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    Home » Recipes

    Homemade Hamburger Buns from Scratch

    April 17, 2019 • Updated: January 6, 2022 • by Renée • This post may contain affiliate links.

    Jump to Recipe   Print Recipe
    How to Make Homemade Burger Buns, with recipes for "Cheese & Onion Buns" and "Cheesy Ranch Buns" | The Good Hearted Woman

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


    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 years, 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.

    This post may contain affiliate links, but don't worry - they won't bite.

    How to Make Homemade Hamburger Buns

    How to Make Homemade Burger Buns 

    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. 

    The recipe included on the recipe card below is one of our favorites; a basic sweet bread, made with egg and milk. It makes dependably soft, airy, golden hamburger buns and tastes delicious. 

    Make the 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. 
    Bread after first rise.

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

    Form the 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.

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

    Cutting dough to shape for buns.

    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 the 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.

    Buns proofing on baking sheet.

    (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 the Buns

    Put the tray of rolls in the oven and bake at 375º [177ºC] 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. 

    Sloppy Joes in homemade hamburger buns.
    How to Make Homemade Burger Buns, with recipes for "Cheese & Onion Buns" and "Cheesy Ranch Buns" | The Good Hearted Woman
    5 from 6 votes

    Soft, Airy Homemade Hamburger Buns

    Print Recipe Pin Recipe
    Course: Bread
    Cuisine: American
    Prep Time:1 hour 30 minutes
    Cook Time:20 minutes
    Proofing Time (2nd Rise):1 hour
    Total Time:2 hours 50 minutes
    Servings: 18 servings
    Calories: 146kcal
    Author: Renee

    Equipment

    • 1 Bread Machine or you can knead the dough by hand.
    • 1 Heavy Baking Sheet

    Ingredients

    US Customary - Metric
    • 1 ⅜ cups milk
    • 1 large egg
    • 4 ¼ cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
    • 3 tablespoons sugar
    • 1 ½ teaspoons salt
    • 2 tablespoons butter
    • ⅓ cup minced red onion optional
    • 2 teaspoons active dry yeast

    Instructions

    Make the 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 in the order shown into bread maker and set on Dough Setting. 
      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. 

    Form the Dough into 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, divide the dough into equal square portions.
      We often make a combination of sizes so that there is something for every appetite.
    • 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-patty 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 patty shape. Take care to not work the dough too much.

    Proof the 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 the Buns

    • Put the tray of rolls in the oven and bake at 375º [177ºC] 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.

    Notes

    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. Best used within three months. 

    Nutrition

    Serving: 1bun | Calories: 146kcal | Carbohydrates: 25g | Protein: 5g | Fat: 3g | Saturated Fat: 1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 1g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 16mg | Sodium: 218mg | Potassium: 75mg | Fiber: 1g | Sugar: 3g | Vitamin A: 85IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 29mg | Iron: 1mg
    This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. You are solely responsible for ensuring that any nutritional information provided is accurate, complete, and useful.
    Have you tried this recipe?Mention @TheGoodHeartedWoman or tag #thegoodheartedwoman!

    Buns out of the oven after baking.

    More Homemade Bread recipes from GHW:

    • Irish Soda Bread
    • Easy Sourdough Bread
    • Zucchini-Banana Bread
    • Pumpkin Gingerbread

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    How to Make Homemade Hamburger Buns

    Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, including Amazon affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click a link and purchase something that we have recommended. While clicking these links won't cost you any extra money, they do help keep this site up and running. As always, all opinions and images are my own. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details. Thank you for your support!

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    About Renée

    Renée is writer, music maker, artist, and storyteller. In her spare time, you can find her writing love songs about cowboys, exploring the moss-covered nooks and crannies of the Pacific Northwest, and making music with her talented singer-husband.

    Reader Interactions

    Comments

    1. Erin @ Platings and Pairings says

      April 23, 2019 at 12:30 pm

      5 stars
      I love the idea of making homemade burger buns! This for sure will just take any burger to the next level!

      Reply
    2. Waz says

      April 23, 2019 at 10:29 am

      Oooh, I've never made my own hamburger buns before. These look great, and the ingredients are so much better than so many store bought varieties. Definitely interested in giving it a try!

      Reply
    3. Cindy says

      April 22, 2019 at 9:24 pm

      These look super tasty! I'm having to monitor my carb intake, so I love the idea of being able to control the size of these for hamburgers this summer!

      Reply
    4. Hillary Knudsen says

      April 22, 2019 at 8:09 pm

      Cheese and onion burger buns sound absolutely incredible! Definitely going to make these for our burgers this summer!

      Reply
    5. Marlynn | Urban Bliss Life says

      April 22, 2019 at 12:33 pm

      5 stars
      Of course the poker guys all loved your buns! 😉 LOL that was cute! I don't eat hamburger buns at home, but my family does and I can't wait to try this. Thanks for the detailed instructions and options!

      Reply
    6. Catherine @ To & Fro Fam says

      April 22, 2019 at 12:26 pm

      I've never thought to make homemade hamburger buns, but I know I'd want to after reading the labels of store-bought, conventional ones. Yipes!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        April 22, 2019 at 12:38 pm

        I am to the point where I try to avoid buying processed/store breads of any kind anymore. Most have so many additives and preservatives. I find the fact that a loaf of store-bought bread can survive on the shelf for weeks at a time worrisome, to say the least.

        Reply
    7. Jackie says

      April 19, 2019 at 4:15 pm

      This is awesome! I find it sooo hard to simply buy a good hamburger bun. This solves the issue!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        April 19, 2019 at 7:07 pm

        Once you make them at home, it's hard to go back to the store shelf. They just taste so much better in every way.

        Reply
    8. Katie says

      April 19, 2019 at 4:01 pm

      These look awesome! I have never even made homemade bread before, but I'm tempted to try these today! Thank you for the yummy recipe!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        April 19, 2019 at 7:05 pm

        It's so easy!You should try it!

        Reply
    9. Sheila says

      April 19, 2019 at 3:32 pm

      These look amazing! Im not sure if I could do this but Im saving this receipe for Hubs. He loves to bake!

      Reply
    10. Jennifer says

      April 19, 2019 at 12:34 pm

      I love making things from scratch so this i have to try

      Reply
    11. Amanda says

      April 18, 2019 at 1:12 pm

      These buns look so great. Perfect for BBQ season!

      Reply
      • Renée ♥ says

        April 18, 2019 at 1:18 pm

        They are! I especially like them for big get-togethers: you can make them in different sizes to fit different appetites.

        Reply

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