Soft Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
If you are looking for a soft whole wheat hamburger bun recipe, this is the one you are looking for. Not only are homemade hamburger buns pretty easy to make, but they are also so much better than store-bought.
Servings: 8 Buns
Cost: $4
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 2 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon brown sugar or honey
- 4 cups white whole wheat flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons canola oil or other neutral oil
- 1 egg for egg wash
- 1 tablespoon milk for egg wash
- toppings of choice
Instructions
- Start by activating the yeast. Add the water, brown sugar, and yeast to your mixing bowl. Mix them to incorporate, then let it sit for about 5 minutes.
- Add the flour, salt, and oil. Start mixing on medium speed or knead by hand. Mix for 1 minute on medium speed and check the dough. It should feel just SLIGHTLY sticky or tacky.
- If you need to add a tablespoon or 2 of water or flour. Turn the mixer on medium and mix for 7-8 minutes until the dough is smooth.
- Cover and let it rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. It should be just about doubled. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball and place 5 balls on each baking sheet, be sure to give them several inches between each other.
- Spray the top of the balls and cover with plastic wrap. Place another sheet pan on top to lightly weight it down. Let it rise like this for 20 minutes. Remove the pan.
- Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Mix together the egg wash. When the oven is preheated, remove the plastic wrap, brush with the egg wash, then top with your toppings.
- Move to the oven and bake for about 18 minutes, until the buns are golden brown. Remove them from the oven. Let them cool for at least 30 minutes before serving.
Video
Notes
- If you want to use instant yeast in place of active dry, no problem. Simply sub 25% less instant yeast for the active dry. In this recipe, that means-
- If you want to use a blend of white flour and whole wheat flour, I recommend doing a 50/50 trade. This would be whole wheat flour and all-purpose flour.
- When checking for the hydration in your dough, I like to look for a few things. First, is it pulling away from the sides of the bowl if you are using a stand mixer? This dough should be a little sticky, but not so sticky that it sticks to the sides of your bowl. Also, when you touch the dough, it should feel just barely sticky, not too much.
- Be sure to use the dough hook and not the paddle attachment for mixing the dough.
- Be sure to let the whole wheat hamburger buns rise properly on both rises. They should double with each one. If you have a warm place in your kitchen, you can place them here to get them to rise more quickly.
- Parchment paper isn't essential, but it sure makes clean-up so much easier!
- If you don't want to brush the homemade burger buns with egg wash, you can also brush them with a little bit of olive oil.
- If you are making slider buns, this recipe will make 16 of them.