Best Buns for Hamburgers & Hot Dogs

Make homemade buns for your next cookout! Shape for hamburgers or hot dogs, and enjoy soft, fluffy buns with rich, buttery flavor.

There’s nothing quite like the smell of fresh bread baking in the oven, and these hamburger buns are no exception. They fill your home with a comforting, inviting aroma that will make waiting for them to cool down the toughest part!

When it’s burger night, I fire up the grill and make The Best Burger Recipe and homemade hamburger buns. This recipe for bread buns is so easy, you’ll never buy store-bought buns again!

EASY BURGER BUN RECIPE

Baking hamburger buns at home isn’t super hard – it’s more just embracing something new in the kitchen. And trust me, the first bite of a burger with your homemade bun is totally a “Where have you been all my life?” kind of moment. I love this recipe for bread buns because it’s:

• Truly an EASY burger bun recipe. The only difficult part is waiting for the buns to be done so you can dig in!
• Made with simple real food ingredients. When you bake hamburger buns at home, you’re saying goodbye to all those unnecessary additives and hello to fresh, wholesome, chosen ingredients.
• You can tweak the recipe to suit your food preferences. Lower the sugar, opt for whole grains, or even make dairy free hamburger buns.
• And of course, they smell and taste amazing!

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER BUNS INGREDIENTS

These homemade burger buns have simple ingredients and plenty of substitution options to make them exactly how you prefer.

• Milk. Choose whatever milk you normally have on hand: dairy, almond milk, or coconut milk.
• Large egg. Adding eggs, butter, and milk makes this an enriched bread dough, which means the finished buns will taste rich and buttery.
• Olive oil or melted butter. I love the taste of butter in my burger buns, but olive oil works if you’re making dairy free buns.
• Sugar or honey. Choose your sweetener. This feeds the yeast, which makes for a good rise and fluffy buns.
• Flour. I typically grab unbleached bread flour or all purpose flour for this recipe. You can substitute up to half whole wheat flour as well.
• Vital wheat gluten. This makes for softer, more pliable buns – the extra gluten proteins help with structure and elasticity in the bread. If you’re using bread flour, you don’t need to add this, since bread flour already has a higher protein content.
• Salt. If you’re going to use salt, make sure it’s a good one like Ava Jane’s Kitchen which doesn’t have microplastics! You can get a free 8oz. bag of sea salt right now (just pay shipping and handling!).
• Active dry yeast. Use active dry yeast, not instant yeast.

HOW TO MAKE RECIPE FOR BREAD BUNS

Step 1. Measure yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer or large mixing bowl.

Step 2. Warm the milk to 105-110F and pour it into the yeast. Let stand for 5-10 minutes while the yeast activates.

Step 3. Once the yeast is slightly foamy, add all of the other wet and dry ingredients and mix with a dough hook attachment on medium or knead by hand until the dough is smooth and elastic. This should take around 5 to 10 minutes.

Step 4. Pour the dough into a large oiled bowl and let the dough rise in a warm place until it has doubled in size. This process will take around 1-1 ½ hours.

Step 5. After the dough has risen, pour it onto a floured work surface and knead it to form a long log shape.

Step 6. Cut the dough into 12 equal pieces and shape these pieces into round buns. Place them on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a silpat mat.

Step 7. Cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap that has been sprayed with cooking spray (sprayed side down).

Step 8. Preheat oven to 375F degrees and let the recipe for bread buns rise for 30 minutes.

Step 9. Remove the plastic wrap and bake the buns in the preheated oven for 15-22 minutes until they’re golden brown.

If you’ve got some hamburger buns left over after your burger feast, just store them in an airtight container at room temperature. They’ll stay fresh for about 2-3 days.

HAMBURGER BUN BREAD RECIPE TIPS

• Customize your burger buns by adding toppings! Sesame seeds, dry minced onions, melted butter, or an egg wash are all common bun toppings. Add them to the top of your buns before baking.
• Turn this bun bread recipe into homemade hot dog buns. Instead of shaping the dough into round rolls, shape them like a hot dog bun. Bake as directed in the recipe.
• The yield on the original burger bun recipe is 12, but the buns were slightly bigger than we preferred. I recommend dividing the dough into 14 buns the first time you make this recipe and then altering (if necessary) from there. They rise quite a bit in the 30 minutes of rest, and then again while baking.
• This recipe for bread buns freezes well. Just wrap each bun individually in aluminum foil, then put them in a freezer bag. They should keep for up to 3 months. When you’re ready to use them, thaw them at room temperature and give them a quick refresh in the oven if you like them warm.

SERVE HOMEMADE BREAD BUNS RECIPE

I almost always use this bread buns recipe when I’m making The Best Burger Recipe. These burgers turn out juicy and tasty, and they’re super easy to make!

Buns are also perfect for:

• Hot dogs or brats
• Slow Cooker Brisket
• Pulled pork
• Grilled chicken (try one of these yummy chicken marinades)
• Sandwiches – serve buns with sliced turkey and ham, sliced cheese, and sandwich toppings for a change from your usual sandwich bread

Have leftover burger buns? Turn them into Cheesy Garlic Bread for an easy side dish for spaghetti night!

HOMEMADE HAMBURGER BUN RECIPE FAQS

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