Homemade Hamburger Buns
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THE BEST buns ever! So soft, pillowy and airy, perfect for any sandwich. You’ll never want store-bought ever again!
HOMEMADE. HAMBURGER. BUNS. I’m now questioning everything in life currently. Why did it take me this long to make these at home?
Was it the super short ingredient list that felt so daunting? Was it the long wait time with the 15-20 minutes of actual hands-on time?
Guys, I have no idea. But what I do know is that these buns are not just epic for cheeseburgers.
They’re just as amazing for any sandwich – fried chicken sandwiches, club sandwiches, BLTs, sloppy joes…you name it.
But really, my favorite way to enjoy these are in the form of bacon cheeseburgers with all the fix-ins.
Plenty of pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, red onion and burger sauce.
And these homemade buns just made it that much better.
Now the store-bought buns have officially been ruined for me!
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm water, 100-110 degrees F
- 3 tablespoons sugar
- 2 ¼ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
- 2 large eggs, at room temperature, divided
- 3 ¼ cups all purpose flour, divided
- 1 ¼ teaspoons kosher salt
- 2 tablespoons milk
- 1 tablespoon sesame seeds
Instructions
- Combine water, sugar and yeast in a small bowl; let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
- In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with dough hook attachment, beat the water mixture, butter, 1 egg, 2 cups flour and salt on medium-low speed until a smooth batter forms, about 1-2 minutes.
- Gradually add remaining 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup at a time, until a soft, smooth ball of dough is formed. The dough should feel elastic and slightly tacky to the touch. Increase speed to medium-high and beat for 3 minutes.
- Lightly oil a large bowl or coat with nonstick spray; place dough in bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Gently deflate dough by punching down. Working on a lightly floured surface, divide into 8 equal pieces, weighing the pieces as needed; shape each piece into a smooth ball.
- Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place rolls onto the prepared baking sheet; flatten each ball to 3 inches. Cover with a clean dishtowel and let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
- In a small bowl, whisk together remaining egg and milk. Brush tops of dough with egg mixture; sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Place into oven and bake until golden brown, about 15-18 minutes.
Did you make this recipe?
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This recipe came out sooo good!! they were so soft and came out perfectly golden brown
The buns were amazing and tasty. They look wonderful. They seemed a little heavy, though I have to figure a way to lighten it up.
Can you make the dough ahead of time and bake later? How do you account for proper rise if so?
I have a question. We are a family of 2 so I would like to make 4 hamburger rolls and 4 hot dog shapes. How should I shape for a standard hot dog roll?
I don’t know what I did wrong. I’m a seasoned baker and these turned out so so dense, not at all like the comments posted here. I love this site and all the recipes and ideas. I do live in a high altitude area (Calgary, Alberta). Any thoughts people? I really want these to work for me. Thanks All
Try again. Too much flour.
Delicious! I make these all the time and now my family hates the store bought buns!
My first time using this recipe they turned out wonderful. Would recommend it for everyone thank you.
So much better than store bought! Thank you so much for this great recipe.
Excellent buns, I want to double or triple the recipe but am unsure about the yeast trippling it seems like a he’ll of a lot. What could u suggest.
haven’t made yet but will use my bread machine to make dough , Ive never made rolls before ,so gonna try this recipe, East Coast favorite from bakery was French bread rolls always wanted to learn how it was done , been cooking for 72 years , was an associate of world renowned Chef. James , Jimmy ,Beard in 1970s a real Character , cook every day grow all heirloom garden ,a tough year for that , love to grow veggies cook and eat , A foodie for sure , favorite Chef on line Nagi from tineats Australia just found you last week. lets share and cook together Joseph !!
Joseph, why would you rate a recipe that you have yet to try??
Made these today. Great recipe, thanks for sharing! I will be making them again soon to wrap and freeze for grilling season. Your recipes are “damn delicious!”
These are so simple to make and so delicious, they also freeze really well so I can take out when needed. I won’t be buying expensive buns from the store again, thanks for a great recipe!
I have made these several times. They are delicious. I also have used this recipe to make hot dog buns. I was wondering about doubling the recipe. Would I double the yeast as well?
Definitely damn delicious. My new bun recipe
Thanks for sharing!
Made these today. Awesome recipe…great dough to work with.
Love your site. Thank you!!
Great burger bun recipe! The last one I used the burgers were too dense. These were great!
Excellent!!
Excellent! Made it this morning.
