How to Make Super Soft Burger Buns – Homemade Recipe
These super soft burger buns made with instant yeast are so quick and easy and perfect for any kind of burger or sandwich!
Nothing can ruin a good burger more than a dense, dry, burger bun. If you’re looking for a quick yeast recipe that makes the softest homemade hamburger buns – look no further. I do a lot of sourdough baking in my homestead kitchen, but instant yeast just can’t be beaten when you’re in a time crunch & still want homemade buns or bread rather than store-bought buns. These faux brioche buns are just perfect in a pinch.
I may receive a small commission for items purchased through affiliate links in this post at no additional cost to you.
Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- This is a super quick recipe – it only takes 2 hours from start to finish if you’ve got a warm place to proof the dough.
- These burger buns are made with a kind of brioche dough which makes them golden brown on top but super soft, fluffy, and airy inside so they don’t overwhelm the burger.
- This dough is incredibly versatile and can be used for making cinnamon rolls, bread, dinner rolls, and all kinds of delicious baked goods.
Spend the day baking with me in my homestead kitchen – we’re making these buns and using the dough to make strawberry rolls as well!
What You’ll Need to Make Homemade Burger Buns
INGREDIENTS
DOUGH
- 1/4 cup (60 grams) warm milk
- 1 1/3 cup (315 grams) warm water
- 1 tablespoon (12 grams) instant yeast
- 1.5 tablespoons (22 grams) sugar
- 1 large egg (50 grams)
- 2 teaspoons (12 grams) salt
- 4 1/4 cups (530 grams) all-purpose flour
- 1/4 cup (55 grams) softened butter
EGG WASH
- 1 egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- (Optional) sesame seeds
TOOLS
- large bowl or stand mixer with a dough hook attachment
- bench scraper
- parchment-lined baking sheet OR
- greased baking sheet
- wire rack
- (optional) kitchen scale
Step-By-Step Instructions
*If you’ll be using active dry yeast, you’ll need to activate it before adding the flour. To do this, just add the warm milk, water, sugar, and active dry yeast to the large bowl, whisk it all together, and wait 15 minutes until it’s foamy before adding the remaining ingredients.*
Prepare the dough
Add all of the dough ingredients to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until everything comes together and all the flour is incorporated into the dough.
If you’re using a stand mixer, knead the dough on low speed for 5 minutes at this point. If mixing by hand, cover the dough in the bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes before kneading, which will make it much easier to handle. After a 5-minute dough rest, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, it should still be just a little sticky.
Let the dough rise
Shape the dough into a tight ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl for the first rise at room temperature. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place it in a warm place or proofing box for faster rise time.
After about 30-45 minutes of rising time, once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto the counter.
Divide with a sharp knife or bench scraper into 12 equal pieces and shape each piece of dough into a tight ball of dough.
Place each ball of dough onto a parchment paper lined or greased baking sheet, cover with a towel, and wait 30-45 minutes for the second rise.
Bake the Buns
Whisk the egg and water together and brush the tops of the risen buns with the eggwash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Then, bake the buns in a preheated oven at 425F for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
FAQ
Incorporate ingredients such as milk, eggs, or butter into the dough, which add moisture and tenderness. Knead the dough until it’s smooth and elastic, which helps develop the gluten and results in a softer texture.
Yes, you can make the dough in advance. After the first rise, shape the buns and place them on a baking sheet. Cover them tightly with a lid or plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. The next day, let them come to room temperature and rise before baking.
If you don’t have instant yeast, just use active dry yeast. But make sure to activate it in the warm water, milk, and sugar before adding the rest of the dough ingredients.
Tips
Don’t skimp on kneading
Knead the dough thoroughly to develop the gluten and create a smooth, elastic texture. This helps to give buns a soft, tender crumb.
Use a kitchen scale when dividing the buns
If you like everything to be uniform, weigh the dough as you divide it to make sure your buns are all the same size and bake evenly.
