Tessa's Recipe Rundown
Taste: The perfect potato burger bun.
Texture: Simultaneously light yet sturdy enough to hold any burger perfectly!
Ease: Pretty easy, though this dough is slightly sticky.
Pros: SO much better than store-bought.
Cons: None.
I make this again? Yes! This is one of my go-to burger bun recipes.
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These Potato Burger Buns are the perfect canvas for burgers, breakfast sandwiches, fried chicken, pulled pork, or any type of sandwich.
I really love a good potato roll. There’s something special about combining starchiness with carbs that just makes me happy.
Before I got to work on this recipe, I’d never made a Potato Burger Bun before! After eating a particularly spectacular breakfast sandwich on a potato bun at a local restaurant, I knew I needed to recreate this at home.
Since that time, I’ve been completely ruined for store-bought Potato Burger Buns, because these are just so. much. better.
I hope you’ll give these Potato Burger Buns a try for your next BBQ, cookout, or just for your lunchtime sandwich!
Sprinkle of Science
How to Make Potato Burger Buns
What Type of Flour for Potato Burger Buns?
- This Potato Burger Buns recipe calls for both all-purpose flour and bread flour.
- The bread flour provides a nice chewiness, and creates a well-structured bun that can stand up to the juiciest of burgers.
- If you don’t have bread flour, you can use only all-purpose (a total of 3 cups of all-purpose flour) – just note that your dough will take longer to knead and longer to rise, and your buns will be softer and less sturdy.
- Measure your flour carefully. I highly recommend using a digital kitchen scale for accuracy, but if you don’t have one, be sure to use the spoon and level method to ensure you’re not accidentally compacting too much flour in your measuring cups. Learn more about how to measure correctly here.
What Type of Yeast for Potato Burger Buns?
I always use instant yeast (also called rapid-rise or quick-rise) because it doesn’t require any proofing, and can simply be added in with the rest of the ingredients.
Feel free to use regular active dry yeast instead (1:1 ratio). Combine the active dry yeast with the warm water for 5 minutes, or until frothy, and then proceed with the recipe. Note: the dough may take a little more time to rise.
The Potato
No need for weird or difficult-to-source ingredients like potato flakes or potato flour here! We’re using fresh potato, cooked until very tender, that we’ll allow to completely cool before peeling and mashing well (just don’t add milk, cream, etc). I love to use my potato ricer for perfectly smooth mashed potato.
Do I Have to Add Sugar? Are These Potato Burger Buns Sweet?
This recipe calls for 3 tablespoons of brown sugar, which gives these Potato Burger Buns a beautiful and complex hint of sweetness. If you don’t want any sweetness, feel free to reduce the sugar to 2 tablespoons. Don’t eliminate it entirely, as this little bit of sugar assists in creating tender buns that brown nicely in the oven. Learn more about sugar’s role in baking here.
Egg & Butter
The egg and the melted butter called for in this recipe help to add flavor, richness, and a soft and tender texture. You can also brush the baked potato buns with a bit of melted butter for more flavor and sheen, if you’d like.
Can I Knead the Dough By Hand?
Yes! I call for a stand mixer to make easy work of kneading in this Potato Burger Buns recipe, but you can also knead by hand. Be sure to knead the dough properly, until the dough is smooth and elastic, to get buns that hold their shape and bake up nice and fluffy. You can see my full tutorial on how to knead dough here.
Help! My Dough is Sticky!
This dough should be on the sticky side, as this creates soft, light buns. Your instinct might be to add extra flour; however, any extra flour will create a denser, tougher bun instead of the light, fluffy, soft burger bun we want. Instead, dampen your hands with water to make it easier to portion and shape your buns, without the dough sticking to your hands.
How to Shape Potato Buns
- Once the dough has risen, press it down to gently deflate.
- Place the dough onto a clean surface (not a floured surface).
- Use a bench scraper to section the dough into 6 equal pieces. Feel free to eyeball it, but if you’re a perfectionist like me, weigh the entire mass of dough, divide that number by 6, then portion each piece perfectly by weight.
