A burger bun is as important as the burger itself. Soft with a tender crust that melts in the mouth with the burger. That is what these soft whole wheat burger buns are, soft, tender and nutritious. And, they are also homemade. This is a step by step tutorial on how to make these best, softest, whole wheat hamburger buns from scratch.
Table of Content
Doesn't this just take burgers to another level? I mean making the buns whole wheat? You know how I feel about my burger buns. They just HAVE to be SOFT! That is why my Soft Burger Buns is, by far, the most popular recipe for burger buns!
But, these are whole wheat, you know. I wanted to make whole wheat burger buns. And yet, I wanted to make sure they had the same exact softness and tender crust like my original recipe for soft burger buns, which are made with white flour.
And the results? Can you see how soft that is below? (you have to excuse my colored fingers - I have edible gel food color - one of the big cons of decorating cakes is that the coloring fondant can sometimes be messy).
These buns are not 100% whole wheat, but they are light fluffy and delicious. Which is a great compromise for health and flavor.
Ingredients and substitutes
- Whole wheat flour - Adds a nice nutty flavor to the bread and makes the buns more wholesome and nutritious.
- Flour - Since this bread if not 100% whole wheat, the rest of the flour is all-purpose flour. I have always used all-purpose flour and it works great.
And yet, if you prefer you can use bread flour - I have no doubt it will be even softer. - Warm milk - I like adding milk to this bread recipe. It gives a nice soft tender crumb to the bread. And yet, if you want, you can substitute the milk with water. That would work just as well. But, the dough might be a bit looser. So, adding a few handfuls of flour may be necessary.
- Yeast - Active dry yeast is usually what I use, but any active yeast works. Over the years, I've used many different brands. And I can tell the yeast has never been an issue. I have even used fresh yeast when I made it in India and the bread was just as soft.
Step by step instructions
Prepare dough with a mixer
- Using a mixer bowl with the dough attachment.
- Add the warm milk, sugar, yeast, egg, melted butter - stir well and set aside until foamy.
- Then, add both flours and salt in the mixer bowl (not the additional flour).
- Knead, starting on low for two minutes until all the dry flour is absorbed.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. The dough will be soft and wet and that's OK.
- Knead for about 3 more minutes on medium adding only enough flour help with kneading.
- You want the dough to be really really soft, a little sticky is fine too! But it has to be elastic!
Prepare dough by hand
- In a bowl - add the warm milk, sugar, yeast, egg, melted butter - stir well and set aside until foamy.
- Place flour and salt in the mixer bowl (not the additional flour).
- Add in the yeast mixture.
- Do not add too much flour.
- Use a bench scraper or spoon to help remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Knead for about 5 to 7 minutes, without adding much flour. Use light pressure and knead with the heels of your hand.
Finger test
- Now, for my usual finger test. By now, you probably don't need me to show you this (see progress pictures in a previous blog post).
- Dig two fingers in - Pick your fingers -- the dough spring back. You should barely see your finger marks on the dough.
- The dough will still be a bit sticky. This is how it should be - soft, very elastic, still a little sticky.
Prove the first time
- Place in an oiled bowl to rise for about an hour or more until double in volume.
- Once double in volume, punch down.
Divide and form buns
- Divide the dough into 10 to 12 depending on how big you want the burgers.
- Let rest for 10 minutes. This will help with forming the buns.
- Form the buns exactly the same way I showed you in my post for dinner rolls.
Prove again the second time before baking
- Cover with cling / plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 45 mins to an hour.
- Once double in volume, apply egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds.
Baking the buns
- Bake in a preheated oven at 190 C / 370 F for 15 to 20 mins (depending on size and oven), or until golden brown.
- Important - as soon as you take the burgers out of the oven - cover them with a clean kitchen cloth so the burgers will retain the steam and stay soft.
- Let rest for 15 mins before you remove the kitchen cloth or serve.
