Homemade Hamburger Buns
By Elizabeth Ciobanu ·
These beautiful, meltingly soft homemade hamburger buns are easier to make than you might think.
We rarely buy bread, and that includes the bread that goes with our hamburgers.
Why buy tasteless hamburger buns full of preservatives when it's so easy to make your own absolutely delicious buns that will take burger night to a whole new level?
These buns are so delicious that they might even steal the show, as they do in my house. After downing the obligatory burger, the kids all want to finish the rest of the buns sans burger. They really do stand alone. They're that good.
- Prep
- 10 min
- Cook
- 15 min
- Total
- 3 hr 25 min
- Makes
- 12 buns
Ingredients
- 3-3 1/2 cups flour
- 2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast
- 1 cup warm water, 110°F, warm to touch
- 3 tablespoons melted coconut oil, or butter
- 3 tablespoons sugar or honey
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 1/4 tsp salt
- Plus one more egg, for brushing onto the rolls before baking
Instructions
- Combine the water, sugar, and yeast in a bowl. Mix just enough so that the sugar starts to dissolve and the yeast isn't floating at the top of the water. Cover the bowl and proof for ten minutes.
- Add the salt, melted coconut oil, and egg to the yeast mixture. Mix just enough to combine.
- Gradually add the flour, about 1 cup at a time, mixing/kneading as you go. Be careful not to add too much flour. You want just enough flour so that the dough is still tacky but not too sticky. When the dough stops sticking to the bowl and forms a ball around your dough hook, you have enough.
- Knead the dough for 2-3 minutes with a stand mixer or 4-5 minutes by hand.
- Leave the dough in the mixer (or place it in a clean, lightly oiled bowl), cover with a clean kitchen towel or plastic wrap, and let rise for two hours or until doubled in size.
- Scrape the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 10 or 12 roughly equal portions.
- Roll each piece into a smooth ball, tucking the seams underneath. Gently flatten each ball so it is about 1/2 inch tall, forming a disk. Place on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Cover and let rise for one hour.
- Preheat oven to 350°F.
- Take a raw beaten egg and gently brush it onto the dough. This gives the buns a shiny glow and will help any toppings stick.
- Optional: Sprinkle with sesame seeds or caraway seeds.
- Bake for 15-17 minutes or until golden. Rotate the baking pans halfway through the cooking time to ensure even color.
- Cool on the cookie sheets or move to a cooling rack.
- Right before serving, slice the buns in half with a serrated bread knife. Assemble the buns with your burger and toppings, and chow down!
Notes
- Store leftovers at room temperature in a sealed plastic bag. They'll be best within 2-3 days of baking.
- You can store baked, cooled buns in the freezer in a sealed plastic bag. Pull them out a couple of hours before you want to use them to defrost.
- These can easily be shaped into hotdog buns. The process is the same: just roll your pieces into little logs instead of balls before flattening them.