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These Easy Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns are soft, fluffy and tasty, while still providing the health benefits of whole grains. Homemade burger buns are easy and can be ready in just a few hours!
A healthier homemade hamburger bun
We love burgers, and the only thing that can make a juicy, grilled cheeseburger better is a fluffy homemade bun. My 40 minute hamburger bun recipe has been a go to for years, but I wanted to try my hand at a healthy burger bun recipe. I tested this recipe several times to make sure it would yield a soft and fluffy hamburger bun that is also healthy and full of fiber and whole grains.
How to make Healthy Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Sometimes baking with yeast can be a bit tricky, especially if you are new to baking. I’m going to share some tips to make it easier and you will have fluffy homemade hamburger buns before you know it! Use the photos in this post as a guide to see how things should look every step of the way.
- Bloom the yeast by mixing lukewarm milk (about 100 degrees F), honey and the yeast. I use Dry Active Yeast in this recipe. Mix the yeast with the milk and honey, then allow it to sit for 5 minutes. After five minutes, the mixture will look different. It will be foamy and you might even see a few bubbles moving to the surface. This is the sign of active yeast. If the mixture is not foamy, the yeast is probably dead and your buns won’t rise. Get some new yeast and start again.
2. After you have bloomed the yeast, add the oil and egg, stir to mix. Then add the flour and salt. Mix until no dry spots remain. Then knead for 5 minutes. This is easiest to do in a stand mixer as the dough is sticky. However, it can be done by hand. Do not be tempted to add much more flour or the buns will be dense. Use as little flour as possible on the kneading surface and your hands. Once mixed, place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours. Dough should double in size.
3. Remove dough from bowl and transfer to a floured surface. Turn the dough once to lightly coat in flour. Form the dough ball into a disk and cut into 8 equal pieces. This is easiest if you use a bench scraper, but if you don’t have one you can use a knife. Form each piece into a ball and place on a lined baking sheet (I use silpat), seam side down.
4. Lightly press the tops of each bun to flatten slightly. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for about one hour. Buns should be puffy at this time. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Brush the buns with an egg wash made of egg and water, then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 15-18 minutes, or until golden brown.
Helpful Equipment for making Whole Wheat Burger Buns
What goes well with Whole Wheat Burger Buns?
- Juicy Turkey Burger
- Grilled BBQ Burger
- Asian Bison Burger
- Baked Sweet Potato Fries
- Watermelon Feta Salad
- Summer Corn Salad
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- 200 grams Whole Wheat Flour approximately 1.5 cups plus 1 tablespoon
- 200 grams All Purpouse flour approximately 1 and 1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon
- 300 grams milk, lukewarm (100 degrees) about 1 and 1/4 cup
- 14 grams canola oil 1 tablespoon
- 1 large egg
- 21 grams honey 1 tablespoon
- 9 grams kosher salt 1 and a half teaspoons
- 7 grams yeast 1 packet or 2 and 1/4 teaspoons
Egg Wash
- 1 large egg beaten
- 1 tablespoon water
Topping
- Sesame seeds
Instructions
- In a bowl, add the milk, honey, and yeast. Stir to mix and allow to sit for 5 minutes. After 5 minutes, the mixture should be frothy and bubbly. Whisk in the , oil and egg to combine. Then add flours and salt.
- Mix until soft dough forms, knead 5 minutes. The dough is sticky and this is easiest in a stand mixer. However, if you don't have a stand mixer, it can also be done by hand. Don't be tempted to add much more flour or the buns will be dense.
- After kneading, place in a slightly oiled bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap. Allow to rise at room temperature for 1-2 hours.
- When dough has doubled in size, carefully remove from bowl onto a floured surface. Turn to lightly coat the dough ball in flour which will make it easier to handle. Form a disk and cut the disk into 8 equal pieces. This is easiest to do with a bench scraper.
- Shape each piece into a ball and place on a lined baking sheet, seam side down. Cover with a clean kitchen towel and allow to rise for another hour. After about an hour, buns should be puffed up.
