Homemade Hamburger Buns

May 16, 2011

A few weeks ago I was really craving a BBQ hamburger. I had everything to make them for dinner, except the buns. And I don’t really like a burger without the bun to go with it. I thought – I’ve got some time to spare and I’m totally capable. I’ll just make the my own Homemade Hamburger Buns!

Now you might be thinking: What kind of crazy person makes their own hamburger buns? Who has time for that?

Let me tell you. I used to think the same thing, but now I am totally hooked. I don’t think I’ll ever purchase hamburger buns at the grocery store again when I’ve got the craving for a BBQ dinner. No way. These taste so much better, and are likely better for you because you know exactly what’s going in them.

homemade hamburger buns

Even though that late afternoon I had some extra time, I didn’t have a ton of extra time to babysit yeast dough, so I turned to my favorite quick fix yeast breads book: Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I’ve written about this book before when I made Caramel Pecan Brioche Rolls, Light Whole Wheat Baguette, and Totally Awesome Pizza at Home

Now, back to the crazy talk about who has time for this? That’s the great thing about this book’s dough method. You can make the dough a day or two ahead when you have time, and then just bake the buns the day of.

I’ve used the Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day master recipe for Brioche Dough before when I made the Caramel Pecan Rolls. I really loved that dough’s flavor and workability so I knew I wanted to stick with that. I did a quick search on their blog and found instructions for how to use the brioche dough to make some amazing homemade hamburger buns.

I substituted a portion of the flour for freshly ground whole wheat (I use a Nutrimill Grain Mill to grind my own hard white wheat for whole wheat flour) in my buns for a little extra nutrition. I like to do this as often as possible.

We really enjoyed these Whole Wheat Brioche Hamburger Buns and have made them a few times. I hope you’ll give them a try next time you have a hamburger BBQ for dinner!

Whole Wheat Brioche Hamburger Buns

adapted from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and Sesame Seed Bun
makes 6 buns

Print Recipe

Ingredients:

Whole Wheat Brioche Dough

1 1/2 cups warm water
2 packets granulated yeast
1 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
8 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup honey
1 1/2 cups melted butter
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3 cups freshly ground whole hard white wheat flour

For the Hamburger Buns:
18 ounces Whole Wheat Brioche Dough
Egg Wash (1 egg + 1 tablespoon water, whisked)
Sesame Seeds
Poppy Seeds

Directions:

To Prepare the Whole Wheat Brioche Dough:

Dough is best prepared the day before.

Add the yeast, salt, eggs, honey, melted butter and water to a 5 quart bowl. Whisk to combine. Add the all purpose and whole wheat flour to the liquid mixture. Stir with a wooden spoon to combine, or use a stand mixer with a dough attachment.

Cover the dough and let rest for 2 hours, at room temperature, until doubled in bulk. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill. After chilled, remove a 1 1/2 lb. portion of the dough. Store the remaining dough covered in the refrigerator for up to 5 days, otherwise you can freeze it in 1 lb. increments for up to 4 weeks.

To Prepare the Hamburger Buns:

Divide the 18 ounces dough into 6 three ounce portions. A kitchen scale helps with this. Roll each portion into a ball.

Line a baking sheet with parchment. Place each ball onto the parchment paper and press into 1/4 inch thick rounds. Alternatively, for uniform buns, you can press each ball inside of greased English Muffin Rings.

Cover the baking sheet with plastic wrap and allow the buns to rise for 20-40 minutes. Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 375 degrees F. Place the oven rack on the middle position.

Brush the tops of each bun with the egg wash and then sprinkle with sesame seeds and poppy seeds, if desired. Bake rolls at 350 degrees F for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through and golden brown. Let cool before slicing in half and serving.

Breads, Burgers, Sandwiches, Yeast Breads
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