Between the first day of spring and the fact that high temperatures in Phoenix lately have been upwards of 90°F lately it only felt right to get a jump start on warmer weather recipes!
I couldn’t think of anything more perfect to share than a step-by-step tutorial with all the tips and tricks for how to make burger buns with my all-time favorite bun recipe. These homemade hamburger buns will seriously wow the pants off anyone who comes to your next BBQ. They elevate any burger to a whole other level.
The buns are light brioche in base which makes them incredibly light and fluffy yet rich and crusty on the outside. The perfect home for a burger! Watch the video below to see exactly how they’re made. Then check out my extra recipe notes below to answer any bread baking questions!
How to Make Homemade Burger Buns from Scratch
Here are some recipe tips to ensure your success!
How can I use active dry yeast instead of instant yeast?
Instant yeast and active dry yeast are interchangeable at a 1:1 ratio, active dry yeast just needs to be proofed with liquid before continuing with the recipe and may take longer to rise.
Why do you use bread flour in this recipe? Can I use all-purpose flour instead?
For best results, avoid replacing the bread flour with anything else. Bread flour has more protein content than all-purpose flour, which helps develop the gluten in the dough. Since gluten is the backbone of any bread’s structure and since we are adding ingredients that prohibit gluten development (butter, egg, sugar), this dough needs all the help it can get in developing the gluten.
Plus we want to make sure the buns keep a nice tall firm structure and don’t fall flat. These buns need to hold up to a juicy burger with all the fixins!
Can I knead this dough by hand without a mixer?
I would advice against kneading this dough by hand. It is on the sticky side and requires a lot of kneading to develop that gluten, it’s best done in a stand mixer with the dough hook attachment. However, if you must then check out my video tutorial on how to knead dough here.
How to make fluffy bread:
Avoid adding any extra flour to the dough. Since this dough takes quite a while to come together it’ll look really wet and sticky like it needs tons of extra flour. Any extra will create a more dense and tough bun instead of the light fluffy brioche-style bun we want.
It’s better to be sticky than dense. The sticky factor should continue to lessen as the dough is kneaded and as it rises. If the dough doesn’t seem like it’s coming together at all, let it rest for about 10 minutes before continuing kneading to relax the gluten.
How do I make these burger buns ahead of time?
To make the dough ahead of time, feel free to let the first rise of the dough occur in the fridge overnight. Let it come to room temperature before shaping into buns and proceeding with the second rise.
These buns can also be frozen! Bake the buns as directed, let cool completely, then place in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 1 month. Let defrost at room temperature before reheating in a 350°F oven until warmed or toasting.
Hi, Tessa,
Looking good! BTW, on really wet, sticky dough, you can greatly improve the mixing by…
1. starting with the paddle for 1 – 2 minutes or so just to bring the dough together and get all the flour moistened
2. letting the dough rest in the mixer for 15 minutes or so to let the flour hydrate and absorb some of the liquid. Note – resting is pretty lenient – as little as 5 minutes will help and the dough can sit for up to 30 without issues.
Then, when you switch to the dough hook after resting, things come together much better. You can develop the gluten faster with less mixing (and thus less oxidation).
Also, please consider including ingredient weights in addition to volume on bread recipes. There can be an enormous difference in actual flour for something like ‘3 cups of flour’ when you use volume measurements. I’ve found weighing ingredients is the single most important thing home bakers can do to improve their results and consistency.
Just a thought. Keep up the great work!
Paul
Thanks for the helpful tips Paul! The weights are included for relevant ingredients in the recipe 🙂
Thanks for the weights on the dry ingredients BUT U.S. cups are smaller than CDN cups so if you could add that to your recipe that would be great. Even using ml would be better but grams are the best as we are weighing the dry anyways.
I’ve puzzled over many recipes because of this when they don’t turn out as expected.
People starting out dont necessarily realize that US cups are different from their own.
Thanks for this recipe!
Forget the burger, I’d eat these buns by themselves!!
