How to Make Fluffy Sourdough Hamburger Buns [Step by Step Guide]

These quick and easy fluffy sourdough hamburger buns are perfect for barbecues. Have these sourdough buns prepared and ready to eat in a couple hours, waiting to be loaded with delicious grilled meats, and veggies. Here’s a step by step guide to help you.

Table of Contents

• What’s so Great About Sourdough Burger Buns?
• How to Make Sourdough Hamburger Buns
  • Ingredients
  • Equipment Needed
  • Instructions
• Tips for the Best Hamburger Buns
  • Sourdough Hamburger Buns Timeline
  • What to Serve with Sourdough Hamburger Buns
• How to Store Hamburger Buns
• Fantastic Hamburgers Using Sourdough!
• Fluffy Sourdough Hamburger Buns FAQs

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What’s so Great About Sourdough Burger Buns?

These sourdough buns are tender and fluffy, coupled with a golden crust and a unique but appreciated sourdough flavor. These buns are perfect for juicy burgers, making them a great substitute for regular hamburger buns. And here I recommend a recipe if you are looking for low-carb keto buns.

How to Make Sourdough Hamburger Buns

These plush homemade hamburger buns are super fun to make, emerging with a wonderful sourdough flavour, with the perfect bun texture. This recipe is especially great for sourdough bread lovers, providing opportunities to widen their options in baking sourdough recipes.

Ingredients

You only require a few ingredients, that you can find in your pantry.

• 3 cups flour – for these homemade burger buns we are using a combination of whole wheat flour and all purpose flour. But you can use bread flour if you wish
• 1/4 cup water – tap water is fine, as long as it’s not chlorinated
• 1 cup sourdough starter – use 100% hydration starter that has been recently fed and bubbly
• 1 tbsp honey – this ingredient will help sweeten the dough slightly
• 2 tbsp unsalted butter – this helps enrich and soften the dough, you want it to come to room temperature
• 1 tsp salt – for flavor
• 3/4 cup milk – and melted butter to brush the buns
• 1 tsp sesame seeds – you can use sesame seeds, dried onions or everything bagel seasoning

Equipment Needed

Here are the tools needed to make this sourdough hamburger bun recipe:

• Food scale
• Stand mixer with a dough hook
• Kitchen towel
• Plastic wrap
• Baking sheet
• Parchment paper
• Silicone pastry brush
• Wire cooling rack

Instructions

1. In the bowl of a stand mixer with a dough hook, combine whole wheat flour, all purpose water, water, active sourdough starter, honey and salt.
2. Mix the dough on low speed.
3. Switch to the dough hook attachment and mix on medium speed for 5 minutes, or until the dough begins to strengthen and cling to the dough hook. The dough should be strong, but it shouldn’t completely leave the bottom of the bowl as it mixes, and it should appear shaggy. If the dough is not medium soft, add a little extra water, a little at a time, and mix it in.
4. Cover the dough and let it rest for 10 minutes.
5. Turn the dough hook on low and carefully add the butter.
6. Then place the dough in a large bowl and cover with a cloth, setting it in a warm place for 30 minutes.
7. Perform the first set of stretches and folds.
8. Then allow the dough to sit for another 30 minutes.
9. Do another set of stretches and folds.
10. Allow the dough to sit for 30 minutes.
11. Perform a third set of stretch and folds, then allow the dough rest for an hour and 30 minutes.
12. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions.
13. Shape each piece into a bun. Pull the edges of the dough into the center and form a rounded top, and then flip and place them on a baking tray seam side down.
14. Use your palm to carefully flatten each dough ball a little
15. Cover the tray with a plastic wrap and let the dough rise until double its size.
16. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
17. Brush each buns with egg white and sprinkled sesame seeds.
18. Bake these hamburger buns for 22 minutes, or until they’re glossy and hollow.
19. Cool these buns on a wire rack.

Tips for the Best Hamburger Buns

• Allow the buns to fully proof and double to achieve a super soft texture.
• When placing the hamburger buns on a baking tray, make sure that there’s enough space between the buns, but close enough so that they touch when fully proofed and puffed up. This will ensure that they maintain their shape when baking.
• Brush the buns with milk before baking, to provide them with a gorgeous color.
• Don’t overbake them as the crust will emerge dark and crusty.
• Brush them with butter as soon as they are removed from the oven to help maintain their softness.

Sourdough Hamburger Buns Timeline

• If your starter needs feeding, remember to do that the night before or early in the morning of the day you plan to make your dough.
• If you wish to make your dough on the same day that you wish to bake, then mix the dough ingredients in the morning, which means that your starter should be fed and active the night before. Allow the dough to ferment at room temperature. By late afternoon the buns should be ready to bake with.
• If you prefer to make the dough a day before baking, mix the dough ingredients in the afternoon, allow it to ferment on the kitchen counter during the day, and refrigerate the dough overnight.
• The dough can remain refrigerated for up to 2 days
• Remove the dough from the fridge in the morning, and shape the buns, setting them aside do that they rise. The rise may take longer as the dough is cold.

What to Serve with Sourdough Hamburger Buns

You can serve these sourdough hamburger buns with anything you like, whether its a meat based filling, or vegetarian burger patty with your favourite burger toppings.

You can also use these hamburger buns for:

• Pulled pork sandwiches
• Ham and cheese sandwiches
• Turkey burger

Want bigger sizes? You can also make these into bigger buns by dividing the dough into 6 larger balls.

How to Store Hamburger Buns

These moist hamburger buns are super easy to make, though sometimes you may find that you have some leftover.

These sourdough rolls can be frozen. Simply place them in a freezer bag and freeze.

(Another sourdough roll recipe in my pumpkin sourdough rolls blog post, btw)

Once you’re ready to eat them (for example, using them for these amazing Spanish Sliders), thaw at room temperature or in a microwave for a few seconds. This’ll soften them up before toasting the insides and adding your choice of filling.

For more on sourdough storage, click through to our post!

Fantastic Hamburgers Using Sourdough!

Creating a variety of baked goods from a simple sourdough recipe is what keeps new bakers excited. Especially if you’re craving that sourdough flavor in your everyday meals.

Whether its sweet cinnamon rolls, savory hot dog buns, wild garlic sourdough, or delicious sourdough muffins, they’re all worth the effort, since they produce the most fantastic, flavorful outcome!

If you want to level up this sourdough hamburger buns recipe, why not add whole grain? Check out my whole wheat sourdough buns!

Fluffy Sourdough Hamburger Buns FAQs