Homemade Hamburger Buns

Once you try these homemade hamburger buns, you'll never use store bought buns again! They're soft, puffy, and surprisingly simple to make.

hamburger buns

Three months ago, if someone had told me that Jack and I would start making homemade hamburger buns every week, I would have laughed. To me, hamburger buns seemed like something that only professional bakers could make. But since Jack’s been baking up a storm lately, the idea of homemade hamburger buns started to seem less and less crazy. If we could make bagels and bread, why not hamburger buns too?

After testing and re-testing this recipe, I’m happy to report that homemade hamburger buns are surprisingly easy to make! They require under 30 minutes of hands-on work, and they’re absolutely delicious. Light, puffy, and flavorful, they’ll take any burger to a whole new level.

Hamburger bun recipe ingredients

Hamburger Bun Recipe Ingredients

You only need a few basic ingredients to make this hamburger bun recipe:

  • All-purpose flour and whole wheat flour – This combination yields really soft buns with a lovely whole wheat flavor.
  • Active dry yeast – It’s what makes these buns so puffy!
  • Warm water – Aim for it to be between 105 and 115 degrees to best activate the yeast.
  • Sugar – It feeds the yeast and gives the hamburger buns a lightly sweet flavor.
  • Butter – You’re going to want your butter to be at room temperature, so plan ahead! If it’s too cold or the opposite – melted – the hamburger buns won’t be as light and fluffy.
  • An egg – It helps the buns puff up and adds moisture and richness, making them super soft and tender. If you don’t have eggs on hand, or if you prefer not to use one, you can substitute 3 tablespoons water. The buns will be slightly less puffy, but they’ll still taste great.
  • Sea salt – To make all the flavors pop!

We also like to finish our homemade hamburger buns with an egg wash and sesame seeds. I love the way the crunchy, nutty seeds contrast with the lightly sweet, soft buns!

Find the complete recipe with measurements below.

Ball of dough

How to Make Hamburger Buns

This hamburger bun recipe is super simple to make. Here’s what you need to do:

First, make the dough. Activate the yeast by mixing it with warm water and a teaspoon of sugar. When the yeast mixture foams, add it to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, and mix it with the flours, salt, butter, egg, and remaining sugar until the dough is smooth, slightly stiff, and not sticky, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Dough rising in large bowl

Then, transfer the dough to a clean work surface, and knead to form it into a ball. Place it in a large bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and set it aside for an hour, until the dough has almost doubled in size.

8 balls of dough

When the dough has risen, shape the buns! Turn the dough out onto a clean, unfloured work surface and divide it into 8 pieces. Roll each piece on the countertop with a cupped hand to form it into a ball.

Homemade hamburger buns dough on a baking sheet

Next, transfer the dough balls to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Press each one down slightly to form it into a 3-inch disk. Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and let the dough rise for another hour.

rested hamburger buns on a baking sheet

When an hour has passed, bake! At this point, the dough balls will look slightly more puffy, but they’ll still be relatively flat. That’s ok! They’ll puff up more in the oven.

Transfer them to a 375-degree oven and bake for 13 minutes. Remove the baking sheet from the oven, brush the buns with the egg wash, and sprinkle them with sesame seeds. Return them to the oven and bake for 2-5 more minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. That’s it!

Homemade hamburger buns

Recipe Tips

  • Weigh your flour. Because this hamburger bun recipe uses a large amount of flour, you should weigh it if you can. This way, you’ll know exactly how much flour you’re using. Cup measurements are much less precise, as they can vary based on a variety of factors (your specific measuring cups, how tightly you pack your flour, etc.). If you don’t have a kitchen scale, check out this post for my best tips on measuring flour with measuring cups.
  • Let the dough rise somewhere warm. Yeast responds to warmth, so, for an extra productive rise, stick the dough somewhere warm. We like to put ours on a sunny windowsill!
  • No stand mixer? No problem. Using a stand mixer with a dough hook attachment is the quickest and easiest way to make these hamburger buns, but if you don’t have one, that’s ok! Just knead the dough by hand until it’s stiff, but not sticky, and forms a smooth ball, 12-15 minutes.
  • Change the topping. I love these homemade hamburger buns with sesame seeds, but if you don’t have any on hand, feel free to try something different! Poppy seeds or everything bagel seasoning would both be great. You could also skip the egg wash and the topping and just enjoy the buns plain.

hamburger buns on a tray

Hamburger Buns Serving Suggestions

These hamburger buns are best on the day they’re baked, but they’ll also keep in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 2 months. I recommend slicing them in half and toasting them before serving.