Haha!! Thanks Kristan 🙂
I’m in AZ too, Tessa! And yes, it’s time to fire up the grill. I’ve come to realize that the bun is just as important as the burger itself, and these look amazing. I cannot wait to try them. Love your recipes!
How did I not realize you’re in AZ?! So awesome! Hopefully we can meet sometime 🙂
These look delicious! Is it possible to use at least part whole wheat bread flour and extra gluten? I feel like I’m failing a bit health-wise when I eat white bread.
Hi Leslie! I actually have published a whole wheat version and linked to it in this post but here’s the link again: https://handletheheat.com/whole-wheat-burger-buns/
These buns are fantastic, store-bought can’t even begin to compare!
These look so good – I shared the link with my readers in my July 4th meal planning post today!
Can I use my bread machine to do the mixing?
Thanks for the wonderful recepie
I love this recipe!
I made them today for the first time.
I did leave them to proof too long at the bun stage so I had to re-roll and re-prove ( they dropped to a flat stage but the kids had swimming so what is is) but they still worked! And they were delish. I need them for a killer burger for sat night so
I’ll try again tomorrow and make sure I don’t over prove them.
Will def share your link on my page too.
All the best for the new year!!!
And thanks for a great recipe.
Rx
Thanks for the recipe and all the tips! Those buns will be perfect for the two-way salmon burger I have in mind 😀
I tried these today, and they are gone! Too good to even hold one day 🙂 Thanks for this recipe, I love trying bread recipe and I must say your burger buns are the best I’ve tried so far!
So glad to hear it, Anja!
I made these today and they are beautiful and tasty! Thanks for the recipe.
Yay! Thanks for commenting, Katie 🙂
How do you cut them?
Just cut them in half with a serrated knife 🙂
These were AMAZING! Thank you for the recipe. My husband literally asked me if I could make these regularly.
Yay, Tisa! That’s awesome!!
Hello, I’m Noor. Just now I’ve watched Burger Bun making . I really enjoyed it. I need to more, ie. i want to learn the secret of BAKING. Let me learn from you. Have a nice day.
Hi, Tessa, I’m Noor. Just now I’ve watched your Burger Bun video. I really enjoyed. I need to learn more. I wanna have the secret of Baking. Please let me learn . I’m crazy about baking. Thank you so much. Have a nice day.
I followed the directions exactly. Only difference is I have a hand mixer with two dough hooks instead of a stand mixer.
My dough after I let it rise the first time, was still very wet and sticky which was not able to be used. Any suggestions??
Thanks!!
I had the same problem. The flour weights listed are not correct. I had to add almost a cup of flour. However, these rolls where awesome!
I will make them again and will weigh out what I will add and post an update.
This is approx 56% hydration (weight of water/weight of flour as a %). I would guess you aren’t used to this level of hydration. Just work with the sticky dough as written and try not to add extra flour. Tessa is bang on with this one ✔
Made these yesterday, instrctions were spot on! We used them for beef dips and I can’t describe how perfect and delicious they were! Tonight we are using them for burgers. I very seldom eat bread or buns but had a whole one last night and plan to again tonight. Thanks Tessa for a fool proof recipe and video!
Hello,
I just wanted to thank you for this amazing recipe. I love making things from scratch and I have used your recipe on multiple occasions and each time they come out better than before. Just to let other readers know; it is possible to knead the dough by hand and get good results. It takes around 8-10 minutes of kneading and then make sure to let the dough prove for a good 2-2.5 hours and then let the second proving be a full hour. I wish I owned a stand mixer to see how the buns turn out that way!
Awesome recipe! Thank you Tessa!
I discovered I had no buns in the freezer today so decided to give your recipe a try! Wow! So much better than anything I’ve ever had before and easy too! It was so hot here today the rise time was cut in half, so fast too. I made them a bit bigger because our burgers are big too so 7 instead of 8 with each dough ball weighing 122 grams. Perfect size for our burgers. Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Hi, Tessa — love your recipes and especially the scientific reasoning behind your choices, which really helps me to learn more about the craft of baking! I just have one question before I try these gorgeous-looking buns.
