Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
ByIn the past few years as our family is working to learn more about eating healthier…I’ve tried to come up with a healthy, homemade whole wheat hamburger bun.
I think I have finally figured out how to make a good bun.
(I must say…blogging about my buns feels a little….strange. But just in case you’ve had trouble with your buns…I thought this was worth sharing.)
Many burger bun attempts failed…as usually they were too bready…or too heavy. And we all know that NOBODY wants their buns to be too heavy…
So last week…I tried again and tweaked one of my other recipes and turned out a great batch of buns! Here’s how I did it:
Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
5 cups (+) whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups warm water
2 pkgs regular or active dry yeast (4 1/2 t.)
2 T. honey
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup milk
2 T. butter
2 t. sea salt
In a large mixing bowl, stir together 3 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 1/2 cups warm water. Set aside to let rest for 30 minutes. In the meantime, mix together 1/4 cup water, yeast and honey. Allow this to sit for at least 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
Melt butter, milk and salt in a small saucepan on the stove. Do not allow the mixture to get above 120 degrees.
Pour yeast mixture and milk mixture into flour mixture. Add remaining two cups of flour (more if needed).
Knead for about 10 minutes until dough begins to look “shiny”. Put dough back into the bowl, cover and let rise for at least an hour…or until it has doubled.
Pull dough onto a clean countertop and knead for a couple of minutes to get any air bubbles out. Roll dough on a lightly floured surface until about 1/2 inch thick.
Cut circles from the dough with a large drinking glass or wide mouth jar. Place circles on in a well buttered baking dish about an inch apart.
Allow to rise for about 30 minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Makes about 18 buns.
Now….I really hope you like these as much as we do!!
But really…do be careful when you share this recipe and talk with others about them. Because…
“Don’t you just LOVE Laura’s buns?!” might just not sound quite right… ;)
Laura-
It might sound worse to say “Laura has the best buns ever!” I can’t wait to try these.
Toni
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Do you have one for whole wheat bread?
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Do you think you could just go ahead and soak the flour, and continue on with the recipe?
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Do you freeze the extras? I’d love to make buns, but I don’t think the two of us could tackle 18 at a time!
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Your recipes look great, thanks! :)
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Yah! I have not had much success on buns yet…going to give yours a try! Have you used the same for hot dog buns at all?
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Thank you, thank you for posting this! I made these tonight just exactly like you posted. They are absolutely perfect in every way. We used them for our black bean burgers and I’ll be using this recipe monthly, guaranteed. :)
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These buns were absolutely fabulous. A hit with my husband and family! Thanks a bunch.
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Great recipe! I just made them and they’re great. Thanks for sharing.
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How much yeast is in one package.
By the way, can you soak the flour over night in the warm water and then go on with the hamburger bun recipe?
Your sight is really inspiring to me.
My husband and I are trying to avoid processed foods.
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Oh wow your buns look perfect :) but mine turned out to be hockey pucks! Yikes I dont know what I did… I am new to baking maybe I over worked the dough???
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Can you make these in a bread machine? Just the dough. How would I do it? Thank you.
Pat
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Yes, please, can I make these in my bread machine–because mine would turn out like the previous reader’s hockey pucks if I go by past experiences.
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I made these tonight and we all loved the flavor, but they were a bit on the crumbly side. could it be that I added too much flour or over baked? I can’t think of anything else. I followed your recipe to the T, the only difference is I used whole wheat pastry flour. Any thoughts would be appriciated.
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HI Laura, Can I soak the flour overnight? Or does it need to be made without soaking the grains? Thanks So much!!! I love your site. My husband and I are missionaries and we try to eat as healthy as possible. You really help me out with your wonderful recipes. Thanks so much. Lori
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too bad she never came back to answer and/or thank.
I’m going to try the recipe though
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Sophie…sorry about that. I usually answer questions by email. BUT, that doesn’t help those of you who want to know the same answers. Here…I’ll answer these questions now:
*I don’t usually soak these, but I don’t know why you couldn’t exchange the water with buttermilk and soak them first! I really SHOULD be doing that!
*Yes, I absolutely freeze the extras.
