Sourdough Hamburger Buns

This is a recipe for sourdough hamburger buns that are soft, flavorful, and easy to make. This enriched dough starts with a homemade sourdough starter and a mixture of flour, milk, eggs, and butter making the most delicious sourdough buns for your burgers.

Lately, sourdough bread has been all the rage. And why not? Sourdough bread isn’t necessarily just tastier, it's also easier. And nothing is quite so satisfying as a burger piled high with fixins’. But the buns can be a weak link, especially if you use the supermarket variety. Also, this recipe is so easy even a beginner can handle making these buns.

Why make these buns

• This is a sourdough bun with a golden crust and sourdough flavor, yet tender and fluffy inside. And the recipe includes a video showing how easy it is to make these buns.
• These nice soft buns are perfect for juicy burgers, and they make a great substitute for hamburger buns. And they are also fantastic with braised shredded beef and sandwiches.
• In addition, almost all the ingredients in this recipe are simple pantry staples plus a sourdough starter.
• I use a simple method that uses shorter fermentation time and longer proofing time after shaping the buns. In fact, this method makes shaping so much easier! Try it.
• Of course, this recipe presumes you have a sourdough starter already on hand to make the levain. You can also use a sourdough discard if you have some collected in the fridge.

Recipe for Sourdough Starter

To make excellent sourdough bread you need wild yeast also called sourdough starter and that's very easy to make at home. Here is a recipe to make a starter from scratch in 7 days that can last you a lifetime. I’ve used my starter for years with very good results.

Ingredients and substitutes

• Flour - I highly recommend bread flour if you love a chewy texture to your sourdough bread. But, you can also certainly use all-purpose flour. And if you want to make whole wheat sourdough buns, you can substitute 2 cups of bread flour with whole wheat flour.
• Salt - You can use coarse salt, but I prefer to use fine kosher salt to help the dough absorb it well.
• Sugar – This is a sweet bread, but you can certainly reduce the sugar by half. And you can also use honey or maple syrup.
• Butter – Makes the dough rich and buttery with a soft crumb.
• Eggs - Adds a lot of flavor to the bread, gives a tender crumb, and strengthens the texture. I'm using whole eggs but you can use more egg yolks for a richer flavor.
• Milk - Enhances the flavor, and tenderizes the dough giving it a soft texture.
• Levain - Levain is a larger amount of wild yeast that is made from a small quantity of sourdough starter.

Easy sourdough burger buns

• Levain - In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, and flour. Stir well to combine. Cover and leave to rise for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature until double in size.
  Pro tip - You can make the levain for up to 5 days in advance and leave it in the fridge.

Dough

• Autolyze - In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, eggs, and sugar. Combine well. Then, add the flour and salt followed by the starter. Stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 60 minutes.
  Pro tip - Autolyze will help strengthen the gluten formation on the dough. In the video, I combined the wet and dry ingredients separately, but you can do it all together in the stand mixer as well.

• Knead - Next, knead the dough with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes. Then, add the soft room temperature butter and knead for another 4 to 6 minutes or until smooth and elastic.
  Pro tip - The dough will still be very soft, yet smooth, shiny, and very elastic when you do the windowpane test.

• Bulk ferment - Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Leave the dough to rise in the refrigerator (38°F / 3°C) for 6 to 8 hours.
  Pro tip - The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The highly enriched dough will rise very slowly.

Shape

• Degas - When double is size, punch down and transfer to a clean work surface. Break any large air bubbles and shape the dough into a ball again.
  Pro tip - At this point, if you are not ready to shape and bake the dough you can put it back into the oiled bowl and let it rise again in the fridge for another 6 to 8 hours.
• Divide - Transfer the dough to a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 2 and then each portion into 6 equal pieces to make a total of 12 buns about 120 grams each.
  Pro tip - You can also make 16 smaller buns of about 90 grams each.