Tips for success
- The amount of flour you add to your recipe is key to the success of these buns. The final quantity of liquid - eggs, milk, the butter will determine if you need 400 or 450 or even 500 grams of flour.
What's important is to look at the consistency of your dough. It has to be very soft, spongy and yes still sticky but elastic!! I have tried my best to give you pictures below to illustrate. - Temperature - If you have made bread before, then you know that temperature plays a huge role in bread baking. Beginning with the temperature of your liquid ingredients - you want that to be approximately 41 C / 105 F. If it's cooler then it will fail to revive your yeast. And if it's hotter again you will kill the yeast giving you a flatbread.
NO, you don't really need a thermometer. The best way to test it is - just stick a little clean finger if you can keep your finger in there without discomfort it's good. I always say - it's the same temperature you give milk to a baby - warm. - Covering the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. This is an important step so don't skip and don't forget. When you cover the hot buns in a clean kitchen cloth you are letting the steam in the buns to cool inside the buns - this keeps the buns soft and moist - not dried out.
Troubleshooting
Why did my dough not rise?
Most often the simplest explanation for this is that the liquid (milk) used was not warm. You need the liquid to be no more than 110 F/ 41 C. Hotter than that will not activate the yeast. In some cases, it could also be that the yeast was old and not good.
My buns were not soft? They were dense.
If you add too much flour to the dough the buns will be dense, not soft. You want the dough to be soft, elastic and still slightly sticky when kneading.
My buns deflated when baking?
Prove the buns for only 45 minutes or until just almost double in volume. They will continue to rise some more in the oven when baking. If you overproof the buns they tend to rise and deflate when baking.
Why are my buns flat?
Again if you over proof the buns before baking they will rise and deflate giving you flat hamburger buns.
Frequently asked questions
Yes, both active dry and instead yeast are used in exactly the same way so you can use either in of the same quantity.
Absolutely, you can use 21 grams of fresh yeast for this recipe below.
- 1 ¼ block of 0.6 oz size or ½ block of 2 oz size fresh yeast.
The purpose of the sugar in this recipe is to feed the yeast. The amount is not much so don't worry the burgers buns won't be sweet.
You can use bread flour for these buns but it is not absolutely necessary. I have been making these buns for years and have always used regular all-purpose flour.
Unless you are making buns to feed a crowd you don't need a stand mixer. I usually make these in batches of 12 and always make them by hand. I find kneading dough by hand very therapeutic, you should try it. But if you have a stand mixer then definitely use it.
The consistency of the dough.
The dough should be soft, elastic and slightly sticky. Avoid the temptation to add more flour. Use flour on your hands when kneading but don't make the dough dense.
My mom used to say - a well-kneaded bread dough should be soft and ziggly like a baby's bottom.
If stored properly these burger buns will last for 3 to 4 days at room temperature. These freeze well too so if you make extra place them in a ziplock back and freeze them for longer.
Yes, and they are absolutely delicious. I have shared a step by step recipe with you already - Soft burger buns.
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Recipe
Description
Ingredients
- 1 ½ cup (1.50 cups) Warm milk about 41 C or 105 F
- 1 Egg large
- 4 tbsp Melted butter (½ stick)
- 2 tbsp Sugar
- 2 ¼ tsp (9 g) Instant dry yeast (1 envelop)
- 1 ½ tsp Salt
- 2 ¾ cup (330 g) Whole wheat flour
- 1 ½ cup (190 g) All-purpose flour
Plus
- ½ cup (60 g) All-purpose flour for kneading
- 1 Egg wash beaten egg with 2 tbsp water
- 2 tbsp Sesame seeds or poppy seeds
Instructions
Prepare dough with a mixer
- Using a mixer bowl with dough attachment.
- Add the warm milk, sugar, yeast, egg, melted butter - stir well and set aside until foamy.
- Then, add both flours and salt in the mixer bowl (not the additional flour).
- Knead, starting on low for two minutes until all the dry flour is absorbed.
- Scrape the sides of the bowl. The dough will be soft and wet and that's OK.