As a Canadian baker, I’ve learned that our all-purpose flour is higher in protein than yours in the US (about 12-14% protein compared to your 9-12%). Do I need to use any bread flour in this recipe if I’m using Canadian AP?
Thanks!
Thanks to Nida who just answered my problem. Tessa, I don’t have a stand mixer with dough hook and was concerned if these buns could be hand kneaded. Maybe one day I will own one, we’ll hope. Thanks for all of your great recipes.
Oh! It is very awesome. I really love it (:
Have you tried first stage in a bread maker?
Best recipe for hamburger buns by far.
It is very forgiving, and freezes very well. My wife will no longer eat store bought buns….and neither will I.
Thanks a lot
Glen
Hi Tessa,
I just made these burger buns and they came out light and fluffy. I quadrupled the recipe. I got a bit concerned and did add about 4 tbsp of more flour. I will surely make them again. Thanks for your website and recipes!
Can I use all purpose flour instead of bread flour
Thank you for this winner !
I tried many recipes and they were all too cake like and fell apart when slicing
these came out perfect !
My Chihuahuas give a paws up !!
keep up the good work on the best website ever.
james
Buns are browning! I have followed the recipe exactly as instructed… any tip for this please
Was not expecting what I actually tasted!! The dough was so sticky. Watching them rise was absolutely bakers excitement!! The rolls were the hit of the night.. I made southern crispy chicken and the bread was a perfect fit!! I LOVE THIS BREAD!! Thank you for sharing this.
you have not mentioned the quantity of butter in the recipe.Kindly update the same
Have not tried them yet, but my question is, Does it make a differenc if I use the bread enhancer in thes, or is it overkill?
Thanks for answering.
If by enhancer, you mean gluten then no it’s not . I used ap flour and added 6t of gluten (2t per cup of ap) and they turned out great.
Great recipe. So easy to follow. Buns turned out excellent.
Thank you.
Can you overknead this dough? I have kneaded it to 12mins and it’s still very sticky and cant hold the strands, how long more can i knead it
You may need to add more flour, especially if it’s a hot & humid day!
Hi Tessa
Made these today. In steps I added a fold step 1 hr into proof as it seemed a little loose. Then let proof another hour. That brought it together. I also added a bench rest for 15 minutes after dividing before creating the final product. Then let proof 90 min. Baked at 400 and added some steam at the beginning.
Final product very good.
Could you give Baker’s percent for this recipe?
Turned out great. I over-proofed them though so you might call them “gigantico” buns. Extremely sticky but did not add extra flour per above. I’m used to very wet dough and this was among the wettest. Just so you know.
We got unexpectedly hot weather (30oC) today and they were proofed in the sunroom I set the timer for 60 min and checked at 50. BIG!!
Very tender and look perfect (although too big)
Great recipe..
Tessa, these buns look wonderful! We like bigger burger buns (pardon the alliteration!) — can I make just 6 portions and bake them a little longer? If so about how much longer? Thanks!
Be careful if you make them bigger. Might be bigger than you want when fully risen/done. Time should be about the same, maybe a minute more (and that’s a big maybe). Check the tops if you bake longer so they don’t get too browned (burnt??).
its really helpful for me thank you.
Len, you are absolutely right. I’ve followed the recipe exactly as is twice with great success. The buns are the perfect size the way they are – they’re heroic! No need to make them any bigger. Thanks to Tessa for this marvellous recipe.