My only problem with this recipe is the disclaimer YOU WILL NEVER BE SATISFIED WITH STORE BOUGHT BUNS AGAIN. Period!! The good news is that they are so easy, tasty, beautiful, yummy for any sandwich application and they freeze well.
These hamburger buns were the best I ever had. Family loved them. This recipe is a keeper. Thank you for sharing this recipe.
This is a NOT FAIL burger buns recipe, you don’t need to add more water, you just have to follow the recipe and add the flour slowly as it needs it. I will make it again. Buns were perfectly raised and keep their shape while baking, and has a perfect finish, I sprinkled everything bagel on top. Thank you for sharing this recipe. Love from Miami
Excellent rolls! Great recipe, I will make these again! I had to add additional water to the dough, but that’s typical for dough.
Thanks!
Turned out great! I did have to add a little more water to my dough but it’s dry here in the winter! Thanks for sharing!
Looking at the comment about adding more water due to being dry in winter, I wondered if that’s what happened to mine. I did not add more water but followed the instructions to the letter, scooping flour, timing kneading. Unfortunately the dough was super stiff as if there were either too much flour or it was over kneaded which seems strange as I use my stand mixer all the time for longer than this recipe indicated. Yeast was good too. It’s on the second rise and I am going to watch and let it go a bit longer perhaps to relax gluten. Hopefully it’s still good for the burgers as it’s too late for me to start again. If not, I may tweak and try again another time.
Recipe is delish.
Adjust beating mode unless you want to burn out your mixer motor.
KitchenAid® does not recommend kneading bread dough for more than 2 minutes at Speed 2, and that the total mixing and kneading time does not exceed 4 – 6 minutes.
Medium-high Speed 8 to 10
8 on KitchenAid 10 on Cuisinart
As always, this recipe was honest, simple, and delicious! The dough was easy to work with and the buns turned out beautifully. I won’t be buying them anymore!
Dang these are good!
I’ve been looking for a good burger roll for awhile. I did find one that was good but I happened by this recipe and decided to give it a whirl. I’m so glad I did! I did cut the sugar down to 1 TB because I didn’t want it even slightly sweet. For me ..1 TB is perfect. Everything else I did as recipe called for. Dough was really easy to work with, beautiful density (soft but sturdy for da meats!), and great taste. This is going to be my go to recipe for “you name it” rolls.
Thank you for sharing!!!
Had hamburgers on the menu this weekend, and I nearly made the mistake of buying buns from the store. Thank god I made these buns instead! They are SIMPLY THE BEST! Wonderful texture and flavor. Not to mention they LOOK beautiful when you take them out of the oven. I had no idea how easy it was to make hamburger buns…until NOW. Thank you Chungah!
Outstanding recipe Chunguh. My first time making burger buns turned out excellent buns fresh and way cheaper than store bought for buns of this quality.Not to mention no preservatives. TIP: I’m lazy and sure not interested in hand kneading dough. I’m also a cheapskate and won’t buy a $175 stand mixer I’d rarely use. I use a $15 bread machine from thrift shop on 90 minute dough cycle.No dividing this and that. just throw all in together No putting dough in bowl and let rise. Bread machine eliminates this step. After dough cycle is finished simply divide your dough and form your buns. let rise for 1 hour in silicone burger form. I bought a silicone burger bun form from Amazon that makes 8 perfect 4 inch buns. Like bakery. Thanks for great recipe
Sorry I forgot to mention I used all purpose flour and added one tbsp of vital wheat gluten to get a better rise and softer less dense bread . Bread flour is good but expensive. A bit of wheat gluten does the trick to acheive same results as bread flour. My buns in 4 inch, 8 bun silicone mold turned out soft and tall enough to make 3 slices for homemade Big Macs. Nice. They looked exactly like your photos Again great recipe Chunguh.
Not sure if I’ll get an answer in time for tonight’s burgers but can I do this by hand? I do not own a stand mixer. If so, how long to mix?
These are beautiful!!! Chungah is an amazing cook.
I see a commenter is asking about these being gluten free. Get the book “How Can It Be Gluten Free I & II” by America’s Test Kitchen. That’s as good as it gets. If you’re only gluten intolerant, look up a flour produced by Sunrise Flour Mill. Their heritage wheat flour does not bother us at all after 9 years of being GF. It’s organic and non-hybridized. If it works for you, then recipes like this one will turn out identical.
No I’m not affiliated with either.
These buns were quick and easy to make. The sesame seeds on top make them look really nice. They were light and fluffy and the whole family loved them! Thanks for the fantastic recipe!!
I don’t own a mixer. Can these be done by hand please?
