Homemade Hamburger Buns, Recipe

These homemade hamburger buns are sure to please even the pickiest of eaters. They have a light pillow-like texture inside with a slight outer crunch. The resemblance of a pub-style hamburger bun is attributed to the egg-wash. Toss on some sesame seeds if you want to kick up your hamburger buns a notch. Now, I’m ready for some homemade potato salad to bring to this BBQ, who’s with me?!

The hamburger buns are not quick to make due to the need for the dough to rise 3-times. Though that should not deter you. On a lazy day, make the dough, let it rise while you watch a 90 minute movie. Do the next step in the recipe and binge watch a couple of tv shows. Now in the home stretch, you will need to watch the hamburger buns cook for 15-min or so. Really, it is that simple.

Gluten-Free Options

The best part is you know exactly what is in the hamburger buns. You can even do a simple swap with the Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free 1-to-1 flour. Using their substitute, I have found to be simple, with no need to adjust recipe liquids or weight. However, if needed, the all-purpose flour in this recipe weighs about 1-pound.

Some people have great success with getting their gluten-free dough to rise. If you find that after an hour of the dough not rising, then feel free to skip ahead in the recipe. There is no need to continue to wait for the dough to rise, if it refuses to do so. Go ahead and make the dough balls, then skip the second rise (step 21).

More Options

As you may know, our family is made up of two adults. Maybe more like one and a half, depending on the mood of the other person in question. Anyway…

Our family does not consume much bread. Yet this wonderful hamburger bun recipe will yield 8-buns or more depending on the size. Those four bun-filled meals in our near future can be a bit much to swallow. Forcing us to be creative with the leftovers.

We typically use the hamburger buns for BBQ pulled pork/chicken sandwiches, sloppy joes, besides hamburgers. Don will use the buns in place of loaf style bread for tuna fish, ham and cheese, or egg salad sandwiches.  

Any leftovers after we have used as many buns as we could, I will then turn into croutons. This gives the old hamburger buns a new beginning in dressings or a salad toppings. If need be, I have crushed up the crouton ‘hamburger buns’ into bread crumbs for our meatloaf recipe.

Half Recipe

The other option would be to cut the hamburger bun recipe in half. It could be done. Especially if you use the jar of yeast rather than opening one package to use half of the contents. 

After you invest a few hours waiting for the dough to rise, I rather cook up the full batch. It is really easy to make and (to me) fun. I enjoy making homemade hamburger buns a few times a year for a special day. Fathers’ Day and the 4th of July quickly come to mind for me.

Freezer Buns

I am no expert in freezing yeast dough. So you may need to hit the internet to see if it is advisable to do so.

But, what I can tell you, is that you can freeze the hamburger buns once they are cooked. Wrap them up very well and you should be able to get a couple of months out of them. If you turn the buns into croutons, you can freeze those too!

RV Note

Living in a 5th wheel full-time, I am able to make homemade hamburger buns. Granted, it is a challenge for a couple of reasons. First, we are currently in WA State, in early Spring, where it is not very warm (high 50s). For this reason, it is hard to find a good area for the dough to rise. 

Second, the oven is small. There is no way I can cook all 8 hamburger buns at one time. While I cook four, the other set of buns continue to grow, before it’s their turn to cook. Of course, you can cut the recipe in half, if needed as mentioned above.

The last challenge of making homemade hamburger buns in an RV is the fact that not many people travel with a stand mixer. You can use a hand mixer, but the thick dough can bog down the motor. The other option is to put your muscles to the test.  At this point, we are not overloaded nor close to it, so the Kitchenaid stand mixer still has a home in our RV. 

GET THE OVEN READY…

Homemade Hamburger Buns

By Adventures In RV Life, Melissa McElfresh

TIME

Prep: 15 minutes PLUS 3.5 hours for the dough to rise

Cooking: 8 to 15 minutes

MAKES

Servings: 8

INGREDIENTS

• .25 ounces of active dry yeast (1 package)
• ½ cup of all-purpose flour (see gluten-free notes above)
• Plus 3 cups more of all-purpose flour
• 1 cup warm water (see yeast package for the temperature)
• 2 large eggs
• 3 tablespoons melted butter
• 1 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons white granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon olive oil or vegetable oil (can sub for cooking spray if needed)
• 1 tablespoon milk (1%, 2% or whole)
• Optional: sesame seeds for the bun top