Tessa, these buns are FANTASTIC – so buttery and light yet sturdy enough to withstand burger toppings!!! My hubby is very particular about the texture of bread and he can’t stop complimenting me on my perfect buns (no pun intended). Thank you for this easy, yet foolproof, recipe (I followed it exactly as written) and helpful video. This is my forever ‘go to’ bun recipe. I want to make them for EVERYBODY!!!!
hi Tessa
I have made this burger recipe twice as written. Once i let it rise 2 hours and the other for 1 1/2 hours . I did not add any extra flour . both times though the buns did not retain their ‘bun like” shape. they went flat and thin.
can you tell me what I might have done wrong? thanks
I’m not Tessa but offer the following:
1)yeast not fresh
2)water/milk was too hot when yeast was proofed (should be no warmer than 105F)
3)salt will kill yeast BUT when mixed in the proper order, there is no issue.
Do you use a thermometer to check the heat level of liquids before mixing the yeast in?
My guess is reason 1 or 2 .
thanks very much for your assistance. i do check the temperature of the milk/water when i use yeast and i do keep yeast in frig and was still before the ‘best before date” , however- because i was using Instant Yeast per the recipe, i was guided by the label’s recommended temperature which is higher than your recommended 105. the dough still rose to double its size though.
anyway i will try again but keep the water/milk at 105 and see if that helps.
thanks again for commenting.
Watch how tessa shapes the buns, she’s building tension in the dough so they retain their shape. Hope this helps
Thank you so much for this tutorial. I was looking for easy to follow recipe to make home made burger buns. This is really good .
Hi Tessa, When you show the conversion from cups to grams, are you weighing your cups of flour or using a conversion chart.
Can you use all bread flour? What would be the difference?
Would be a hell of a lot easier if this was fully metric.. working off what’s there I get a dough so sticky it’s impossible to touch let alone shape. However with slightly more flour I get amazing buns.
I cook and bake a lot and have always had a passion for making bread as my dad frequently made bread when I was growing up. Despite that fact for some reason I never tackled burger buns until I found this recipe. Never going back to store bought! They are absolutely delicious! Whenever buns or rolls are needed I’m always asked to make these so they’re a big hit with my family and friends too. I’ve used this recipe dozens of times and it has always gone well- going to try to shape them into hot dog buns for dinner tonight!
It was very clear and easy to fallow the instructions for me ( a first time baker). The buns were perfect and tasty! Thank you.
South Africa currently is in lockdown, which means that I’m at home with my family.
We were talking about what to do with a packet of mince. I’d previously cooked lasagne (which wasn’t as good as my mom’s, because that is the nature of lasagne) and a spaghetti bolognese.
It was time for a change, so I suggested burgers. It is a beautiful autumn day in South Africa, which means its warmer outside than in and we’re past the point of getting covered in bugs.
Now what lockdown out here entails is – no cigarettes. I don’t smoke, my brother does. He’s just spent a few weeks without cigarettes, and has started getting creative with a nearby bamboo patch and an icing nozzle.
He’s been a bit tense over this whole thing.
So anyway, the decision was burgers, but we didn’t have rolls, but my family seems to have the last box of yeast in the area. Some nations panic bought toilet rolls, mine panic bought stuff for baking. Seen as I had that yeast, I figured I should do something with it,I Googled “Ultimate burger rolls”, I landed up here.
Lunch was all smiles. Major props to Tessa, awesome recipe.
I am a complete beginner when it comes to bread making. I messed this up twice. First time I didn’t knead it enough. Second time there was too much flour. Third time I finally nailed it! Thank you for such an AWESOME recipe! It was so good!
Wonderful recipe. For Canadian fans of Tessa – our flour is different! The recipe says not to substitute the bread flour for all purpose. With the Covid-19 pandemic and flour shortages, I didn’t have much choice, but I remembered reading about differences between Canadian and American flours so I did a little research. Turns out that American all purpose flour is 8-11% protein, and American bread flour is 12-14% protein but Canadian all purpose flour is about 13% flour. I checked the labelling on my flour, and sure enough it has 13% protein content. So I used my all purpose Robin Hood flour for the whole 425 g of flour in the recipe and the buns were spectacular! I’m just getting into bread making, so my success had nothing to do with my baking skills. Thank you Tessa, for the wonderful recipes and fantastic instructions.
AMAZING!!! (≧∇≦)b (≧∇≦)b Even as just bread its delish!
what is the size of one bun?
