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I love summer. Easy living, late nights, sleepy mornings and all the in-season and fresh fruits and veggies. We love using our grill in the summertime, and while I do keep some store-bought burger buns as backup in my freezer, these quick and easy burger buns taste SO much better and only take an hour, start to finish.
They are the perfect burger bun for your next grilling party or when you want dinner to taste delicious. If you have a little more time, I love these delicious brioche burger buns, but for quick and easy these buns are my go-to recipe.
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How to Make Quick and Easy Burger Buns
Recipe Overview
These burger buns are quick-mixed and kneaded to develop the gluten. After kneading, shape the dough into buns and let the dough rise for about 30 minutes until they are ready to bake. All of this happens in just about an hour. If you are preparing dinner and want a quick/easy/delicious burger bun, make these first! By the time your dinner is ready, these buns will have risen and baked, leaving you with the most delicious dinner.
- 20 minute Mix/knead/rest/shape
- 30 minute Rise time
- 15 minute Bake
Sourdough Baker? Then you’ll want to try my recipes for Easy Sourdough Hamburger Buns or my Sourdough Hot Dog Bun recipe.
Mixing Quick and Easy Burger Bun Dough
To make this process quicker and easier, I like to use a stand mixer to mix the burger bun dough. For large batches of dough, I prefer using the Bosch Mixer. For smaller batches of dough and when I don’t want to clean my Bosch, I will pull out my trusty KitchenAid mixer. This recipe would do well in either of those mixers, or you could mix the dough by hand, though it will take a little longer.
Pour the warm water, yeast, sugar, salt, egg and oil to the bottom of a stand mixer. With the dough hook running, add the flour a cup at a time. Watch as the flour incorporates into the dough and add more after it’s been absorbed. To know that no more flour is needed, pinch off a piece of dough and roll it up into a ball in your fingers. If you can form a ball with just a bit of sticky residue left, it is ready. The dough should be tacky but not overly sticky.
You can also check the sides of your mixing bowl. When the dough pulls away from the sides or is all on one side (Bosch), stop adding flour. Make sure to knead the dough for about 5-8 minutes to develop the gluten and add a little bit more flour as necessary during this process. If you choose to knead by hand, add a few minutes to the kneading process.
Does Yeast Bread Need a Bulk Rise?
Most yeast-based recipes call for a bulk rise, or first rise before shaping the bread dough, like this easy no knead bread. This first rise is especially important if using dry active yeast or sourdough to raise bread. A first rise before shaping the dough also can help the dough to have more flavor, better gluten development and a better crumb.
The question is: how much better? For these quick and easy burger buns, we may sacrifice a tiny bit of flavor/crumb/gluten development but we get a delicious scratch-made yeast bun in about an hour. This is made possible using instant yeast. Typically, I like using a first/bulk rise in most of my bread recipes. But for burger buns, when I’m in a time crunch, I’ll take these delicious buns any day.
If you would like to add a first rise to this recipe, go ahead and splash a little oil in a bowl. Transfer the dough to the oiled bowl, cover and let rise. Then proceed with the recipe as written.
How to Shape Quick and Easy Burger Buns
Burger buns are shaped the same way as a typical roll recipe. First separate the dough into 12 equal pieces. Take each piece of dough and pull/pinch up the sides until it forms a ball. Roll the ball on the counter using your hand in a cupping shape to seal the balls and create tension for the dough to rise.
I also like rolling the ball of dough on the countertop between my two hands to create tension. After rolling the balls and placing them on a parchment-lined baking sheet, take your hand and press down on the tops of the buns just a bit to flatten them. This will help them bake into more of a burger shape than a traditional roll. Watch a shaping video here.
Quick, 30 Minute Rise
Allow the burger buns to rise for about 30 minutes. To accomplish a fast rise in the hot summer is easy. Cover with a dishtowel and place them out on your counter to rise. If your kitchen runs cool or you are baking them on a cold day, cover the buns and stick them in your oven with the pilot light turned on. DO NOT TURN THE OVEN ON. The heat from the pilot light and closed oven will act as a “proofing” box to help the buns to rise quickly. Once they have puffed up, remove them from the oven and egg wash before baking.