KITCHEN TOOLS

• Baking sheet
• Silicone mat or parchment paper
• Stand mixer (ideal) with a dough hook
• Measuring cups and spoons
• Silicone spatula
• Aluminum foil, plastic wrap or kitchen towel
• Bench scraper, optional, but very helpful
• Small mixing bowl and fork
• Silicone pastry brush
• Cooling rack, optional
• Oven mitt, recommended

STEPS

1. Prepare a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper. (See Tips)
2. Add yeast, ½ cup of flour and warm water (see yeast package for temperature range) to a mixing bowl.
3. Whisk until combined. 
4. Let stand for 15-minutes or until foam starts to appear on top.
5. Toss in: 1 egg, melted butter, sugar, and salt. Mix until combined.
6. With dough hook attachment in place, add 3 cups of flour to the mixture.
7. Let the stand mixer knead the dough on low for 5-minutes, scraping the sides as needed.
8. If large amounts of dough stick to the silicone spatula, mix in a ¼ cup flour (or as needed).
9. NOTE: the dough should be sticky, stretchy, but should come off your fingers easily.
10. Place dough on a floured surface, working it into a round ball with loose ends tucked underneath.
11. Wipe out the mixing bowl and add olive oil (or vegetable).
12. Gently place the dough back into the bowl, lightly turning the dough so it is fully covered in oil.
13. Cover bowl (Aluminum foil, plastic wrap, or kitchen towel).
14. Let rise until doubled in size. This can take up to two hours. (See Tips)

STEPS Continued – Forming Buns

1. Transfer dough to a floured surface, and work into a 5×10” rectangle, about ½” thick. Pop any air bubbles that form.
2. Cut the rectangle into 8 pieces or more depending on bun size preference, with a bench scraper.
3. Make round balls out of each dough piece, tucking the loose ends underneath.
4. Now flatten each ball into a round hamburger bun shape, about ½ – ¾ inches thick. (See Tips)
5. Arrange buns on the prepared baking sheet, keeping plenty of distance ¾” or more.
6. Lightly dust buns with flour and cover loosely with foil, plastic wrap or a towel.
7. Let them rise until doubled in size, about an hour.
8. You are in the home stretch. It’s time to preheat the oven, 375*F (190*C).

STEPS Continued – Time To Bake

1. Egg wash: whisk 1 egg and milk in a small bowl until completely combined. (See Tips)
2. Gently brush the tops of the hamburger buns with the egg wash. (See Tips)
3. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if using.
4. Bake until lightly browned on top, 15-minutes. (See Tips)
5. Now the hard part…let the hamburger buns cool completely before cutting them in half and serving. 

TIPS

• The egg wash gets a little messy and easily burns to a non-lined baking sheet.
• Also, a lined baking sheet makes removing the hamburger buns much easier.
• The best place to let the dough rise is in a traditional oven with the light on.
• Living in an RV, I typically placed the dough in microwave to rise. Our small cookie sheets fit in there nicely as do the mixing bowls.
• Of course, do not start the microwave or oven with the dough rising inside.
• IF you are using regular all-purpose flour (gluten) and the dough does not rise after the first 45-minutes, the yeast did not activate properly. Either the package of yeast is expired or maybe the water was too hot/cold. At this point the dough will never rise.
• Forming the bun thickness will depend on a few factors, for them to come out the way you want.
• For a thicker bun, start with ¾” dough and check on it throughout the last hour.  When the bun has risen to your liking, then it is time to move onto the next step.

TIPS Continued

• For us, doing this in the RV, we lack the heat needed for the buns to rise to their full potential. Therefore, we opt to start with ¾” thickness. 
• But, if your dough doubled the first time quickly, it will probably do so the last time when you have formed it into hamburger buns. For this reason, you may want to start with ½” thickness or keep a close eye on them rising in that last hour.
• If the egg in the egg wash is not 100% beaten, you will end up with egg whites forming on the top of your hamburger buns. This may or may not start a new trend – probably not.
• I have found the silicone pastry brush to be the best when working with an egg wash. Some of the brushes can be a little too stiff, which can deflate the delicate hamburger buns. 
• Depending on the hamburger bun spacing, they may grow into each other during baking.  And maybe even the last hour when they are in ‘rise mode.’ Space them further part, if you prefer. We do not mind and will delicately cut them apart before serving.

ENJOY

We hope you give the Homemade Hamburger Buns recipe a try. Be sure to check out the rest of our recipe collections that we add to on a monthly basis HERE as well. Thanks for reading our blog and we will see you on our next Adventure!

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