I halved this recipe as I only needed 2 (I still made extra!). It was extremely fluffy and yet held together and had a really nice chew to it. The burger was delicious with this bun! Thank you for the recipe, and I will definitely be making them again!
I don’t think I would buy a store brought bun from now. A recipe and tips like this always make us motivated. Looking forward for more in future. Thank you.
Hey Tessa
Love this recipe – it just works.
It’s become a household staple – we always have to some in reserve in the freezer over here in the UK.
I’m going to try the wholemeal version next.
I made these on a gorgeous sunny day in the UK. They turned out perfectly and my husband said he loved them! The only thing I would say is that I think the dough was very tricky to handle because when I made it up, it was very sticky, even after machine kneading, resting and kneading again for a lot longer than 10 minutes. I think this may have been because I was using UK cup sizes. My cup says 250ml. I looked up US cup sizes and it said 237 ml, so perhaps I added too much water. It could be helpful to have all of the ingredients written in grammes and millilitres. However, knowing a bit about bread making, wetter is better, so I just carried on and the baked buns were just as the recipe said, fluffy yet slightly rich. Delicious.
Thank you Tessa.
Hi, i made this and it is very good recipe and thaks a lot
These are hands down the best burger buns EVER. I’ve made them countless times over the past few months and everyone who’s tasted them can’t believe they’re homemade. I totally agree with the person who said she’d eat the buns by themselves sans burger. Yes, they are that good! Thank you x100000 for this amazing recipe.
I’ve made this recipe countless times and it’s perfect! I finally invested in some burger bun pans (King Arthur Flour) since I make buns quite often. There’s no going back to store bought once you try these. Thank you for another great recipe!
Turned out very well
Thank you so much for doing this recipe in cups vs grams. I don’t have a scale but I do have measuring cups. I will be trying this weekend. And thank you for the video showing the steps!
Finally made these! It’s no exaggeration that the dough is sticky! Didn’t spend time shaping them, so they’re not perfectly round, but they’re light and beautifully brown. I added no extra flour except on my hands before cutting and putting them on baking sheets. One substitution I used was coconut cream in place of whole milk. I also sprinkled seaweed flakes with the sesame seeds on top for more color. Will be making these again!
Have made these wonderful buns many times now, and they are a huge hit. Question for Tessa or her fans: Can I divide the dough into 12 or 16 for little slider buns? If so, should I adjust the baking time? Thanks everyone, very much!
These are PHENOMENAL. My husband let me know that I can go ahead and make them every week for his work sandwiches. 🙂 Thank you for all of your recipes. They always come out great.
Burger buns are so good homemade! Thanks, Tessa!
Followed the recipe exactly and let the stand mixer so all the hard work. I did not add al the flour all at once to ensure the right consistency and ended up needing just a bit less than the recipe calls for. It was a particularly humid day and that can affect the ratios. Thanks for a great recipe! I have a picture but don’t see a way to attach it.
Oh my gosh. I have made these many times, and every time I make them I love this recipe even more. Absolutely delicious. And the leftovers (and these days, a household of two has leftovers) freeze beautifully. We use them as burger buns, but also just as sandwich buns, with any kind of filling. Thank you Tessa. Great recipe, and great instructions!
Yay! I’m so glad you loved this recipe!!
This is the second recipe for burger buns that I tried so far and now i’m finally satified. They are extremaly tasty, my husband was very happy with burgers he made with them.
They are very delicious even with butter only.
Yay! So glad you love these burger buns!
I never leave reviews…ever, but I have to for this one. I have been trying to get a bun recipe that works for my burgers and when I found this one (two flours and butter cut at the end) I knew I was in for something good.
Made this in dry Alberta, Canada and it turned out fantastic. This is the bun recipe I have been looking for.
No weighing at all, just straight measurements and this is the first recipe I have seen that needed zero alterations. I usually go to war with many recipes in my kitchen (I spent a year nailing down angel food cake), but this one just worked.
