eat your homemade burger buns within a day or two. Buns may also be frozen for later. 

Related Recipes

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