- As you’re shaping each piece into a round, make sure to pinch the dough into one central point to create a tight ball. This will help the buns rise beautifully. Don’t flour your work surface when shaping the buns because you want some resistance to roll them into taut balls.
Can I Make These Potato Burger Buns Ahead of Time?
Yes! After kneading, refrigerate the dough in a large bowl covered well with plastic. Once you’re ready to proceed with the recipe, remove the dough from the fridge. Punch it down and allow it to rest and warm up to room temperature before shaping into buns, about 1 hour. The final rise may take a bit longer since the dough might still be cool.
Can I Freeze Potato Burger Buns?
Yes! Freeze Potato Burger Buns inside an airtight container for up to 2 months. Defrost to room temperature then reheat in a 300°F oven or toast before adding your favorite toppings and serving.
More Recipes You’ll Love:
- Homemade Burger Buns
- Copycat Hawaiian Rolls
- Ultimate Dinner Rolls
- Focaccia Bread
- No Knead Rosemary Parmesan Skillet Bread
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Ingredients
For the dough:
- 2 cups (255 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1 cup (128 grams) bread flour
- 1/2 cup plain mashed potato*
- 1/4 cup (35 grams) nonfat dry milk
- 3 tablespoons light brown sugar
- 1 1/4 teaspoons fine sea salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 teaspoons instant yeast
- 4 tablespoons (58 grams) unsalted butter, melted
- 1 cup (227 grams) lukewarm water, between 105° and 120°F
For the topping:
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine all the ingredients. Stir until combined. Turn the mixer on medium low speed and knead until a soft yet tacky dough forms, about 5 minutes.
- Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it’s almost doubled.
- Turn the dough onto a lightly greased surface, gently deflate it, and divide it into 6 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball.
- Place the balls on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving about 2 to 3 inches between each ball. Cover and let rise until the buns have doubled in size, about 45 to 60 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.
- Bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes, or until light golden brown. Remove them from the oven and brush with melted butter, if desired.
- Transfer the buns to a rack to cool. Store buns, well-wrapped, at room temperature for up to 2 days or freeze inside an airtight container for up to 2 months. Defrost to room temperature then reheat in a 300°F oven or toast.
Helo,
Really to ur site its educating
Pls wats u ask a question.
Am living in nigeria and only hv all purpose flour here.
Is it okay is use it only in make the potatoes burger burns?
Can I ask about the dry milk. Is that the same as a milk powder?
Why do americans always add sugar to bread?
Tastes here are very accustomed to things being on the sweet side. Sugar can also help to activate the yeast in a recipe. However, feel free to leave it out!
Tessa.. I made another batch today. It has become second nature for me to add more flour or less moisture since moving to the west coast from Denver (dry climate) This is probably why my buns were so much bigger. With todays batch I held back water as it mixed. The weight of the batch of dough was much less and my bun size is smaller. So your recommendation was likely spot on.
These are the absolute best buns I have ever made. It has officially bumped my previous recipe. The buns do turn out to be huge. I think anywhere between 8 to 10 buns would be more standard size. I also have used this to make cinnamon rolls and they are out of this world! Thank you!
Wonderful, Alisa! I’m so happy to hear that! And thanks for providing your feedback on the size 🙂
very nice, Tessa. Thank You.
I have never thought of using potatoes for my bread. I think that using potatoes is a great way to make your flour last longer. I appreciate how simple you made this recipe.
This was really useful, thank you!
Can I use potato flakes instead of mashed potato and milk instead of water?
Thanks
Hi. I love your site – and this recipe looks amazing. Two questions: I live abroad and can’t get bread flour or nonfat dry milk. Any way I could still make these, or should I add it to my “oh well” list? Thanks!
You can use regular flour if you can’t get bread flour. And you can use regular milk (same amount), but you may need to increase the flour to balance the extra moisture. Good luck!
When it says,1/4 cup nonfat dry milk, is that flakes or liquid?
Powder: http://amzn.to/1VC6KiL
Love all your detail on this! Also love your inspiration coming from a restaurant! It happens to us all at one point or a million 😉 and it’s the best!