Very soft and tasty homemade hamburger buns. As soft as those store-bought ones, but way tastier.
I've been looking for a perfect recipe for very soft homemade hamburger buns for a while without much success. My brioche buns are excellent, but not quite what I wanted. They are very tasty but don't have the same texture and softness as the .... well... good store-bought hamburger buns. This may sound very amusing when someone who enjoys artisan food is looking to replicate lowly store-bought buns. What can say, I love them. We all do. They may not be the best buns there are but they taste damn good.
To make a long story short, I found it. I found a recipe for the best homemade hamburger buns there are. Better than the store-bought. They are incredibly tasty and very soft. Once you try them, you'll forget about the store-bought ones. I've made this recipe a few times and every time the buns came out fantastic. If you are looking for a great soft homemade hamburger bun recipe - look no further. This one is it!
This recipe is a scaled-down and slightly modified version of Jeffrey Hamelman's soft butter rolls features in his fantastic Bread book. I scaled the recipe to make exactly 12 large burger buns. I roll the dough balls into 4" disks before proofing. This results in big, beautiful buns. If you want to make half a batch, or six buns, just cut the ingredients in half, except the eggs. For half-recipe, use one whole egg.
They take a few hours from start to finish but hands-on time is minimal. Enjoy!
Ingredients
- 750 g bread flour about 5 cups using 'scoop and sweep' method
- 345 ml water about 1 1/2 cups plus 2 Tbsp; warm, about 85F
- 1 1/2 eggs 1 whole egg and one egg white
- 60 g butter softened; about 4 1/4 Tbsp
- 45 g cane sugar about 2 Tbsp
- 37.5 g dry milk about 1/3 cup, heaping
- 15 g kosher salt about 1 Tbsp, level
- 12 g instant yeast about 1 Tbsp, heaping; also known as Quick Rise or Rapid Rise yeast
Garnish
- Butter
- Milk or cream
- Grate parmesan cheese
Instructions
- Add all the dough ingredients to a bowl of a stand mixer, fitted with a dough hook. Mix on low speed (KitchenAid speed 2) for 5-6 minutes, until the dough is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and place back in the bowl, seam side down. Let it rise in a warm place (cold oven with the light on) until the dough doubles in volume, about 1 - 1.5 hours.
- Transfer the dough to a large work surface. You don't need to dust it with flour, but you can if the dough sticks too much. Divide into 12 equal pieces and shape into balls. Cover with plastic and let relax for 5 minutes. Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 4" disk. Place the disks on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let proof for about an hour or until the dough is soft to touch. This may take less or more time depending on ambient temperature.
- Place the dough disks on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let proof for about an hour or until the dough is soft to touch. This may take less or more time depending on ambient temperature.
- Once the dough is fully proofed, brush with milk or cream and sprinkle with grated parmesan cheese. Bake at 400F for 20 minutes. The tops should be golden and the buns very soft when pressed on.
- If not using parmesan cheese, you may want to lightly brush tops with melted butter, this will keep the buns moist and soft for longer. The butter also adds flavor.
Special Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Oven
- Large baking sheet (21" x 15")
- Parchment paper
Laura says
Thank you for this great recipe! I, too, have tried many recipes trying to find that balance of soft, delicious and not full of preservatives. This got a big thumbs up from the whole family. (Used for tuna sandwiches for lunch and trying with hamburgers for dinner tonight!) We appreciate it! (I did substitute raw milk in place of water/dry milk due to what I had on hand).
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Thanks for the feedback Laura, glad you and your family liked the recipe. Enjoy! Try my other recipes, plenty of good stuff here. I highly recommend my baguettes and the challah, both are exceptionally good.
Laura says
I definitely will! Also ordered one of your recipe books. Can't wait for it to arrive. Thank you for your efforts of which we are beneficiaries!! 🙂
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Hi Laura, you are very welcome. As far as the book goes, that would be someone else's... I haven't written one yet 😉
brian says
hi so the order of steps is corrected "step 3 is now step 2 " right?
thanks for a great site!!!
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Hi Brian, you are welcome. Yes, I corrected that. Let me know how they turn out. If you want to share pictures, let me know.
Luanne says
The rolls are excellent but the order of the steps involved is mixed up in your recipe. If you re-read it I think you will see what I mean. I think that steps 2 and 3 are switched around.
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Indeed, those two steps were switched around. Thanks for pointing out. Happy baking!
John says
First time to bake hamburger buns and the result is perfect. Just need to practice in shaping the dough a little. One question, do you need to brush with butter if not using parmesan?
Victor @ Taste of Artisan says
Awesome! No, you don't need to. Butter will keep the crust soft but also make the buns feel a little greasy. It's a personal choice.