Homemade Hamburger Buns

Jul 6

Jul 6 Homemade Hamburger Buns

Soft, buttery hamburger buns. Give them a try, and I promise you’ll never go back to store bought. No need to limit yourself to burgers. Use them for tuna salad, pulled pork, portobellos, grilled chicken…they’re sturdy enough to stand up to even the messiest of sandwiches. Make yours a little nuttier by substituting up to half of the all purpose flour with whole wheat flour, if desired.

Homemade buns are best the day they’re baked, but they do keep for 2 or 3 days wrapped tightly in a plastic bag at room temperature. If you freeze them, refresh individual buns straight from the freezer by wrapping in a damp towel and microwaving each for 20-30 seconds. Slice, and lightly toast if desired.

Homemade Hamburger Buns Recipe:

This recipe is adapted from King Arthur Flour’s Big Beautiful Buns recipe. It’s very similar, but I use less sugar in the dough (the original, while fantastic, is pretty sweet) and added more detailed instructions for novice bread bakers since their recipe seems to be written for experienced bakers and is a little light in detail.

Yield:
8 large buns

Difficulty:
Moderate

Special Equipment:
Stand mixer with a dough hook attachment.
Bowl scraper and bench scraper are useful but not required.
Pastry brush

Ingredients:

For the buns:

418 grams (3½ cups) All Purpose Flour*
1¼ tsp table salt
3 TBSP granulated sugar
1 TBSP instant yeast
2 TBSP unsalted butter, room temperature
1 large egg, lightly beaten, room temperature
¾ cup water 80-100° F
Butter spray or neutral oil for bowl and work surface

*I use King Arthur Flour All Purpose Flour which is higher in protein than most supermarket brands. If you have a different brand of flour, you may need to add an extra tablespoon or two to the dough for the right consistency.

Topping :

4 TBSP unsalted butter, melted

Instructions:

Whisk flour, salt, yeast and sugar together in the bowl of a stand mixer. Make a well in the center of the bowl, add butter, egg, water and give a stir or two to loosely combine. Place on stand mixer and knead with the dough hook until a smooth, soft dough forms. It may not totally clear the sides of the bowl. This could take 10-12 minutes or so. The dough will be tacky but shouldn’t be overly sticky.

Transfer to the dough to a lightly greased bowl (I like to use a butter spray, but a neutral oil will work too). Turn once to cover the dough.

Tip: If the dough resists coming out of the bowl, here’s where a bowl scraper comes in handy. Don’t tear at the dough or you’ll break the strands of gluten.

Cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size. About an hour.

Tip: I like to use my oven, turned off with the light on to proof my dough. Just don’t forget that it’s in there. If you’re forgetful like me, try putting a post-it note on the oven door.

When the dough is ready, grease or spray (again, I like to use a butter spray) a clean work surface. Press down on the dough to deflate the air bubbles and turn out onto the work surface.

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut dough with bench scraper or knife into 8 even pieces (approximately 93 grams each), shape into balls, place on prepared baking sheet and flatten slightly. Cover with damp towel, and let rise until doubled in size. About an hour.

Tip: Place them an inch apart if you like tear-apart buns; farther apart if you don’t.

Halfway through second rise, preheat oven to 375°F.

When rise is done, brush half of the melted butter on buns and bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven and immediately place on a cooling rack so the bottoms of the buns don’t get soggy. Brush the tops with the remaining butter. Let cool for 10 or 15 minutes, slice and enjoy.