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. in a small bowl, whisk together one egg with 1 tablespoon of water. Gently brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake at 375 degrees F for 15-18 minutes. Buns should be golden brown. Allow to cool before slicing and serving.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
I tried these out today but my dough was so sticky. I followed the recipe closely. Any idea what I might of done wrong?😊
Hi Kristina – it is hard to say because so many factors come into play here – what kind of flour you are using, how you are measuring, how humid it is where you are. The dough IS sticky and that is normal, but if it is too sticky to work you can add just a small amount of flour – but you don’t want to add too much or the buns will be dense. Using a mixer makes it easier to knead without adding more flour. And as you knead it, it should get less sticky.
I could not get this recipe to work, it was way too sticky. I mixed this recipe by hand but it was too sticky to knead by hand. I transferred over to my mixer but it was so sticky that the dough hook didn’t seem to work well. I let it rise for an hour and it did rise but Ihad to toss the whole batch because it was so sticky I could not cut into pieces and shape. I weighed everything. Should I mix everything in the mixer? I used nonfat milk, does that matter? Should I have let it rise another hour? Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Hi – it is hard to know what might have gone wrong, but humidity and the type of flour you used could change things a bit. I find it easier to do in a mixer and the dough becomes less sticky after it has been kneaded for a few minutes. You can also add a little bit of flour to make it easier to work with the dough, but you don’t want to add too much or the dough will be dense. I normally mix in a mixer, Allow it to rise, turn out onto a floured surface and sprinkle with a little more flour, then turn so that it is covered in a dusting of flour. That will make it easier to handle.
I’ve made these buns multiple times, and they come out perfect each time! We love them so much we’ve stopped buying grocery store buns. I just make a batch and store leftovers in the freezer right away. When we’re ready to eat them, I wrap each one in a damp paper towel and defrost in the microwave for 2 minutes- they’re just as good as the day they were baked. Thank you!
So happy you love them!
Currently waiting on my “40 minute” buns to rise. Rise time is part of the recipe. I don’t know what idiot doesn’t include their rise times in a recipe but you’re doing it wrong. I shouldn’t have to find out halfway into mixing a dough labeled “quick” that I’m going to be waiting 2+ hours. Please fix the recipe time it because this is the first quick recipe that pops up on Google!! I’m sure they’ll be delicious but this has me PISSED. A quick recipe is baked and READY within an hour.
S – these are not the 40 minute hamburger buns. The 40 minute hamburger buns recipe is a 40 minute recipe. This is a whole wheat hamburger bun recipe. For 40 minute hamburger buns, go here: https://www.foxandbriar.com/40-minute-hamburger-bun-recipe/
Waiting to see an apology coming from S here. Holy moly. If you act like this on a recipe board, I hope you’re not raising children.
Excellent recipe! Followed your directions and weighted measurements exactly. I was a bit nervous because I was making this for company that we had coming over. It was absolutely perfect. I used freshly milled flour that I milled prior to making and sometimes that behaves differently than store-bought whole wheat flour, so I was delighted that this turned out absolutely perfectly. This is a definite keeper. Thank you so much for an excellent recipe.
Wonderful, I’m so glad to hear taht!
HI Amanda
I grind my own flour and want to make these being I have been trying to find a bun recipe that uses fresh milled flour. Any tip could be helpful. Fox & Briar has great recipes. I like a lot of them.
Perfect, soft results, this is officially my favourite bun recipe. Thank you!
So happy to hear that!
Great recipe! I was afraid the dough would be too slack and not rise right, but the buns rose beautifully. They also held together well with the hamburgers and didn’t get soggy. I’ll be saving this recipe!
So glad you liked them!
The whole family loved these burger buns! Will be using again!
I’m so glad to hear that!
These buns have great texture and taste! I’m a bread maker and I’ve usually had to add some flour to other dough recipes but this one was just right! My family enjoyed them as hamburger buns. I also added a bit of honey to the egg glaze and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing this great recipe!
Nice post