Soft Sourdough Hamburger Buns
Sourdough Hamburger Buns will take your burgers to the next level. They’re plush with an amazing flavor and texture thanks to the sourdough starter in the dough.
If you don’t already have one, I can show you how to make a sourdough starter and how to feed a sourdough starter.
Table of contents
Why you should make Sourdough Hamburger Buns
We spend lots of time thinking about what type of meat (or meat substitute) used to make a burger, and what type of fixins to put on top of the burger. But what about the bun?
A good hamburger bun should be soft enough so you can bite into the burger without all the toppings squishing out. But the bun should also be substantial enough to hold up to the burger juices and toppings without disintegrating.
That is exactly the type of bun this recipe will yield.
Ingredients
Ingredient Notes
- Sourdough Starter – Use an active, 100% hydration starter. If your starter has a different hydration percent you will need to adjust the flour or water in the recipe as needed.
- Bread Flour – High protein bread flour promotes great gluten development in the dough. The stretchy dough rises high in the oven and the buns keep their round shape.
- Milk – Scalding alters a protein in milk which can interfere with gluten development. Don’t skip the scalding step. The milk, along with butter and a smidge of sugar, tenderizes the dough for a soft crumb.
- Sesame Seeds – These are optional but a very tasty addition.
Step by Step Process Photos
See the recipe card for detailed measurements and instructions.
- Combine the starter with the water and 1/2 cup of the flour and set it aside for 60 minutes. Add the milk/butter, sugar, salt, egg and half of the remaining flour. This will form a thick batter. Switch to the dough hook.
- With the mixer running on low speed, add the remaining flour and mix to combine.
- The dough will start out quite shaggy and sticky. Knead for 5 minutes.
- After 5 minutes the dough should cling to the hook and clear the sides of the bowl. This can also be done by hand.
- Set the dough aside to ferment for 3-5 hours. Each hour stretch and fold the dough.
- After the initial fermentation cover the bowl and refrigerate for up to 2 days. If you want to bake the same day proceed with shaping the buns.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Do this by eye or weigh the dough and divide by 8. Roll each piece of dough under your cupped hand to form a tight ball. Set the dough balls onto a parchment lined baking sheet.
- Use your hand to flatten each ball into a disc. Alternately, run a rolling pin over each ball to flatten.
- Set the buns aside to rise for 1 – 2 hours. The rising time will be longer if the dough is cold after refrigerating.
- The buns are ready when they are light and aerated. If you poke the dough it should form a dimple that slowly fills-in. If the dough springs right back it’s not ready.
- Brush the buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake until golden brown.
Timeline for making Sourdough Hamburger Buns:
Same Day Bake
- Night before – feed starter
- Early am – mix dough
- Early afternoon – bulk fermentation complete
- Early afternoon – shape Buns & rise
- Late afternoon – bake buns
Overnight Cold Fermentation
- Early am – feed starter
- Early afternoon – mix dough
- Early Evening – bulk fermentation complete
- Early Evening – refrigerate dough up to 2 days
- Next Day – shape buns, rise and bake
More Recipes Like This
I know you hate to throw away that sourdough discard. Check out these recipes that use sourdough discard.
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Sourdough Hamburger Bun Recipe
Soft with an amazing flavor and texture, Sourdough Hamburger Buns will take your burgers to the next level.
large buns
Ingredients
- 8 oz active sourdough starter (1 cup, 100% hydration)
- 2 oz warm water (¼ cup)
- 15 oz bread flour (3 cups, see note)
- 6 oz whole milk (¾ cup)
- 1 oz unsalted butter (room temp)
- 1 oz granulated sugar (2 tablespoons)
- 1 ½ teaspoons salt
- 1 large egg (room temperature)
- 1 egg (for egg wash)
- Sesame seeds for garnish
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a large mixing bowl, combine 8 oz active sourdough starter, 2 oz warm water and 1/2 cup of the bread flour to form a thick batter. Cover the bowl and allow the mixture to rise for 30-60 minutes.
- Warm 6 oz whole milk in the microwave to scalding. Add 1 oz unsalted butter to the milk and stir until the butter melts. Allow the milk to cool to 110°F. Add the milk, 1 oz granulated sugar, 1 ½ teaspoons salt and 1 large egg to the sponge. Mix to combine.
- Add half of the remaining bread flour. Mix until the batter looks like thick pancake batter. If using a stand mixer, switch to the dough hook.
- With the mixer running, slowly add the remaining bread flour. Mix until the dough begins to gather on the hook and clears the sides of the bowl. Knead for 5 minutes. If mixing by hand, add as much of the flour as you can in the bowl then finish kneading in the rest of the flour by hand And then knead 5 minutes.
- Dump the dough onto a lightly floured surface. The dough should be soft and slightly sticky. Knead to form a smooth ball. If the dough is very sticky sprinkle a little more flour as you knead. Place the dough in an oiled bowl, turning once to coat the dough. Cover and set aside in a warm spot for the initial fermentation.