*I’ve never tried them for hot dog buns. I’m sure they would work…we just don’t eat very many hotdogs.
*One package of yeast equals 2 1/4 teaspoons.
*I’m sorry I don’t have a bread machine…so I don’t know anything about one. SURELY you could use one though? Aren’t those things magic or something?
*If you use pastry flour..that won’t work as well for these. Pastry flour is best for use with cookies and muffins….not yeast breads. For yeast breads, I use hard white wheat ground into flour. Pastry flour is made from SOFT wheat.
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I happened on this site when looking for a whole wheat bun recipe. These are great. I soaked the flour in buttermilk instead of water and then made half the dough into hoagie buns for subs and brats. We all loved them even my picky eater.
Thanks for the great recipes.
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I made these, following the recipe to the letter. Unfortunately, they wouldn’t rise. I used fresh yeast and a thermometer. It seems that whole wheat flour is too heavy, so what is the answer?
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Laura Reply:
August 28th, 2009 at 9:49 am
All I can think of is that I used freshly ground flour from hard white wheat. That may have made a difference, especially if you used flour made from hard red wheat, which seems to be heavier. If you have access to whole wheat flour made with white wheat, you may want to try that. :)
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Thanks so much for posting this. We had them tonight and they were great. Some of the buns rose really high and some did not but, they were ALL great and I’m going to freeze the rest. Can’t thank you enough for the recipe!
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Terrific! I just pulled these babies out of the oven and had to cut into one (with my 3 year old) to give it a try before serving them up at dinner tonight. DELICIOUS! They felt really heavy when I pulled the tray out of the oven and I was worried – but once cut into they are actually quite airy and light – whew.
Great recipe – easy to put together and turned out great for me. I made the buns about half the size of a regular hamburger buns as I wanted them as dinner rolls to accompany our rotisserie chicken.
I just used whole wheat flour bought at the regular supermarket – so milling your own is really necessary for those without the time, know how or tools.
I’ll be freezing our leftovers for quick grabs for lunches and sides. THANKS!
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Oh, I am so glad you have a post about this!! I tried to make some hamburger buns from another recipe but they came out terribly. When I try your recipes they always come out so I am going to give it a shot.! Thanks.
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Wow! These just came out of the oven. (It’s a baking day of sorts here)
How soft and fluffy and wonderful! I’m excited for dinner (sloppy joes) tonight!
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WOW!!!! That’s all I can say. Better than anything you can buy at the store. I made mine vegan by using soy milk and Earth Balance spread. I’m going to use this for every kind of roll I can think of. Dinner rolls, bread sticks, pizza crust (not a roll but I think I can make it work)…FANTASTIC! Laura, I love your buns…er…I love this recipe.
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Love this recipe.
Empty tuna cans make great cutters for hamburger buns too! I have one in my drawer always.
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I made these and they were fantastic the night I made them. I froze some after cooking them and before letting them rise for the second time just to see which would be better for us. The cooked and frozen ones are long gone and were yummy. My first batch of uncooked frozen ones I let set too long wanting them to rise more and they were yucky. I learned to just let them thaw and rise a little. I think about 3 hours would have been adequate and I let them set for 4-5. We were pleasantly surprised by the texture.
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Oh wow, these were AMAZING.
fluffy and delicious.
usually recipes I have room for improvement, but there were flawless.
thanks!
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I have been wanting to make these for days now and was so excited to give it a try, they seemed like they would be so easy! And they were, but I must have done something wrong, they didn’t rise as much as I thought they would. Some rose nicely, but others just sat there. I’m not sure what I did wrong, but I baked them anyway. They taste great, just look a little flat. :) Maybe my water was too warm for the yeast? Or not warm enough? I’m new to using yeast!
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I made these yesterday for my family using a bread machine and they turned out perfectly. I used 5 cups of the flour and used the dough setting. I only got 16 buns, but I’m sure my buns are much bigger. :)
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just wanted to thank you for a great recipe. I made these last night for BLTs. They were a big hit with my family! thanks again!
