Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe

These fantastic homemade hamburger buns are perfectly moist, round, and golden brown for the best bun recipe for your hamburgers. You will love how light and delicious these are.

Buns are a hallmark for any staple and can often make or break the final product. If you’re looking to put my tasty hamburger buns to the test, then try them on my Smash Burger or Turkey Burger Recipe.

Hamburger Buns

Hamburger buns are soft large yeast rolls that are fit for the size of a hamburger. They can be made using a myriad of flours and toppings to suit the baker. One of the more classic buns would be the potato bun, which is what I created in this recipe. It is a buttery, slightly sweet bun that perfectly complements a burger without overwhelming the overall flavor of it.

These hamburger buns have been tested and perfected and render excellent results that withstand even the juiciest hamburgers. Watch my video below for detailed step-by-step instructions for making them.

Ingredients and Substitutions

• Potato – You will need a medium to large-sized russet potato.
• Flour – I used bread flour for this recipe. You can also use 00 flour.
• Milk – Whole milk is best to use. However, you can use 1% or 2%.
• Water – Tap or bottled water works fine.
• Sugar – Granulated sugar will help bring some sweetness to the buns.
• Egg – You will need 1 large egg chilled or at room temperature.
• Butter – Room temperature softened unsalted butter was used.
• Yeast – I used active yeast in this recipe. You can also use instant or baker’s yeast.
• Salt – Coarse salt was used in these hamburger buns.

How to Make Homemade Hamburger Buns from Scratch

Poke some holes in a rinsed baked potato and bake in a pan or on a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 60 to 70 minutes.

In the meantime, make the tangzhong using 2 tablespoons of bread flour, ¼ cup of water, and ¼ cup of whole milk. Set it aside to cool to room temperature.

Once the potato is done baking, remove it from the oven and peel it and run it through a ricer or food mill. Set it aside.

Whisk together the warm milk, water, sugar, and active yeast until well combined. Let it sit until a raft is formed.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, and salt until combined.

Once the raft has formed, add in the mashed potato and then slowly add in the flour mixture.

Add in the egg and tangzhong and mix on low to medium speed.

Once the dough starts to pull away from the bowl and adhere to the hook, add the butter in 3 batches.

The dough is done when it has mostly cleaned up the sides of the bowl. Place for 1 hour or until it has doubled or tripled in size.

Next, punch down the dough and divide them into 10 equal-sized balls.

Fold and shape the dough into balls.

Place 5 on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and cover with a kitchen towel.

Add water to a small pan and place it on the bottom rack in the oven while preheating.

Make the egg wash by whisking together egg yolk and milk until combined, then brush the dough balls and bake them until golden brown.

The buns will be 208° internally once they’re done. Remove them from the oven and cool to room temperature.

Optional Hamburger Bun Toppings

1. Onion – Add 1 tablespoon of unsalted butter to a medium-sized pan over medium heat—place in ½ cup of small diced yellow onion. Frequently stir until they’re lightly browned. Remove the onions to cool slightly. Once the egg wash goes onto the buns, evenly spread the browned onions on top of the buns and bake following the recipe procedures.
2. Sesame – Once the egg wash goes onto the buns, evenly sprinkle ½ teaspoon of sesame seeds on each bun and bake them following the recipe procedures.
3. Poppyseed – After the egg wash goes onto the buns, evenly sprinkle ¼ teaspoon of poppy seeds on each bun and bake them following the recipe procedures.

Make-Ahead and Storage

Make-Ahead: You can make these hamburger buns up to 2 days ahead.

How to Store: Cover and keep at room temperature for three days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze these hamburger buns for up to 6 months. Thaw them at room temperature until thawed before serving.

Chef Notes + Tips

• If you only have all-purpose flour, remove 1 tablespoon from the milk and 1 tablespoon from the water before mixing it with the sugar and yeast in procedure six.
• You can brush melted unsalted butter on the buns once they’re finished.
• If you do not have a ricer or food mill, thoroughly mash the peeled baked potato with a fork.
• When using instant yeast, you do not need to wait for a raft to form.