Storage
Homemade soft hamburger buns can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for 4-5 days, in the fridge for a week, and in the freezer for up to 3 months.
How to Make Super Soft Burger Buns
Ingredients
Equipment
Method
- *If you'll be using active dry yeast, you'll need to activate it before adding the flour. To do this, just add the warm milk, water, sugar, and active dry yeast to the large bowl, whisk it all together, and wait 15 minutes until it's foamy before adding the remaining ingredients.*
- Add all of the dough ingredients to a large bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer and mix until everything comes together and all the flour is incorporated into the dough.
- If you're using a stand mixer, knead the dough on low speed for 5 minutes at this point. If mixing by hand, cover the dough in the bowl and let it rest for 5 minutes before kneading, which will make it much easier to handle. After a 5-minute dough rest, turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead for 5 minutes until the dough is smooth, it should still be just a little sticky.
- Shape the dough into a tight ball and place it in a lightly oiled bowl for the first rise at room temperature. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and place it in a warm place or proofing box for faster rise time.
- After about 30-45 minutes of rising time, once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto the counter. Divide with a sharp knife or bench scraper into 12 equal pieces and shape each piece of dough into a tight ball of dough.
- Place each ball of dough onto a parchment paper lined or greased baking sheet, cover with a towel, and wait 30-45 minutes for the second rise.
- Whisk the egg and water together and brush the tops of the risen buns with the eggwash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Then, bake the buns in a preheated oven at 425F for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.
Nutrition
Video
Notes
Tried this recipe?
Let us know how it was!More Recipes Like This
Quick & Easy Amish Bread Recipe
30 Minute Brown Butter Biscuits
How to Make a Sourdough Starter
Beginner’s Guide to Sourdough Artisan Bread
The best quick dough recipe! If I’m not doing sourdough this is my go to for buns, rolls, and cinnamon rolls
I come back to this recipe time and time again. I couldn’t tell you how many times I’ve used it now, it’s so versatile and soft and yummy! The one thing for my family is we don’t use as much salt as it calls for. I’m not sure if using the higher quality that we use makes a difference? Just a little too salty.
I made these buns today and am very happy with them, we like soft tops so I did not do the egg wash, brushed them with butter when they came out of the oven. Turn3d out great. I will definitely be making these again
These are AMAZING!! So easy. Our family loved these. The buns are now a staple in our home. Thanks!!
These are amazing! My husband and two sons LOVED them, definitely no need for store bought anymore! Thank you!
I just make this!! Should I wait for the buns to cool fully or can we eat them warm from the oven?
I made these as written, though I adjusted the size of the bun to 75 g each (yielded 14 buns). They turned out great – very tender, yet held up well to the burger and sloppy joe mixture I paired them with. The kids loved them.
these came out amazing!! thank you so much for your detailed recipe, it was so simple to follow. these came out amazing, fluffy and perfectly golden brown! a little tip for anyone interested; i dont have a proofing box so i preheat my oven for literally 30 -45 seconds and then turn it off, i then place the dough in there to rise. i always find this works in all my bread recipe. thanks again!
Awesome recipe! Its rare to find one that doesn’t improve from a bit of tweaking, but I did none of that with this one. They came out perfect.
After making these super simple and delicious burger buns, I won’t buy them from the store anymore!
These are the best and so simple and easy! They are now a regular in our home!
This recipe was great! It was my first time making bread rolls and they were fantastic!
Although when I was making them, the dough was super sticky (un-kneadable) and had to have a lot extra flour to be able to knead it. Is there a reason that happened or could it be the type of flour?
I used all purpose and used a scale to weight it out. I tried again thinking I got it wrong but it was still super sticky.
Once I was making them and forgot to add the butter (yes I cried when I realised ?), but the dough was kneadable. So not sure if that could be the issue.
Thank you! ?
Yum! Pretty easy to do, I ended up needing to add about 1/4 cup more flour but that was probably something I did. These were so yummy I cut one open and ate it plain before the burgers were even done!
SSSSSO good and so simple! New favorite!