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Laura, I just love your recipe. Today is my second time and I did some changes: I used 1/2 c of warm water; 2 TB oil instead of butter and 1/4 c of milk. The dough is unreal.
Thanks so much for this delicious recipe.
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I’m giving these another try today, they are already rising better than the last batch, so I’m happy! I might just get this “baking with yeast” thing yet!
Thank you so much for your blog, I can’t tell you what a blessing it’s been to me and my family!
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Just tried this recipe…WOW!!!! Great one. We will use this one from now on. Thanks!
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These would be wonderful for mini-pizzas, as I usually don’t need burger buns.
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Hello Laura!
I just found your recipe for hommade hamburger buns and am making them right now. Thanks! I know you put this recipe on in 2008, but on the photo of the finished product you had a side dish–what is it? It looks really interesting, and I’d love to try a new side with my burgers.
Thanks so much-
Janna
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Laura Reply:
April 19th, 2010 at 10:11 am
It’s homemade onion rings: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/eat-more-fruits-and-veggies-the-best-way-to-eat-an-onion
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Onion rings.
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I thought the side was dried apple slices.
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I have a silly question… what does the milk do? The recipe is the same as your bread recipe plus milk. (and you doubled the yeast) What does the milk do that makes it better in the buns and not in the bread? Or could you leave the milk out or add the milk to the bread recipe?
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Sara Reply:
June 7th, 2010 at 9:10 pm
Hi there, saw your comment, and since I bake lots of bread thought I would offer my two-cents
Milk enriches the bread and makes it softer (as does any fat). You could could probably sub milk in the bread recipe without any harm (though you might need just touch more), but taking it our of the buns would negativeily affect the desired texture.
Laura – This recipe looks great. I’ll be trying it out tommorrow, and will post my results.
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I am always looking for whole wheat recipes. This is the Best recipe I have found for WW Hamburger Buns,I made then today and they turned out great.
Thank You so Much.
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I tried to make these and they turned out super heavy,,, do you have any idea what could have went wrong?
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Stephan Klug Reply:
June 8th, 2010 at 11:11 am
Me too. They were like little hockey pucks. Tasted good though.
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Cassie Reply:
June 9th, 2010 at 1:45 pm
That happened to me too! I was wondering if the water added to the yeast also needed to be warm? I don’t think the recipe said warm water, I think it just said add 1/4c water, yeast and honey. I also read online that your need 1/4 cup water per pack of yeast, so that would mean we would need 1/2 c for this recipe, right? I’m so confused!! Any ideas Laura?
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Laura Reply:
June 10th, 2010 at 7:31 pm
I wish I was better at trouble shooting other peoples bread dough!! Everyone will have different climate and ingredient variations, making recipes like this one difficult to be consistent with.
I use freshly ground hard white wheat…so that might be a difference. Also, it could be that the dough should have been kneaded longer? Yikes…sorry I can’t help more!
I have been baking my family’s bread for a long time…but I have a question: is this dough supposed to be *really sticky when you’re done kneading? I added an additional 1/2 c. of flour while kneading, but it’s still REALLY sticky – should I add more flour?? TIA!
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Just had to stop back here and let you know that I figured it out! Yes, the dough was REALLY sticky – but this recipe has turned out the lightest, most delicious hamburger buns I have EVER tried – and I’ve been trying different hamburger bun recipes for a LONG time! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!!!!
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Just curious, how do you shape your buns to get an even size? Are you a pro or do you cut them out with a circle cutter? Help! :)
PS- I’m not asking because my buns are lopsided, I’m asking because I want my buns to be in good shape lol j/k
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Laura Reply:
August 17th, 2010 at 3:17 pm
Glad you have nice buns. ;)
I use a glass jar to cut them into a nice round shape.
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I finally made these tonight and promptly ate 4 out of the oven. I think they will taste good with hamburgers…Some turned out fluffier than others…
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My son’s eczema keeps us from cooking with dairy–it severely aggrivates his skin and intestines. [Your story about Malachi helped me push through and figure out, on my own, what was causing his reactions.]
I’ve tried substituting rice milk and think it doesn’t do the same job as 1% milk. Any suggestions?
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