More Bread Recipes

• Focaccia
• Pizza Dough
• Artisan Bread
• Zucchini Bread
• Homemade Bagels

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Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe

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5 from 11 votes

These fantastic homemade hamburger buns are perfectly moist, round, and golden brown for the best bun recipe for your hamburgers.

Servings: 10

Prep Time: 25 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 1 hour hour 17 minutes minutes

Rise Time: 2 hours hours

Ingredients 

US CustomaryMetric

• 8- to-10-ounce russet potato
• 4 cups all-purpose flour
• ½ cup water
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1 packet active yeast
• 1 ½ teaspoons coarse salt
• 1 large egg
• 1/3 cup softened unsalted butter

Instructions

• Poke some holes in a rinsed baked potato and bake in a pan or on a cookie sheet tray lined with parchment paper and bake at 400° for 60 to 70 minutes.
• In the meantime, make the tangzhong using 2 tablespoons of bread flour, ¼ cup of water, and ¼ cup of whole milk. Add the ingredients to a medium-sized pot and whisk until smooth and combined.
• Place the pot over low heat while constantly whisking until the mixture becomes a very thick paste, which takes about 7-10 minutes. Set it aside to cool to room temperature.
• Once the potato is done baking, remove it from the oven and let it rest for 5 to 7 minutes to cool. Then peel it and run it through a ricer or food mill. Set it aside.
• In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together the warm milk (112° to 115°), water (112° to 115°, 2 tablespoons of the sugar, and active yeast until well combined. Let it sit until a raft is formed, which takes about 5 to 7 minutes.
• In the meantime, whisk together the flour, remaining sugar, and salt until combined.
• Once the raft has formed, transfer the bowl to a stand mixer with the hook attachment and turn it to low speed, and then add in the mashed potato and then slowly add in the flour mixture.
• Then, immediately add in the egg and tangzhong and mix on low to medium speed.
• Once the dough starts pulling away from the bowl and adheres to the hook, add in the 1/3 cup of softened unsalted butter in 3 batches. Don’t add in the next round of butter until the previous one is mixed in.
• The dough is done when it has mostly cleaned up the sides of the bowl. Transfer the dough to an airtight container with a lid and let it sit in a warm place for 1 hour or until it has doubled or tripled.
• Next, punch down the dough and divide them into 10 equal-sized balls – about a heaping ½ cup packed or 125 grams each.
• Fold and shape the dough into balls by pushing the center of it through the middle, creating a taught ball.
• Place 5 on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper and cover with a kitchen towel for 1 hour.
• Add water to a small pan, place it on the bottom rack in the oven, and then preheat the oven to convection 375°.
• After the hour rise, make the egg wash by whisking together 1 large egg yolk and 2 tablespoons of milk until combined, then brush the dough balls and bake at 375° for 17-20 minutes or until golden brown.
• The buns will be 208° internally once they’re done. Remove them from the oven and cool to room temperature before serving or storing.

Notes

Make-Ahead: You can make these hamburger buns up to 2 days ahead.

How to Store: Cover and keep at room temperature for three days or in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can freeze these hamburger buns for up to 6 months. Thaw them at room temperature until thawed before serving.

If you only have all-purpose flour, remove 1 tablespoon from the milk and 1 tablespoon from the water before mixing it with the sugar and yeast in procedure six.

You can brush melted unsalted butter on the buns once they’re finished.

If you do not have a ricer or food mill, thoroughly mash the peeled baked potato with a fork.

When using instant yeast, you do not need to wait for a raft to form.

Nutrition

Calories: 296kcalCarbohydrates: 50gProtein: 7gFat: 8gSaturated Fat: 4gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1gMonounsaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0.3gCholesterol: 35mgSodium: 413mgPotassium: 179mgFiber: 2gSugar: 8gVitamin A: 243IUVitamin C: 1mgCalcium: 38mgIron: 3mg

Course: bread, lunch, Main

Cuisine: American, French

Author: Chef Billy Parisi