• Shape each portion into a tight ball. To do this correctly, roll into a ball tucking all the seams under tightly. Then, roll the ball on an unfloured surface. The unfloured surface creates the tension we need in the dough
  Pro tip - Do not over-roll these for too long or you will rupture the top smooth skin.
• Tray - Place the shaped buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving enough room for them to rise. Then, flatten each bun so they bake like flat buns rather than balls.
  Pro tip - Flattening the buns makes a better base for the hamburgers. Also, they won't topple so easily.
• Prove - Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to proof. Let the buns rise for about 2 to 3 hours or until almost double in size.
  Pro tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls. In summer, the dough may rise in 90 minutes while in winter it can take up to 3 hours.

Bake

• Preheat oven - Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas mark 5 for at least 20 minutes.
• Brush - Brush each bun with an egg wash. You can even sprinkle the buns with some sesame seeds or sugar pearls
  Pro tip - Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. Do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust.
• Bake small buns for 15 to 20 mins and larger buns for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.
  Pro tip - When baked, the internal temperature of the hamburgers buns should be about 195 F. Bread will have a hollow sound on the bottom when tapped.
• Keeping them soft - As soon as you take the buns out of the oven, cover them with a clean kitchen cloth to keep them soft. You can also brush them with melted butter.
  Pro tip - Do not leave the buns on the tray for too long, transfer them to a cooling rack. Otherwise, the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom. Covering the buns with a cloth will help them retain moisture and prevent it from drying out.

Printable Recipe

Sourdough Hamburger Buns

Author: Veena Azmanov

5 from 21 votes

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Prep Time: 6 hrs

Cook Time: 55 mins

Inactive time: 8 hrs

Total Time: 14 hrs 55 mins

Calories: 310kcal

Adjust Servings Here: 12 buns

Description

This is a recipe for sourdough hamburger buns that are soft, flavorful, and easy to make. This enriched dough starts with a homemade sourdough starter and a mixture of flour, milk, eggs, and butter making the most delicious sourdough buns for your burgers.

Video

Conversions Used

1 lb = 453 grams, 1 cup = 240 ml, 1 stick = 113g, 1 tbsp= 15 ml, 1 tsp= 5 ml,

Ingredients 

1x2x3x

Total dough weight - 1460 g 12 large buns x 120 grams each

Levain

• ▢ 50 grams (3 tablespoon) Sourdough starter (for levain )
• ▢ 50 grams (3 tablespoon) Water (for levain)
• ▢ 50 grams (3 tablespoon) Bread flour (for levain )

Dough - 69% Hydration

• ▢ 320 grams (1½ cups) Whole milk (3% room temperature)
• ▢ 150 g (3 large) Egg
• ▢ 30 g (2 tablespoon) Sugar
• ▢ 60 g (4 tablespoon) Butter (unsalted room temperature)
• ▢ 150 grams (½ cup) Levain (above )
• ▢ 750 grams (6 cups) Bread flour
• ▢ 16 grams (2 teaspoon) Kosher salt

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Instructions

• Levain - In a medium bowl, combine the sourdough starter, water, and flour. Stir well to combine. Cover and leave to rise for 3 to 5 hours at room temperature until double in size.

  Pro tip - You can make the levain for up to 5 days in advance and leave it in the fridge.
  50 grams Sourdough starter, 50 grams Bread flour, 50 grams Water
• Autolyze - In a large mixing bowl of a stand mixer, add the milk, eggs, and sugar. Combine well. Add the flour and salt followed by the starter. Stir well with a wooden spoon or spatula. Cover the bowl and leave to rest for 60 minutes.

  Pro tip - Autolyze will help strengthen the gluten formation on the dough. In the video, I combined the wet and dry ingredients separately, but you can do it all together in the stand mixer as well.
  320 grams Whole milk, 150 g Egg, 30 g Sugar, 750 grams Bread flour, 16 grams Kosher salt, 150 grams Levain
• Knead - Next, knead the dough with a dough hook attachment on medium speed for 4 to 6 minutes. Then, add the soft room temperature butter and knead for another 4 to 6 minutes or until smooth and elastic.

  Pro tip - The dough will still be very soft, yet smooth, shiny, and very elastic when you do the windowpane test.
  60 g Butter
• Bulk ferment - Transfer the dough to an oiled bowl and cover it with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel. Leave the dough to rise in the refrigerator (38°F / 3°C) for 6 to 8 hours.

