Homemade Hamburger Buns
These homemade hamburger buns are so easy to make at home, and they come together and rise quickly! They are soft and fluffy but sturdy enough for a juicy burger.
This recipe works great for hamburger buns, hot dog buns, slider buns, or sub sandwich buns and is perfect for beginner or advanced bread bakers. The buns are so simple to make and so delicious!
Making Homemade Hamburger Buns
The dough for these hamburger buns is so easy! It can be made in a stand mixer or by hand.
A few tricks and tips:
- Judge the amount of flour for the dough based on the look and feel of the dough. The exact amount of flour will vary based on elevation, humidity, and how the flour was measured. Continue adding flour until a soft ball of dough forms and clears the sides/center of the ball.
- I always let the dough rise right in the same mixing bowl.
- Once the dough has risen, turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop and divide into 10 equal pieces.
Size of Hamburger Buns: for easier dividing, each piece of dough will weigh 4.5/4.7 ounces. This recipe makes buns that are about 3.75 to 4 inches in diameter after baking. If you want larger or smaller buns, divide the dough accordingly.
Shaping and Pressing the Buns
- Shape each piece of dough into a round ball.
- Place the balls of dough several inches apart on half sheet pans lined with parchment paper.
- Press each ball of dough into a thick disc shape – about 1/2 to 3/4-inches in thickness.
- Let rise until noticeably puffy.
- Lightly brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
- Bake until golden.
Tip: If the dough springs back after being lightly pressed, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes to help the gluten relax and press again.
Picturesque homemade hamburger buns coming your way with this easy recipe! Like, WOW. These buns are perfection.
They are perfectly soft and fluffy while still holding up incredibly well to a burger and loads of toppings.
Because the dough is made from scratch, you can easily tailor the size of these buns to whatever you choose to serve on them! The dough is perfect for hamburgers, sliders, sandwiches, and more!
Certainly homemade buns are not attainable for every occasion (chaotic weeknight dinners, I’m looking at you!), but when you do have a little extra time and want to feel like a total rock star, these homemade buns are the ticket!
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Homemade Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cups warm water, 105 to 110 degrees F
- 2 tablespoons sugar or honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon instant yeast (see note)
- 1 large egg (see note for egg-free version)
- 1 ½ teaspoons table salt
- 4 cups all-purpose or bread flour (see note)
Egg Wash + Topping:
- 1 large egg
- 1 tablespoon water
- Sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook or in a large bowl by hand, combine the warm water, sugar, oil, yeast, egg, salt and 2 cups of the flour.
- Start the mixer on low speed. Continue adding flour gradually until the dough forms a soft ball and pulls away from the sides/center of the bowl. Knead for five minutes (if the dough starts clinging to the sides again during kneading, add a few tablespoons flour at a time until it clears the sides of the bowl). The dough should feel soft and sightly tacky to the touch but shouldn't leave a lot of dough residue on your fingers.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in a warm, draft-free spot, 45 to 60 minutes.
- Line two half sheet pans with parchment paper. Lightly grease with cooking spray and set aside.
- Lightly punch down the dough and turn it out onto a lightly greased countertop.
- Divide the dough into 10 equal pieces (about 4.5/4.7 ounces each). Roll each piece into a ball and place the rolls on the prepared pans – five rolls for each pan spaced several inches apart.
- Lightly press each ball of dough into a thick disc about 1/2-inch tall and 2 to 2 1/2 inches across. If the dough springs back after being lightly pressed, let it rest for 5 to 10 minutes to help the gluten relax and press again.
- Cover and let rise in a warm, draft-free spot until noticeably puffy, about 45 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
- For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and water. Lightly brush (so as not to deflate the risen buns) the top and sides of each bun with the egg wash. Sprinkle the top with sesame seeds, if desired.
- Bake for 18 minutes until golden.
Notes
Recommended Products
Recipe Source: from Mel’s Kitchen Cafe (took my beloved French bread roll recipe and adapted it to be a bit sturdier while still staying soft and fluffy)
Very good! Easy to make! Perfect size and texture. Great for hamburgers and I have also used them for Mel’s meatball subs.
Glad these buns have worked out well for you, Becky! I’m using them for meatball subs this weekend!
I made these in advance of a camping trip, and they were delicious! Even not enjoying fresh, they turned out great. I put sesame seed on half, and left the other half plain, for picky kids, and everyone was happy.
That’s a gourmet camping experience right there!
These buns are delicious and everything you want in a hamburger bun. I actually forgot the egg (I’ll add it for sure next time, but it’s not necessary) and the buns still had structure and held together perfectly, have great texture and flavor. All it takes these days is a quick read of the labels on store made products for me to put it back on the shelf; when I make something at home, I know what’s in it and that I’m willing to eat whatever I have put in the recipe. The problem is that it’s not always easy to create a good product, this recipe has officially solved my bun dilemma! Thanks Mel, another success!
Yay, Nina! Thrilled to hear this recipe was a winner for you!
Mel shared this with her Italian beef sandwiches recipe and I had to try. I’ve tried a few “no fail” hamburger bun recipes and they were ok to terrible. These were so delicious and easy. I doubled to deliver a meal. My family raved and can’t wait to try with smash burgers next! At this point I think I’d have to try hard to find a Mel recipe I DON’T love.
Ok, you are so nice, Nicole! Thank you! So, so happy you loved these!! I bet they’ll be amazing with smash burgers. Yum! Wish I was your neighbor!
These turned out so good! We used them with 2 different meals- sloppy joes (Mel’s) and roast beef Arby’s copycats. The buns were so tasty I wanted to eat it plain!
Hi!
Excited to try these! The recipe says all purpose OR bread flour. Which do you use? Is one better than the other for these? Thank you!
Bread flour will make the buns a bit more chewy (but also slightly fluffier). I really alternate depending on what’s closest in my pantry. 🙂 Yesterday I made them and used half of each.
These look great and I’m trying them tomorrow. Wondering if they freeze well? Any special directions?
Yes, they freeze great! Bake them, let them cool, and then freeze them in a well-sealed freezer bag.
These buns were so pillowy and soft, and came out as beautiful as your pictures. Thanks for another great recipe!
I’m so happy you loved the recipe – thanks for taking the time to let me know!
I’ve made these twice since you posted it. My mom said that I’m going to have to give her the recipe because she doesn’t think she can eat store-bought buns after these! I actually make 15 buns with this recipe and they still turn out plenty large for a hefty burger.
That’s amazing, Amy! Thanks for the review!
Made these tonight and they were super easy and absolutely delicious!
I’ve struggled to make burger buns in the past because they always end up too bread-y. I smashed these down a bit before the second rise so they weren’t so tall and they turned out perfect! The perfect bread to burger ratio!
Yay, Angela!! So happy these worked out well for you!
Homemade buns are the BEST! I add a couple TBS of Everything Bagel seasoning to my dough and it is so delicious with burgers.
Oh, yum!
Thanks Mel! If used for hotdog buns, how many ounces of dough per bun do you suggest?
I would suggest about 3.25 ounces for each hot dog bun.
grate buns, tast as good as they look.