Everyone was blown away by these. I made the same burgers I always do and only changed the bun and everyone said it was my best burger ever. Now I have to start looking at your other recipes.
Thanks for this!
This makes me so incredibly happy! I’m so thrilled these burger buns were a hit. Thank YOU for the kind feedback, Kevin!
I’ve made these twice, and even after eating them with sloppy Joe’s, my family will finish off the remaining buns with some Kerrygold. So good!
I’m so glad you and your family have been enjoying these buns! Hooray!
I have recently received a silicon hamburger bun pan. I bake by weights not volumes. What is the weight of each dough bun? Thanks.
Don: I make these buns all the time. Tessa’s recipe indicates that it gives 8 buns, but I find those too big for our purposes, so I usually make about 10 from each recipe. The actual weight will vary each time. Just take the weight of the whole ball of dough (remember to subtract the weight of your bowl), and then divide it by the number of buns you want. I find that when I make them, anything from 70 – 90 grams of dough makes a size that works for me and I get 10 or 11 buns from the recipe.
Great recipe! The buns turned out fluffy and about twice the size I had envisioned. 🙂
I ended up using 4 cups of bread flour and no AP flour at all.
So glad you tried these buns out!
The best recipe ever. Can you make a loaf of bread with this recipe?
Hi Joni, I’m so glad you love these burger buns! I haven’t tried baking these into a loaf, and I’m not sure that would turn out. You can check out my Ultimate Simple Dough recipe, which includes instructions for how to make a loaf of sandwich bread: https://handletheheat.com/ultimate-simple-dough-recipe/
Thank you. I have used your Hamburger bun recipe and nothing compares. I will check out the ultimate dough recipe. Does that make a soft loaf. So many bread recipes for bread are heavy and not light that’s why I thought about the hamburger bun recipe but, I will check this out.
It does make a soft loaf! I hope you give it a try!
Great recipe! Great explanation too. I made some buns last night and it came out beautiful soft and better than store bought.. Thank you so much and may God bless you
Thank you for posting this great recipe for hamburger buns. The recipe was easy to follow and the video on “how to” was great to watch prior to baking. You do a great job of explaining your recipes. I will say that a “store bought” hamburger bun will never grace my home again!
I have made these 3 times and the last time I made 32 for a gathering. Unbelievable. Fantastic. I tried forming into a loaf and also amazing. After forming into a ball I flattened them a little. Gorgeous. Thank you
Amazing!! I’m so thrilled to hear this, Vivian 🙂
They turned out! Not quite as evenly dark as yours, but just as light and fluffy and pillowy soft. I was worried, as the dough never really seemed to “come together.” The beautiful lump that I started kneading (in my Kitchen Aid mixer), quickly turned soft – almost like batter. I tried the 10-minute rest and more kneading. I eventually added another 3 to 4 tablespoons of flour (my altitude should handle it, I hoped), and increased the speed a notch.
We did not have instant yeast on hand, so I started the dry yeast with water and sugar for 5 minutes. I used the King Arthur altitude tips of reducing the yeast and making a “sponge” of the yeast, milk, balance of the water, and 127 grams of bread flour, letting it “work” for a few hours in the refrigerator. Then I mixed egg and sugar, added the sponge, and continued with the rest of the flour, and finally the salt and the butter. My butter may not have come fully to room temperature.
Finally, though – I didn’t give up! – the dough began to show some “windowpaning” in the bowl. I started tearing off pieces – there was no way that dough was going to let me cut it into 8ths – and rolling into (uneven) rounds for the final rise. Some egg wash and sesame seeds, a slightly warmer oven (405°), and 12 minutes later a gorgeous set of burger buns. (Photos are on instagram @doulosg.)
Thanks for a great recipe!
Yay! I’m glad they still turned out well for you! They looked absolutely delicious on IG, I’m so happy you enjoyed them 🙂
This bread mixture is way too wet. I’ll cut down on the water next time but it was way too sticky to even work with.