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.
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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
Potato Burger Buns
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 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.
Hey Handle the Heat,
Love the recipe and the buns taste amazing, but, like one other commenter…the dough comes out like batter, doesn’t rise, and forms into one big round puddle.
I’m following the recipe to a ‘T’ and wondering it that may be the problem…
The problem in that I know there’s too much moisture given the extreme sticky texture of the dough.
Given the flour ratios – should I add less water?
Or if I stick to 1 cup of water and add more flour, which of the 2 flour types would it be better to add?
Thanks a bunch for the great recipe and helping with the troubleshooting.
Sorry you’ve had issues with your buns! I’ve tested this recipe extensively and would love to help you figure out what’s wrong. This dough is more like batter than a dough, and it is on the sticky side. Too much flour can lead to dense and tough bread, so I’d be a little leery of adding extra flour to combat the stickiness; however, you’re welcome to experiment on your own! I haven’t had any issues with these buns rising, did you check your yeast to make sure it’s still good? Were your mashed potatoes or melted butter too hot?
Thanks for getting back 🙂
And you’re absolutely correct in saying that the dough is more like a batter as that’s basically what I get each time.
Yeast is brand new and well within its expiration date.
Mashed potatoes were cold and melted butter was as lukewarm as the water.
So now that’s outta the way, the other big question I have is, how do you get your buns to form like you have in the pictures above? Because with the batter like consistency there’s no way I was able to form anything into something remotely looking like a ball. I did consider 4″ spring form pans…but any insight you have is most welcomed.
Thanks so much again!
I know that you really hate the idea of substituting ingredients. However, powdered milk is not a product that I ever have. The last time I purchased it for a recipe, I ended up throwing most of it out. I really do hate waste. Any suggestions on how I can make this recipe??
I haven’t tried substituting, but I’m thinking you could try using regular milk (same amount) instead. You’ll either need to increase the flour to balance the extra moisture or reduce the water. Again, not sure the exact amounts because I haven’t tested this, but it should work. Let me know how it goes!
♀️! Can I use full fat dry milk? That’s what I have on hand. Don’t want to buy more before I use up of what I have. TIA
I honestly haven’t tried that, but you’re welcome to! Let me know how it goes!
Hi can you use wheat flour instead of all purpose flour?
I haven’t tried that, so I can’t say for sure! I talk about why I use the specific flours I chose in the Tips section above the recipe 🙂
Do u put the 4 tblap of butter in the buns or is it for greasing the tops of bun? I didn’t put it in , could I add the second rising.?
Hi Barb, you are supposed to combine ALL of the ingredients together in the beginning of the recipe, as directed 🙂 The butter needs to be mixed in fully with the other ingredients at the beginning, and you definitely don’t want to mess with the rise of your buns. If you add the butter after the second rising, not only might you have a difficult time mixing it in fully, but it will deflate your buns completely, and they will have a hard time rising again. Let me know how it goes!
These look great! Would love to give them a try, but was wondering if I could substitute the same amount of fresh milk for the dry milk, then reduce the water by 1/4 cup to account for the additional liquid. What do you think?
I haven’t tested that, but I believe that should work! Let me know how your burger buns turn out!
You can use fresh milk as a substitute for the dry milk. Just be sure to heat the milk and then let it cool. The technique is to ‘scald’ the milk.
https://www.thekitchn.com/scalding-milk-is-it-really-nec-112360
In bread making, scalding the milk serves a more scientific purpose. The whey protein in milk can weaken gluten and prevent the dough from rising properly. Scalding the milk deactivates the protein so this doesn’t happen.
My dough was SO sticky even after the first proofing. My buns did not rise in the oven at all. Even with second proofing they seemed to spread more flat than up. Any tips? My second proof was only 45 min so maybe that’s why? Was worried about over proofing.
These are the best burger/sandwich/anything buns I’ve made!
So glad to hear that!
Hi! Thank you so much for the recipe.
Is there anything I can replace the egg with? Or can I just skip the egg?
These are outstanding. Lovely soft squishy burger buns. Haven’t bought a pack of buns since I found this recipe. I tend to make 8 instead of 6 because I like a smaller burger. 🙂
So happy to hear this!
Delicious
This is a great recipe. I have made this recipe 10 times now. They are great, and work well with pulled pork, burgers, sloppy joes, or just a need for a delicious bread. As other cooks have said, the dough is more like a batter. I usually add more flour until it comes together into a soft dough. I do this 2 tablespoons at a time and it usually take about a half a cup (8 tbls total). I also use whey protein.
Yay! I’m so glad you love these burger buns!!