When you’re ready to eat, load them up with your favorite fixings and any type of burger you please! We love these homemade hamburger buns with all of these recipes:

Hamburger with homemade hamburger bun

 

Get This Recipe In Your Inbox
Share your email, and we'll send it straight to your inbox. Plus, enjoy daily doses of recipe inspiration as a bonus!

Homemade Hamburger Buns

rate this recipe:
4.75 from 52 votes
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Resting Time: 2 hours
Total Time: 2 hours 30 minutes
Serves 8
These easy homemade hamburger buns are light, soft, and flavorful - so much better than store bought! For the best results, weigh the flour in this recipe, as it's more precise than measuring by volume.

Ingredients

  • ¾ cup warm water
  • 1 (¼-ounce) package active dry yeast, 2¼ teaspoons
  • ¼ cup sugar
  • 360 grams all-purpose flour, 3 cups
  • 60 grams whole wheat flour, ½ cup
  • teaspoons sea salt
  • 2 tablespoons room temperature butter or extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large egg*, see note

For topping

  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon water
  • Sesame seeds, for sprinkling

Instructions

  • Prepare the dough: In a small bowl, combine the water, yeast, and 1 teaspoon of the sugar. Proof for 5 minutes, or until foamy.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment, place the flours and salt. Mix briefly to combine the flours, then add the remaining sugar, butter, egg, and the yeast mixture. Mix on medium-low speed for 5 to 7 minutes, until the dough is smooth and well-formed around the hook. It might seem dry at the beginning but should become a smooth, stiff, yet not sticky, dough by the end.
  • Transfer the dough to a clean work surface and knead to form into a ball and place into a large bowl. If it's sticky, add a bit of flour to your work surface. Cover with plastic wrap and set aside in a warm spot for 1 hour, until the dough has nearly doubled.
  • Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a clean, unfloured work surface and divide into 8 pieces. Form each piece into a ball by rolling on the countertop with a cupped hand. Place onto the baking sheet and flatten into 3-inch disks. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 hour. They’ll look slightly more puffy, but they’ll still be somewhat flat disks - that’s ok.
  • Preheat the oven to 375°F.
  • Prepare the topping: In a small bowl, whisk together the egg white and water.
  • Uncover and bake 15 to 18 minutes, until the tops are lightly golden brown. At the 13 minute mark, brush with the egg wash, sprinkle with sesame seeds, and return to the oven until puffy and golden brown.
  • Let cool on a wire rack and serve.

Notes

The buns are best the day they’re baked. Store them up to 3 days in an airtight container and gently warm, or toast, them when ready to serve. They also freeze well.
If it's humid and your dough is too sticky in step 2, sprinkle in a bit more flour.
*If you don't have eggs on hand, or if you prefer not to use one, you can substitute 3 tablespoons water. The buns will be slightly less puffy, but they'll still taste great.

Recipe adapted from King Arthur Flour.

130 comments

4.75 from 52 votes (17 ratings without comment)

Leave a comment:

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Rate this recipe (after making it)




  1. Janice
    07.15.2024

    I don’t know what I did wrong, but mine came out like hockey puck Biskets. ?????‍♀️?‍♀️

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.16.2024

      Hi Janice, if they didn’t rise, it’s possible that it could have been your yeast.

    • Cyndie
      08.13.2024

      5 stars
      In my opinion, Fleiischmann’s original active dry yeast is far superior than Red Star’s. Any time I have ever used Red Star the bread never came out right.

  2. Beverly
    07.15.2024

    5 stars
    Followed the recipe exactly & had my doubts as the dough felt very dry and hard to knead. The first rise wasn’t much but the second rise was great! Baked up delicious! Used them in home made chicken burgers, outstanding!

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      07.18.2024

      Hi Beverly, I’m so glad you enjoyed them!

  3. Jessica Butler
    07.10.2024

    3 stars
    I didn’t have any bread flour so I used this recipe. It didn’t work out well. The buns were not smooth and it just didn’t work out right

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      07.12.2024

      Hi Jessica, I’m sorry to hear you weren’t happy with the results! Did you change anything about the recipe?