Egg Wash Burger Buns for Golden Brown Finish
Egg wash is one of those steps that I always regret when I forget! Adding egg wash to the top of burger buns makes them look so much more professional and taste delicious. For buns that only bake for 15 minutes, they help them get the brown color you look for in a burger bun while still being soft and chewy inside. Lightly beat an egg with a fork in a small bowl. Add a splash of water and whip together with the fork. Using a pastry brush (I’ve also used a paper towel in a pinch), gently top each bun with the egg wash. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
Baking Quick Homemade Burger Buns
Bake the burger buns at 400ºF for about 20 minutes until golden brown on top. Let them cool completely before slicing, toasting and using for a delicious burger. These burger buns are perfect for your next summer BBQ. They hold up to ALL the toppings and make each bite of burger a little bit of heaven. I’m not sure if I like the bun or the burger better!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Typically yeast dough needs a first rise and second rise (and sometimes even a third rise!). Using instant yeast allows some yeast dough to cut out the first rise. Instead the dough is kneaded, shaped and then allowed to proof (or rise) before being baked. You may sacrifice a little on texture, flavor and gluten development but with a proper proofing and instant yeast, the difference is negligible for burger buns.
Burger buns can be left out up to 12 hours. After 12 hours, stick the leftover buns in a ziplock bag and freeze. When ready to use, pull out a bun and let it come to room temperature. Toast if desired, and use.
Cover the dough and place it in an oven with the pilot light on. DO NOT TURN ON THE OVEN. Let the dough rise in this “make-shift” proofing box until ready.
Yes. This dough is perfect for hot dog buns. Instead of rolling the dough into balls, shape them into logs and proceed with the rest of the recipe.
Quick and Easy Burger Buns
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Ingredients
- 480 grams water, about 2 cups, warmed to 100ºF
- 20 grams instant yeast, about 2 Tablespoons
- 60 grams granulated sugar, about 4 Tablespoons
- 20 grams salt, about 1 Tablespoon
- 1 large egg, lightly beaten, about 50 grams
- 65 grams olive oil, about 1/4 cup
- 950 grams bread flour, about 6-7 cups, see recipe notes for all-purpose flour
- 1 large egg, for egg wash
- splash of water, for egg wash
- sesame seeds for sprinkling on top, if desired
Instructions
- Add the lightly beaten egg, olive oil and salt to the stand mixer.
- With the dough hook running, add the flour a cup at a time until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Pinch off a chunk of dough. It should roll into a ball in your fingers with just a little bit of sticky residue remaining. If it doesn't, add a little bit more flour a few Tablespoons at a time until no more flour is needed. Knead the dough for 8 minutes until soft and tacky. Let the dough rest for 5 minutes to relax the gluten.
- Lightly flour a surface and turn the dough out onto your work surface. Tip: If you'd like to let the dough bulk rise, shape the dough into a ball, splash a little oil in a bowl and lightly cover the dough with oil. Cover the dough and let rise until doubled. Then proceed with the recipe as written.
- Cut the dough into twelve equal pieces, about 135 grams per piece. Shape each piece of dough into a ball. Pull pieces of the dough up into the center, forming a tight ball. You can see how I shape rolls here.
- Cover the rolls and place them in a warm place to rise for 30 minutes. Sometimes I will leave them in the oven with the pilot light on (do not turn the oven on) to encourage a good, quick rise.
- Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Note: If your oven runs hot, decrease the temperature to 375ºF.
- While the oven preheats, mix together the egg wash: crack the egg and add a splash of water. Lightly brush the egg wash over each bun. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
- Bake the buns for about 20 minutes until golden brown and they register 190-195ºF. Allow to cool completely before slicing and enjoying with your burgers.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Surprised by wagyu beef burgers for dinner and store bought buns just felt wrong. These are wonderful and I will be making them at least once a month.
I’m glad they turned out great! Enjoy!
Great and soft! Definitely using this again!
Thanks for the review!
This was by far the best recipe for hamburger buns I have ever made! I doubled the recipe and made 24- 3 oz. buns, then took the leftover dough and made cinnamon rolls. Again these were amazing. This dough is so fun to work with and I will definitely be using it again for buns and cinnamon rolls.
I’m glad it turned out great! Enjoy!
Hello Amy,
My husband doesn’t want any sugar in his bread, does sugar or even honey need to be added? I know yeast normally feeds on sugar but will it still do its job without it?
thank you
Great question! You don’t have to add sugar or honey if you don’t want to. Your sourdough starter will still ferment and rise just fine without it. Sugar does enhance the flavor, texture, and helps with the browning. If you leave it out, the bread may be slightly less soft and won’t brown quite as much, but it will still turn out well. It might be a bit more bland without the sugar or honey though.
Unbelieveable! I’ve struggled with other silly bun recipes, which turned into a thick and gloppy mess. YOUR ROLLS ROCK! Newly found best friend in my kitchen!!
Thanks for the review! I’m glad they turned out great!
I halved the recipe and they turned out AMAZING!!
Great! Thanks for sharing.