Homemade Hamburger Buns
I am in big trouble… Hubby has proclaimed that these hamburger buns are so good we shouldn’t buy them at the store any more. While I agree that they are that good, I’m worried that he’s going to be expecting homemade hamburger buns around the house often…
It’s not that they’re difficult to make, they just take some time with the rising and whatnot. But boy are they worth it. And they freeze well. Each batch makes 8 buns, so they last a decent amount of time since we don’t keep much bread in the house.
This is definitely one of those foods that is worth the small amount of effort to make at home. So the next time you’ll be home for a few hours, make these buns. You’ll thank me.
Be sure to check back next week when I’ll be sharing some great ways to fill these buns!
Two Years Ago: Panzanella
Homemade Hamburger Buns
Yield: 8
Ingredients:
3 Tbsp warm milk
1 pkg (2 1/4 tsp) yeast
2 1/2 Tbsp sugar
2 eggs
3 cups bread flour
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 Tbsp unsalted butter, softened
sesame seeds (optional)
Directions:
In a glass measuring cup, combine 1 cup warm water, the milk, yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Meanwhile, beat 1 egg.
In a large bowl, whisk flours with salt. Add butter and rub into flour between your fingers, making crumbs. Using a dough scraper, stir in yeast mixture and beaten egg until a dough forms. Scrape dough onto clean, unfloured counter and knead, scooping dough up, slapping it on counter and turning it, until smooth and elastic, 8 to 10 minutes.
Shape dough into a ball and return it to bowl. Cover bowl with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled in bulk, 1 to 2 hours.
Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Using dough scraper, divide dough into 8 equal parts. Gently roll each into a ball. Arrange 4 of the dough balls onto each baking sheet, 2 to 3 inches apart. Cover loosely with a clean kitchen towel and let buns rise in a warm place for 1 to 2 hours.
Set a large shallow pan of water on oven floor. Preheat oven to 400 degrees with rack in center.
If the buns have risen too much and are really flat, reshape into balls.
Beat remaining egg with 1 tablespoon water and brush some on top of buns. Add sesame seeds if using. Bake, turning sheet halfway through baking, until tops are golden brown, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.
Recipe adapted from Smitten Kitchen, originally from The NY Times
I am Jen the Beantown Baker. Engineer by day and baking maven by night. Hubby serves as my #1 fan and official taste tester. We got hitched back in 2006. Barefoot. In the sand. With the waves crashing behind us. It was one of the best decisions we’ve ever made. 
I’ve been wanting to make these for so long–might have to bust them out for the Superbowl next weekend 🙂
I made these after spotting them on Pinterest. I made them ‘just because’. They are quite tasty.
beantownbaker — January 14th, 2013 @ 3:46 pm
So glad you enjoyed them!
I made these with my 4 year old, we had so much fun and they are delicous!!!! Easy too. Loved this!!!! Thank you so much for sharing!
beantownbaker — January 18th, 2013 @ 3:34 pm
So glad you liked them!
We made these during a play date. Each kid got a piece to make their own shape. They are so cute and yummy!
beantownbaker — April 11th, 2013 @ 8:44 am
What a fun activity for the kids!
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I am planning to make these for my daughter’s birthday party in a few weeks. Can the dough be made ahead? How long do they keep after making? What is the best way to reheat them if they have been made ahead? I am planning to make a test batch, but thought you could shed some insight. Also- do you think they would be good with 1/2 wheat flour? Excited to road test ’em!
beantownbaker — July 8th, 2013 @ 9:18 am
I make pretzels and freeze them all the time. I don’t see why pretzel bites couldn’t also be frozen. Just thaw them in the fridge overnight then reheat in your oven. I haven’t tried with wheat flour, but let me know how it goes for you!
I just made these tonight and they were so delicious!! I made a batch with salt and another with cinnamon sugar! So delicious!!
beantownbaker — July 16th, 2013 @ 8:37 am
So glad you liked them! I love making cinnamon sugar pretzels.
What if I don’t have brown sugar do you acually need it or is their something else I can use?
beantownbaker — October 6th, 2013 @ 8:13 pm
If you have molasses and white sugar, you can make brown sugar.
Sadly I left my kitchenaid standing mixer in states when we moved to Germany. Can I make the dough with a hand mixer?
beantownbaker — November 3rd, 2013 @ 12:32 pm
I think you could do this with a hand mixer. Let me know how they turn out for you!
Made these for our lake-house retreat this summer and they were gone before we even set them on the table! Making them again, but I learned my lesson and will be quadrupling the batch! That’s how good they are! Thanks for the recipe!
beantownbaker — January 2nd, 2014 @ 1:35 pm
We just made these for our New Years Eve party and I wish I had quadrupled the recipe! I only doubled it and they disappears so quickly!
Made these last night for the Superbowl. It made about 160 pretzel bites. Definitely more than 6-8 servings! They tasted a little “off” last night after we made them, but now that they’ve cooled down and we reheated them, they are delicious!
We plan on freezing about half since they taste EXACTLY like those PretzelMaker ones! Thanks!
beantownbaker — February 3rd, 2014 @ 4:59 pm
Good point about the serving size! I’ve updated it because this does make quite a few pretzel bites. Glad you enjoyed them.
Just made these tonight for the first time and they are delicious! The kids and I decided to experiment so we did some with smokey monterey jack cheese stuffed inside and rolled others in cinnamon sugar after they baked. Soooo yummy! Thanks for the recipe!
beantownbaker — February 3rd, 2014 @ 5:00 pm
Oh man, cheese stuffed pretzel bites? That sounds like a great experiment! Glad you and the kids enjoyed them.
Could I use tin foil instead of parchment paper?
beantownbaker — April 16th, 2014 @ 5:57 pm
Foil should work. I’d spray it with baking spray though.
Seems like a great recipe! Could you though assume how many TBSPs are in 1 package of yeast? Thanks (:
beantownbaker — May 12th, 2014 @ 4:57 pm
An envelope of yeast usually has 2.25 tsp in it. Be sure to check the packaging to see if it’s labeled as well.
This are awesome! I’ve made pretzels and pretzel bites before but this time I tried your recipe. Really delicious. One thing that makes it go a lot quicker is instead of rolling it into snakes from chunks of dough, I roll out the dough somewhat flat, and then cut strips from it. Then I can just roll the strips up a little bit to get them round and it’s all set.
Oh, tin foil does work even if you don’t spray it, they’re just a little tricky to get off, but it’s not a problem.
Thanks for the recipe! https://scontent-b-sea.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ash4/t31.0-8/p843x403/10259243_10203611442836402_762978649043400382_o.jpg
beantownbaker — May 17th, 2014 @ 6:11 pm
That’s a brilliant idea to just roll out the dough and cut it in to strips! I’ll definitely do that next time. Yours look great!
I’ve made these several times and every time they are a hit. i’m making a big batch today for an octoberfest party and just wanted to say Thank You for the recipe!
Tasty recipe!
super yummy! i halved the recipe for my family, and now i’m wishing i hadn’t! great super bowl party food.