  4. Brittany
    07.05.2024

    SO GOOD. We loved these so much that I plan on remaking them in the future a little smaller so we can eat them as dinner rolls. These were so easy and so delicious. Definitely a 10/10 recipe for me!

  5. Svenja
    06.25.2024

    5 stars
    They turned out super delicious. They are fluffy and moist on the inside. They are easy to make.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.26.2024

      I’m so glad you loved them!

  6. Zach
    06.24.2024

    5 stars
    These turned out amazing! Light and fluffy. Beautifully simple recipe, especially for a new baker. I only had white flour and only 1 egg so used butter to adhere the sesame seeds and everything bagel seasoning in place of egg wash. Will definitely bake these again.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.25.2024

      I’m glad you loved them!

  7. Jen
    06.14.2024

    4 stars
    I think I did something wrong, because mine turned out sort of heavy and dense. Still tasty!! But I’m gonna try again and see if I can do better?

  8. Elise Bauer
    06.06.2024

    5 stars
    Excellent! Made them to go with yak burgers tonight (brother’s neighbor has a yak ranch, great meat). Perfect instructions, thank you! It really helps to weigh the flours.

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      06.07.2024

      Hi Elise, I’m so glad you enjoyed the burger buns!

  9. Hayley
    05.31.2024

    1 star
    Waaaaaay to much flour

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      06.03.2024

      Hi Hayley, did you weigh the flour?

  10. Kyla
    05.20.2024

    5 stars
    This turned out beautifully. I had to substitute the egg for the liquid from a can of chickpeas (3tbsp for 1 egg) due to an allergy. I didn’t have wholewheat flour so I used barley flour I had on hand.

  11. Stacy
    05.18.2024

    Do I have to add wheat flour? I don’t have any and don’t feel like going to store.

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.22.2024

      Hi Stacy, you can use all white flour.

  12. Valeria
    05.16.2024

    Hi! Can I make this with instant yeast? I ran out of active? ty!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      05.17.2024

      Hi Valeria, yep! You can use instant yeast here.

  13. Riya
    05.15.2024

    This recipe seems super easy. Can you make double the batch. If I make double the batch can I freeze the dough or is it best to freeze the buns after they are cooked. Thanks

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.16.2024

      Hi Riya, I’d freeze the buns after they’re cooked, they freeze really well.

  14. Kim from Canurelief.com
    05.12.2024

    5 stars
    My family loved them we had hamburgers for Mother’s Day and I made them in the morning cause I did not have any buns and changed my plans for our lunch

    • Jeanine Donofrio
      05.16.2024

      I’m so glad they were a hit!

  15. Ann Miller
    04.17.2024

    Would love a gluten-free , corn-free, and dairy-free version of the home-made hamburger bun!

  16. Alysia
    04.02.2024

    5 stars
    Made this for hamburgers and liked them so much I made them smaller and served them as rolls for Easter dinner!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      04.05.2024

      Hi Alysia, so glad you loved the recipe!

  17. Nellie
    03.28.2024

    5 stars
    I made these buns today for hamburgers because I was too lazy to drag my kids out to the store for hamburger buns. They are lovely! So much better than store bought!!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.29.2024

      Hi Nellie, I’m so glad you loved them!

  18. Catherine
    03.19.2024

    Could I make this into a loaf of bread? If so, how long should I bake it for and should the temp be the same? Thank you!

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.21.2024

      Hi Catherine, we haven’t tried making this recipe into a loaf, so I’m not sure what the time/temp would be.

  19. Nat
    02.28.2024

    I was wondering if you could use this to make smaller, slider size buns? would anything change?

    • Phoebe Moore (L&L Recipe Developer)
      03.01.2024

      Hi Nat, you totally could! The smaller buns might just bake for a minute or two less.

  20. Heather
    12.07.2023

    Was wondering have you used rapid rise instant yeast? What would be the amount you would use?

    • Bob Forrest
      04.28.2024

      I aways use rapid rise no need to proof. Use it same as regular yeast

A food blog with fresh, zesty recipes.
Photograph of Jeanine Donofrio and Jack Mathews in their kitchen

Hello, we're Jeanine and Jack.

We love to eat, travel, cook, and eat some more! We create & photograph vegetarian recipes from our home in Chicago, while our shiba pups eat the kale stems that fall on the kitchen floor.