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These Homemade Hamburger Buns are incredibly fast, easy and delicious! In less than an hour, you can have soft and fluffy hamburger buns without going to the store. Make this 40 minute hamburger bun recipe for your next cookout!
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Anyone else baking up a storm lately? I normally buy hamburger buns, but recently I had a craving for burgers and didn’t want to go to the store. Instead, I whipped up this 40 minute hamburger bun recipe and I was astonished by how easy there were, not to mention delicious!
The best hamburger bun recipe
I was suspicious that a recipe with such a short rise time could be good, but I was in a pinch and needed burger buns fast. After making these several times, and some other recipes with longer rise times, my husband swears up and down that this is the best hamburger bun recipe I have ever made.
How do you make hamburger buns from scratch?
This recipe for hamburger buns is surprisingly easy. Simply mix the yeast with some warm water, sugar and oil. Then let it sit for 5 minutes. This step “wakes up” the yeast, and the sugar is food for the yeast to start creating gas. After five minutes, you will see that the mixture has become foamy. This means your yeast is doing what it is supposed to do!
Next, you mix in an egg, the flour, and salt. Continue to add flour until you have a soft dough. You can do this step by kneading with your hands, or you can use your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook, which is what I did.
Then you will quickly shape the dough into a ball and divide into 8 pieces. I use a bench scraper to do this. Shape each piece into a ball, then arrange on a greased or lined baking sheet. Cover and allow rise for 10 minutes. While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 425 degrees.
How to make an egg wash
In order to make the most beautiful burger buns, I decided to use an egg wash for a nice shiny and golden top, sprinkled with sesame seeds. To make an egg wash, simply mix one egg yolk with 1 tablespoon of water. Brush the mixture over the tops of the burger buns, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
After the 10 minute rise time, then being brushed with the egg wash and sesame seeds, the burger buns are ready to go into the oven. After 8-12 minutes, you will have soft, fluffy and golden hamburger buns, fresh from the oven.
Next time you want to grill some burgers, be sure to make this 40 minute hamburger bun recipe first. I suggest adding my Best Ever Grilled onions to your burger. And speaking of burgers, have you tried my Shallot White Cheddar Burger?
40 minute hamburger buns
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons active dry yeast
- 1 cup plus 2 tablespoons warm water about 110 degrees
- 1/3 cup vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 3 to 3-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
For topping
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 TBSP water
- 2 TBSP sesame seeds
Instructions
- Add yeast and warm water to a large bowl. Add oil and sugar; let stand for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, mixture should be foamy.
- Whisk in egg. Slowly mix in the salt and flour. Continue to add flour until you have a soft dough.
- Using a dough hook, knead in a mixer for 3-5 minutes, until dough is smooth and elastic. (If you don't want to use a mixer, you can knead by hand on a lightly floured surface.) Do not let rise. Divide into 8 equal pieces; shape each into a ball. Do not let the dough rise.
- Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place the dough balls on a greased or lined baking sheet. Cover with a kitchen towel and let rest for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, brush the buns with an egg was, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake until golden brown, 8-12 minutes.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
adapted from Taste of Home
Turned out terrible. Dough was way too sticky, I ended up adding a lot more flour than the recipe called for. The buns came out of the oven very dense, might as well as go to the store and get some buns in 40 minutes.
Hi Rachael – I’m sorry you had trouble. If you added significantly more flour, that is why they turned out dense. They should definitely proof in 10 minutes. If they didn’t, it is because there was either not enough yeast, or the yeast was dead.
I made these buns last night, my first time making burger buns, and they were absolutely delicious!!! I used coconut oil instead of vegetable oil and I used closer to 4 cups flour instead of 3 – 3 1/2, my dough was very very sticky so I just kept adding flour until it was smooth enough for me to knead it by hand. Also I baked them for closer to 20 minutes than 10. My husband sliced up two of the buns for our burgers and then asked me if he could eat one as a roll lol we both were eating a second bun just as a roll they were that good! They were so delicious and would make the perfect dinner roll! I may make them that way this Thanksgiving! I’m just so impressed with how these came out. Thank you so much for this recipe!
So happy to hear that!
These are the best burger buns recipe EVER!! Thank you so much for sharing this. My kitchen was a touch cold, so the yeast hadn’t frothed up after 5 mins, but I place in a warm spot and it just took another 5 minutes, otherwise the instructions were seamless and so easy to follow. Fluffy on the inside and perfectly crisp on the outside
Note, the proportion of flour to liquid is very wrong in the 2x version.
Follow the 1x version and double if you want. Recipe is great.
Is the dough really supposed to be that sticky/wet?
Or did I miss something?
And, can you include measurements in grams please?
Thanks.
I’ve been looking for a soft HB bun recipe for a while. Hoping this one will work.
These turned out great!
So glad to hear that!
Ammmmmmmmazingggggg!!!!!!!
So glad you love them!
What a great recipe! I didn’t had any dry yeast at home so I used 2 packages of fresh yeast (which is quiet common here in Germany) and it turned out so good. The buns are huge, fluffy and tasty.