Hi, pretty sure you can knead by hand…just like our grandmothers used to back in the day!
Just in time for grilling season. I’m going to try this this weekend.
Thanks for the recipe!
Great recipe, thank you!
Your recipes are always amongst the best I have had!
These buns are light and airy and so “damn delicious” !!! Salivating waiting for them to be done.
Thank you for posting such amazing food recipes! xo
I can hardly wait to make these. Beautiful! I’ll split the recipe between a bit larger (but fewer) hamburger buns and a couple of sub sandwich rolls for either French dip or Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. They look so yummy!
These were easy and very delicious! Thank you so much for sharing
This is now the only hamburger bun recipe I will use! I’ve tried others, but this recipe is amazing. The texture and flavor of these rolls are perfection! My husband said the burgers tasted better than at a restaurant! Thank you so much for this terrific recipe!
I prefer a larger hamburger I presume a larger roll of dough would work just as well. Three inch is a slider not really a hamburger.
The three inches is before they rise for the second time, they’re a regular size hamburger bun (actually taller than a store bought). A good size for a hamburger. If you’ve ever been to Fuddrudgers, they look just like their homemade buns.
Only Good rating since I’ve not made them as yet.
Can Gluten Free All Purpose flour work ?
Been searching for a good recipe and these look awesome !
Peggy
I can hardly wait to make these. Beautiful! I’ll split the recipe between a bit larger (but fewer) hamburger buns and a couple of sub sandwich rolls for either French dip or Philly cheesesteak sandwiches. They look so yummy!
Peggy, for the best gluten free flours and recipes go to GFJules.com. GF is all she does and her products are awesome.
And her flour is basically cup for cup.
Can this be made in a bread machine? Thanks. I am a fan of you and your great recipes!
These look great, but have not made them yet. I have the same question as Ann. Can this be done with a bread machine? I’ve never made “bread” any other way. So if anyone knows how to adapt this recipe to a bread machine, I’d really appreciate some help with it! Thanks!
Can this recipe be pared down? I hate buying 8 packs of buns from the store as there are only the two of us. Before I can eat that many burgers / sandwiches, they start to go bad.
Halve the recipe =)
I’m no expert but many bread and roll recipes you can shape the rolls and then freeze them before the second rise. Then you let them sit on the counter to thaw/rise when you’re ready to bake them. Caveat: I have done this with other bread recipes successfully but have not tried with this one!
Well….they do look fantastic and maybe I will even give it a go in the near future. Thanks for the posted recipe.
Chungah – How do you get your burger buns that lovely golden color? Mine are always so pale after they are baked the correct amount of time.
These buns are delicious! My husband thinks I’m a wonder in the kitchen because of your recipe Chungah. The only problem now is that we can’t go back to store bought hamburger buns!
I used regular salt instead of KOSHER Salt and their is no difference. The only difference is that the salt might be cheaper since I do not have to pay someone to make the salt KOSHER
Louise,
“Kosher” salt refers to the coarseness of the grain. Kosher salt is superior in the kitchen, and at the table, because it’s irregular shape causes it to melt at a different rate than table salt. Though, I hardly think that “taste” in the kitchen is all that you’re missing. Your comment benifits neither the recipe, this blog nor the world. Please keep your small minded comments to yourself.
*I rated this recipe as good, I’ve not yet had the chance to try it but all the components look good and this weekend’s spring like weather calls for burgers and homemade buns. I felt compelled to respond to the misinformed and tasteless comment by Ms. Louise above.
I did the same for the rating but just had to thank you for your epic response. Well done.
Really good recipe. Only two of us, but we love sliders and these are perfect. Sometimes use 1/2 white whole wheat. I love to wrap and freeze 3 together. Thaw them, butter and brown to use for sliders flat side down on griddle. Many thanks for such a nice recipe!
Correct me if I’m wrong, but another point to remember is that Kosher salt is less dense, so replacing, say, 2 tsp of kosher salt with 2 tsp table salt would result in a saltier dish. At least, that’s what [competing website redacted 🙂 ] said.
You’re absolutely correct, but it’s more than that – the brand makes a difference too!
A tablespoon of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt is less salty-tasting than a tablespoon of Morton’s Kosher Salt, for example. The ratio I was taught was 1:1.5:2 (i.e. to substitute a tablespoon of fine-ground salt, use 1.5 tablespoons of Morton Kosher Salt or 2 tablespoons of Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt).
Chill out dude
I don’t know if I missed this, but what would be the best way to store the buns? And how long should they last? Thank you!