Homemade hamburger buns are easy to make, and taste so much better than store bought! Three types of flour are combined in this recipe to create a hearty dough that is substantial and flavorful, with a tender, consistently even crumb.
The Man’s birthday was today, and he chose hamburgers for his birthday dinner. I was willing to cook just about anything, but…he chose hamburgers! Since I’m trying to sneak whole wheat into our diet, I added enough to give the buns some character without turning them into hockey pucks. He said it was the best hamburger I’d ever made – so we were both happy with the results!
Of course, these buns aren’t just for hamburgers. Personally, I’m all about using them for peanut butter and banana sandwiches! They’d be great for Sloppy Joes too, because they’re dense enough to keep from getting soggy.
This recipe makes sixteen average buns, or twelve large ones. They’re best fresh, so keep out the quantity you think you’ll eat in a couple of days and freeze the rest for later.
You really want this dough to be soft and slightly sticky so the buns aren’t too dry. There are lots of variables with bread: the brand of flour you use, your measuring technique, even the weather. So if it is really sticky, add a little more flour. You should be able to poke at the dough without having to wash your finger, but if you lift the dough with unfloured hands, it will definitely stick to them!
| Hearty Hamburger Buns | Print |
- 2 cups very warm water
- ½ teaspoon sugar
- 2 packages active-dry yeast
- ¼ cup honey
- 1 egg
- 3½ cups bread flour
- 2 cups whole wheat flour
- 1 cup cake flour
- 1 tablespoon salt
- ¼ cup softened butter
- sesame seeds or grated cheese if desired for topping
- In a large bowl (preferably using a stand mixer) combine the warm water and sugar. Sprinkle yeast over the water and allow it to sit 5-10 minutes, or until it looks bubbly.
- Add honey and egg, mixing until well combined.
- With mixer on low, using a dough hook, add the bread flour and mix well. Add the wheat flour, cake flour, and salt, mixing until all flour is incorporated.
- Mix in the softened butter.
- Knead by machine for 5 minutes, (or 7-8 minutes by hand on a well floured board). THIS DOUGH WILL BE VERY SOFT AND SLIGHTLY STICKY. If it is very sticky, add a little more bread flour.
- Move dough to a greased bowl. Cover and let rise until doubled - about 1 hour.
- Turn dough out onto a floured surface and cut into two equal pieces. Roll each piece into a log and cut each log into 8 pieces (or 6 pieces for jumbo buns).
- Form each piece into a ball and place on slightly greased baking sheets, no more than 6 pieces per sheet. Let the balls sit for 10 minutes, then press each one down firmly with the lightly greased bottom of a heavy pan. Let the buns rest and rise slightly in a warm place for 10 minutes, then lightly brush the top of each bun with water or milk. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, cheese, or both!
- Preheat oven to 400 F.
- Bake one sheet of buns at a time for 10-12 minutes, or until the tops are rich golden brown. Cool on a baking rack.
Once the yeast is softened and bubbly, add honey and egg.
Then the flour and salt
Add butter last (okay…I forgot a pic of that) and knead. It will look pretty sticky, like this.
Place dough in greased bowl. It won’t be a pretty round ball, but that’s okay.
Dough has doubled.
Divide into 16 pieces – or 12 if you want big ‘uns.
Smash them flat with a heavy pan.
Brush the tops with milk or water. (Milk will make a softer crust.)
Sprinkle with sesame seeds…
…or cheese.
Bake until rich golden brown.
Not hard at all, huh? Like any rolls that come out of my oven, a couple of these babies were immediately hijacked, spread with butter, and inhaled. Who needs a burger?
Lorinda
By now I should know better than to ask my husband to help me find a name for a new recipe; his sense of humor never evolved past fourth grade. But I have to admit, his suggestion made me laugh, and if you’ve ever wandered through the woods looking for huckleberries, you have probably seen lots of proof that bears found them first, and ate a ton of them!