Thank you so much! This recipe is a keeper for sure.
So glad to hear that!
I do not know how on earth this recipe is meant to be successful with only a 10 minute proofing time? I followed all directions as stated and mine were incredibly dense, as well as cracking while cooking, a sign of underproofing. They were also still raw after 12 minutes. Buns usually proof for an hour and after seeing these results I definitely will be doing that in the future
Hi Pepper – they proof quickly because they have such a large amount of yeast in them. Did you use the 2 tablespoons that was called for? If so, they do normally proof in that short time.
I had the same problem. My dough also felt like I was handling sugar cookie dough. Not sure what went wrong. I have home over the recipe several times and can’t figure it out.
Hi Sandra – it is hard for me to know why this recipe turns out great for most people but not great for a few others. My suspicion is that some people add too much flour because this is a sticky dough, or use the wrong amount of yeast (this recipe calls for 2 tablespoons, which is why they rise so quickly). I’m sorry you had trouble!
Mine came out the same. How can this be fixed?
Ok, weird but happy accident. Mine had the same issue with proofing. They didn’t rise at all in the 15 minutes (I let them go a little extra) I covered them before putting them in the oven, they came out dense with no air pockets or bubbles or crumb: WITH THAT BEING SAID: I have finally found the perfect biscuit recipe for my home made sausage gravy.
If you wanted to have a more bread-like texture I’d maybe wait to add the oil until AFTER the yeast is activated. But!!! This recipe makes amazing biscuits sans sesame seeds.
Same thing here, I followed the measurements and directions exactly and still turned out bad. 10 minutes of proofing is definitely not enough
Hi Rachael – 10 minutes is enough if the correct amount of yeast is used – 2 tablespoons.
In the instructions pre-heating the oven should be the first step.
I had to wait for my oven to get hot and the buns over proofed leaving my buns dry.
Kinda a let down.
Fabulous last minute bun recipe. Even if I have time I lean towards this one!
So glad to hear that!
I have been wanting to make hamburger buns for a long time and yesterday I decided to go for it. I found this recipe and man, am I glad I did!
These were so easy and taste delicious.
I’m definitely saving this for future use!
So glad to hear that!
If using PACKETS of yeast, please advise how many. 2? 3? Thank you in advance.
Hi Barbara – one packet of yeast is 2 and 1/4 teaspoons. 1 tablespoon is 3 teaspoons. So for 2 tablespoons, you would need 5-6 packets (5 would be a little less than 2 tablespoons which is probably fine, 6 would be a little more so you would need to measure and remove the extra.)
If one packet of yeast has 2.25 tsp and you need 6 tsp for 2 T, I believe you would need just under 3 packets, and not 5 or 6, right?
The buns became a family favorite after the first bite. I make them at least once a week. I will never buy hamburger buns again. Thank you for sharing!!!
I made hot dog buns from this recipe and they turned out so good! I used about 75% home milled whole wheat flour (mix of hard red wheat, kamut, white wheat) and 25% white flour and they were so soft and delicious! This is my go to bun recipe! Thanks so much for the recipe.
So glad to hear that!
Hey! Just made this yesterday with a mix of Einkorn AP flour and Italian 00 flour. I did have to add extra flour as usual when working with einkorn and 00 flour but they turned out great! So fluffy and delicious. My husband absolutely loved it too but it got me curious. Can this recipe possibly be used for making a loaf of bread too? I’m not very familiar with baking but everytime I’ve tried to make a loaf of bread with einkorn it doesn’t rise well or ends up crumby. Since the flour works well with this recipe for buns I’m wondering if it will work well with the same recipe for bread.
Hi, I am so glad to hear they turned out well with einkorn flour! That can be a tricky flour to work with, I have not tested this recipe with einkorn. If you make a loaf of bread, I would suggest using a loaf pan to help the bread rise and hold its shape. I personally have not made this recipe in a loaf pan so I am not sure how it will turn out. But it could be a fun experiment! If you try it, let us know how it goes!
I can’t believe how good these turned out. First hamburger bun recipe I’ve ever tried and I will be sticking with it.
For those asking how to get the buns so golden brown, adjust your rack to the position just above center, so the buns are just a bit closer to the top of the oven. The heat bouncing off the top of the oven will help the egg wash brown them nicely, and will prevent the bottoms from being too hard.
Simple and delicious.
So glad to hear that!
Made these today for Sloppy Joe’s we are having for dinner. Used Everything Bagel seasoning on the top. They came out wonderful! Recipe makes 8 large buns. If you want smaller ones..divide into 16. May do that next time. Thanks for posting this. This is definitely a keeper. 😀
So glad to hear you loved them!
Quick question: can I freeze the dough balls to use for a later time?
Hi Elleen – I have not tried that so I can’t be sure. Let us know if you try it!
These turned out beautiful and delicious! Just the right texture and flavor. I sprinkled the tops with flaky salt and sesame seeds. Yum! The only change I would make is to make 10 buns instead of 8. They were huge! So it depends on what size patties you are making.
So glad you loved them.