- Knead for about 3 more minutes on medium adding only enough flour help with kneading.
- You want the dough to be really really soft, a little sticky is fine too! But it has to be elastic!
Prepare dough by hand
- In a bowl - add the warm milk, sugar, yeast, egg, melted butter - stir well and set aside until foamy.
- Place flour and salt in the mixer bowl (not the additional flour).
- Add in the yeast mixture.
- Do not add too much flour.
- Use a bench scraper or spoon to help remove the dough onto a lightly floured surface.
- Knead for about 5 to 7 minutes. without adding much flour. Use light pressure and knead with the heels of your hand.
Finger test
- Now, for my usual finger test. By now, you probably don't need me to show you this (see progress pictures in a previous blog post).
- Dig two fingers in - Pick your fingers -- the dough spring back. You should barely see your finger marks on the dough.
- The dough will still be a bit sticky. This is how it should be - soft, very elastic, still a little sticky.
Prove - first time
- Place in an oiled bowl to rise for about an hour or more until double in volume.
- Once double in volume, punch down.
Divide and form buns
- Divide the dough into 10 to 12 depending on how big you want the burgers.
- Let rest for 10 minutes. This will help with forming the buns.
- Form the buns exactly the same way I showed you in my post for dinner rolls.
Prove again before baking
- Cover with cling / plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 45 mins to an hour.
- Once double in volume, apply egg wash and sprinkle sesame seeds.
Baking the buns
- Bake in a preheated oven at 190 C / 370 F for between 15 to 20 mins (depending on size and oven) or until golden brown.
- Important - as soon as you take the burgers out of the oven - cover them with a clean kitchen cloth so the burgers will retain the steam and stay soft.
- Let rest for 15 mins before you remove the kitchen cloth or serve.
Nutrition Information
The nutrition information and metric conversion are calculated automatically. I cannot guarantee its accuracy. If this data is important to you please verify with your trusted nutrition calculator. Thank you
Anne
Made each bun at 85 grams of dough. Got 12 buns perfect size for my 6 oz patties. Did not egg wash, but gave a spritz of water to each. Lovely golden brown after 16 minutes. Recipe a keeper.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you for the feedback. Anne. Happy you enjoyed these
Judy
I made the buns on Monday and absolutely loved them. They were exactly as described with the easy to follow instructions and comments. By noon the next day they were gone!...and there are only two of us. Thank you.
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much Judy for the lovely feedback. I am so happy to hear you enjoyed these buns. Thanks
Amrita
As always Veena another easy peasy & great recipe from your kitchen 🙂
I tried both the whole wheat as well as only AP flour recipes. Both turned out super nice.
Was wondering if I can try this without the egg & if there is an alternative for that?
Veena Azmanov
Thank you so much, Amrita for the lovely feedback.
Amrita
Hi Veena,
Would you have an alternate to egg for this recipe ?
Veena Azmanov
I think you can omit the eggs. You will need less flour in the recipe. I have not tried any replacement. Thanks
Ruth
I just finished preparing the dough, but when I followed the recipe my dough did not turn out sticky at it should be, so I added about 1/4 cup of warm water. Hope it would work fine. Will update you when I baked them. Or do you have any other recommendation on adding extra liquid?
Thank you!
Veena Azmanov
yes, the dough must be smooth, elastic, and slightly sticky. Let me know how they were
Bhavesh
Thanks for sharing this amazing whole wheat burger buns recipe with all of us. I really like this recipe.
Meghna
Hi Veena,
Tried these today and loved them. I may have over baked them by five minutes as the top still looked a bit pale after even twenty minutes. They turned a bit firm but we all still enjoyed them. Would appreciate any tips you may have to fix this. Look forward to trying more recipes from your site and as is now all the rage, would love to see a sourdough bread recipe from you.
Thank you!
Veena Azmanov
Hey Meghna. Yes, sounds like you overbaked. If your oven is not browning evenly, try using egg yolk or cream to brush before baking. Sourdough is on my list for the future