  Pro tip - The dough can be kept in the fridge for up to 24 hours. The highly enriched dough will rise very slowly.
• Degas - When double is size, punch down and transfer to a clean work surface. Break any large air bubbles and shape the dough into a ball again.

  Pro tip - At this point, if you are not ready to shape and bake the dough you can put it back into the oiled bowl and let it rise again in the fridge for another 6 to 8 hours.
• Divide - Transfer the dough to a clean work surface. Divide the dough into 2 and then each portion into 6 equal pieces to make a total of 12 buns about 120 grams each.

  Pro tip - You can also make 16 smaller buns of about 90 grams each.
• Shape each portion into a tight ball. To do this correctly, roll into a ball tucking all the seams under tightly. Then, roll the ball on an unfloured surface. The unfloured surface creates the tension we need in the dough

  Pro tip - Do not over roll these for too long or you will rupture the top smooth skin.
• Tray - Place the shaped buns on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper leaving enough room for them to rise. Flatten each bun so they bake like flat buns rather than balls.

  Pro tip - Flattening the buns makes a better base for the hamburgers. Also, they won't topple so easily.
• Prove - Cover with a clean kitchen cloth or plastic wrap and leave in a warm place to proof. Let the buns rise for about 2 to 3 hours or until almost double in size.

  Pro tip - Spray the plastic wrap with oil to prevent it from sticking to the rolls. In summer, the dough may rise in 90 minutes while in winter it can take up to 3 hours.
• Preheat oven - Preheat the oven at 375°F / 190°C / Gas mark 5 for at least 20 minutes.
• Brush - Brush each bun with an egg wash. You can even sprinkle the buns with some sesame seeds or sugar pearls

  Pro tip - Egg wash is a full egg with 2 tablespoon of water. An egg wash will give a nice golden color. If you can't use egg, milk or cream will work just as well. Do not use oil or butter as it will create a crust.
• Bake small buns for 15 to 20 mins and larger buns for about 20 to 25 minutes or until golden brown.

  Pro tip - When baked, the internal temperature of the hamburgers buns should be about 195 F. The bread will have a hollow sound on the bottom when tapped.
• Keeping them soft - As soon as you take the buns out of the oven, cover them with a clean kitchen cloth to keep them soft. You can also brush them with melted butter.

  Pro tip - Do not leave the buns on the tray for too long, transfer them to a cooling rack. Otherwise, the steam will make the bread soggy on the bottom. Covering the buns with a cloth will help them retain moisture and prevent it from drying out.

Recipe Notes & Tips

• To get the best outcome from bread recipes it is best to weigh the ingredients rather than use cup measurements. 
• The timeline for bulk fermentation and proofing is quite large 8 to 16 hours from counter to refrigerator. This means you can start the process 24 hours ahead and not be overwhelmed with the process.
• The timeline is a guide to use and can be adjusted to your own convenience. 
• Use a kitchen scale when baking with sourdough because that will give you an accurate measure.
• This dough with 53% hydration with a 100% hydration starter. This means I use an equal amount of dough, water, and starter to make my levain. 
• The dough is not very loose but it is quite stretchy. If you are new to sourdough, take your time and work slowly. In winter it helps to work with chilled dough. 
• For the best rise, make sure to preheat your home oven for no less than 20 minutes before baking.
• Cool the buns on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before serving. This will prevent the bread from drying out. 

Nutrition Information

Calories: 310- kcalCarbohydrates: 52- gProtein: 10- gFat: 6- gSaturated Fat: 3- gPolyunsaturated Fat: 1- gMonounsaturated Fat: 2- gTrans Fat: 1- gCholesterol: 58- mgSodium: 505- mgPotassium: 119- mgFiber: 2- gSugar: 4- gVitamin A: 203- IUCalcium: 49- mgIron: 1- mg

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

Did you make this recipe? Share it with me.Tag @veenaazmanov on instagram or #hashtag it #veenaazmanov

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