Soft Burger Buns

Some burger buns in a pan lined with parchment paper.

5 from 1 vote

Soft Burger Buns are soft and chewy and are best served as a base for your favorite burger, grilled chicken breast, or deli meat and cheese. These buns are sweetened with honey and include some whole wheat flour for a true one-two flavor punch!

Course Bread

Cuisine American

Keyword honey wheat buns, soft burger buns

Prep Time 20

Cook Time 15

rise time 1

Total Time 1 35

Servings burger buns

Calories 226kcal

Author Sue Ringsdorf

Ingredients

1 Tablespoon yeast - I use Red Star Active Yeast
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
1 cup warm water (240 grams) - warmed to 100-110 degrees f
1/2 cup milk (120 grams) - warmed to 100-110 degrees f
3 Tablespoons olive oil (42 grams)
2 Tablespoons honey (42 grams)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1/2 cup whole wheat flour (65 grams)
3 ¼ cups bread flour (422 grams) - or a little more, to right of consistency
butter - for topping

Instructions

Make the dough. In a large mixer, combine the yeast, sugar, and warm water and milk mixture. Use a spatula to stir it up. Let this sit to activate, about 15 minutes. (It should get bubbly and foamy.)
1 Tablespoon yeast, 2 teaspoons granulated sugar, 1 cup warm water (240 grams), 1/2 cup milk (120 grams)
Then add the olive oil, honey, and salt – and stir again. Place the dough hook on the mixer and then add the whole wheat flour plus three cups of all-purpose flour. Start mixer and let it run, stopping it intermittently to brush down the sides of the mixer.
3 Tablespoons olive oil (42 grams), 2 Tablespoons honey (42 grams), 2 teaspoons kosher salt, 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (65 grams), 3 ¼ cups bread flour (422 grams)
Gradually add more flour as needed. You want the dough to still be slightly sticky, but it should pull mostly away from the sides of the mixer.
Add to bowl. Grease a mixing bowl with oil, and use your hands to transfer the dough from mixer to the bowl. Form it into a nice smooth ball, and then cover with a clean dish towel. Let rise until doubled in size, about 30 minutes to an hour.
Form rolls. Use a bench scraper (or a knife or your hands) to divide the dough into sections. I normally get about 10-12 rolls out of this recipe.
Use your hands to form the sections of dough into round balls, bringing everything to the center of the rounds resulting in a smooth top. Place the dough rounds on a prepared baking sheet (with spray or parchment paper).
Bake rolls. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Place pan of rolls in the oven and bake until browned on both the tops and bottoms. (You will need to bake in two batches.)
Brush with butter. When the buns come out of the oven, brush the tops with butter.
butter
Cool. Remove rolls to cooling racks and let fully cool.
Store. Store rolls in freezer bags or an airtight container. You can also freeze these for up to three months.

Notes

When you add the warm water to the yeast and sugar – be careful to use WARM water (between 100-110 degrees F), not hot. If the water is too hot, the yeast will disappear and you can’t make bread without yeast. Also, do not use cool water because it won’t activate the yeast.
Don’t add all the flour at once because every baking day is different. Some days you will need a bit more flour and some days, you will need less.
The bread dough shouldn’t be overly sticky when ready. It should bounce back slightly to the touch. Over time, you will learn exactly how much flour is needed to make the ultimate burger buns.
When done, the bottom of the buns should be slightly brown and crunchy, and the top, a nice golden brown.
Make sure you brush the top of each bun with butter.
These soft buns can also be topped with poppy seeds or sesame seeds as another option.

Nutrition