- Each hour during fermentation, lift one side of the dough and fold it into the middle of the dough. Repeat with the other three sides of the dough then flip the dough over. You're basically turning the dough inside-out to redistribute the yeast and strengthen the gluten.
- After 3 hours the dough should be lively, elastic and airy. If the dough is still sluggish give it another hour or two at room temperature. If you want to finish making the buns the next day return the dough to the bowl, cover tightly and refrigerate overnight. The next morning continue with shaping. Otherwise continue shaping the buns on the same day.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide the dough into 8 equal portions (see note). Roll each portion to a ball and set them a parchment lined baking sheet. Use the palm of your hand to flatten each ball to a disc about 1" thick. Alternately, you can run a rolling pin over the dough to flatten.
- Cover the sheet pan and allow the rolls to rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour, longer if the dough is cold). Press a roll with your finger. If it springs right back it's not ready, if the dent slowly fills in the rolls are ready to bake.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 400 °F.
- Brush the tops of the buns with egg wash. Sprinkle each bun generously with sesame seeds. Bake until the buns are golden brown and feel light when lifted off the sheet pan, about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool completely before slicing.
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Notes
If measuring the flour by volume use the “dip & sweep” method. That is, dip the measuring cup into the flour bin, overfill it, then sweep away the excess.
For 1/4 lb burgers make 8 buns. For sliders make 12 buns.
Have you tried this recipe?Mention @eileen.bakingsense or tag #bakingsense!
Can you freeze the dough and bake later? For one person I won’t go through a full batch of buns in time, but would bake ones I need on the weekend. Thanks!
What I do is make and bake the full batch. I slice and freeze extra buns for future burgers. Defrost and rewarm (or toast) as needed.
Hey. I’ve done your recipe and LOVE IT. Im doing the buns for 24 people. So could I shape the buns and leave them in the fridge and take them out the next day to bake them or would that overproof the recipe. There are too many buns for me to shape that day.
I can’t say for sure since with sourdough there are so many contributing factors. How active is the dough, the temp of the room, etc. But I think if you shape the buns later in the evening, put them in the fridge and plan to bake them early the next day it should be OK. Maybe 8-10 hours in the fridge, tops. Of course you’ll need to evaluate the dough as it comes out of the fridge to decide if they go right into the oven or need more time at room temp.
I do not have whole milk. Will this affect the recipe?
Low fat milk will work fine.
Thanks! I’m a newbie to baking bread and hoping this one is as good as your English Muffins and biscuits! We eat burgers every week!
Hi! I used oat milk as a replacement for the whole milk. My dough isn’t riding between folding it every 30-60 mins. Do you have any suggestions?
Give it some time. I find often my dough will seem quite inactive for the first couple of hours and then will start rising quite nicely.
We are 3900ft altitude, I find altitude affects everything. For these, I used unbleached AP flour but needed 3/4 cup more flour before the consistency was right. I’ve currently got 8 buns sitting in the oven with the light on and covered with a tea towel while they rise. I just wanted to write a big thank you for your amazing recipes and straight forward, easy-to-understand writing style. I refer to your site often as I’m a complete newbie to creating with sourdough starter.
I wish I knew more about high altitude baking. Having grown up on the east coast US I don’t have any experience with high altitude baking. Enjoy the buns.
I’ve lived at sea level all my life, other than the last 6 years. I’ve tweaked so many of my ‘sea level’ recipes for high alt – most with success and some that have me stumped! The buns turned out delicious and were a huge hit (fam of 7 here). The 8th bun was my ‘taste tester’ lol. Thanks for the amazing recipe. I’ll be trying out more of your other ones too.
Francis and Eileen, I’m at 4000 feet in the mountains of northern California. Having moved from around 100 feet in southern California about 3 years ago, I’m with you. Some stumping, some things better here than at lower altitude.
Hi Eileen, I am very excited to make this recipe! I was wondering if I could leave out the sugar and maybe add more salt. Would that compromise the recipe? I am from Europe and none of our breads have sugar unless they are sweet ,dessert type breads. Thank you.
This is not a sweet bread, the sugar is in there to help tenderize the crumb and help the buns retain moisture. Depending how much you add, more salt can make the bread more chewy and dense with a much stronger gluten. You can reduce the sugar and add more salt, but the basic flavor and texture of the bun will change. Hamburger buns are traditional on the soft side. Are you planning to use the buns for burgers?
Andi, I made this recipe only once and I left out the sugar because I can’t have it. I also used AP flour instead of bread flour. They turned out great. So great that I got a request to make more for this upcoming weekend. You can leave out the sugar and still have great hamburger buns.
Hi. I don’t have bread flour. Can I use all purpose?
You can, but you might need to add a little more flour since bread flour will absorb more liquid than ap flour.