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… ;)
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I just made this recipe today! The one thing I will add is I believe the baking time could be to long. I cooked these for 18 minutes and they came out perfect had I done 20-25 they would have been hard as rocks. I tried one right away and was impressed with the flavor. I look forward to using them for sandwiches.
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Also when your talking about bread machines. Any recipe can be used in one. You would want to warm the milk and melt the butter. You then would put the wet ingredients and then add the flour and salt. As always put the yeast in last. Then use your dough settings. Your going to then need to take the dough out and roll it. Make the buns and then let them rise before cooking so I don’t see the advantage of a bread machine for this recipe though it would work I am sure. :)
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I noticed how you said knead until it “looks shiny” I have made these several times and haven’t gotten that look…is the dough supposed to be sticky or do we add flour just till it’s not sticky anymore?
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Laura Reply:
December 9th, 2010 at 3:55 pm
You’re probably doing it just right, and it won’t look particulary shiny if you continue to add flour to keep it from sticking. Shiny” was the best word I could come up with to describe the look or texture of the dough when it’s been kneaded long enough.
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Jill Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 1:20 pm
Laura,
Can’t I just put the hamburger buns on parchment paper?
I am making them right now. I am looking forward to having great buns!
Thanks, Jill
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Laura Reply:
May 15th, 2011 at 5:19 pm
Sure, that would work!
Jill Reply:
May 18th, 2011 at 9:39 am
I did make them and they were very good – and cute.
I think I might roll them a bit thicker for a higher bun,
but they were very good. Thanks!
Perfect dough! I made a half recipe and it filled an entire baking tray (10 buns). The suggested times were right on.
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YES!!! This was my very first SUCCESSFUL dough in a LONG time. I’ve been in a rut and this worked out! they are cooking in the oven right now… so I suppose it matters if I pull them out on time and not burned for them to turn out.
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I am going to try these soon. But I am curious, what are they served with on your plate up there? Fried onion rings? :-)
Thanks!
Kori
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Laura Reply:
January 16th, 2011 at 3:06 pm
Yes, they are onion rings! http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/eat-more-fruits-and-veggies-the-best-way-to-eat-an-onion
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Hello again, Laura!
This has been my first week to soak my beans, soak my pancakes, & whole wheat rolls like you’ve suggested. I’ve had some things turn out good,others not so good. The beans tasted “normal”; however, your soaked pancakes recipe turned out
really doughy for me in the middle after I had
followed the recipe exactly. For my 2nd attempt
I used kefir instead of lemon juice & water &
they also turned out flat & doughy in the middle.
Ahhhhhhhhhh ;o0 The kefir
pancakes definitely had a “sour” taste that my
kids aren’t used to yet & I wonder if it’s more
so than buttermilk would be? Hmmmmm
They were also flat (not like how yours turn out) ;o( Do you cook them on medium heat? What’s the dial number on the stove? Hmmm I tried experimenting with that, too without
much success. However, I’m not giving up yet!
Also, the same “sour” taste showed up in the
homemade wheat rolls that I made. The consistency for the rolls turned out like normal
though, so I was relieved! ;o) Also, with
the pancakes (both attempts), I kept trying to
add milk, then flour to achieve fluffy good
pancakes, but only came up with the same
flat & doughy…….and sometimes on the burnt
side…………sooooooo frusterating as it was
quite time consuming!!! I’m the only one eating them up
now~~~~~~~sigh Any suggestions?
Also, in the above recipe, you didn’t mention
“soaking” the flour first, but I’m assuming
you do? Do you “soak” the whole wheat flour
in this recipe with the amount of water mentioned
in the recipe along with lemon juice? Hmmmmmm I’m really hoping
to get this all figured out, but it’s been
rather stressful so far as my family isn’t
crazy about my “new experiments”! sigh
Thanks for any input that you might offer!
I hope your voice is back to normal, soon!! ;o)
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Laura Reply:
January 24th, 2011 at 4:39 pm
I actually don’t soak these, I haven’t figured out a great method for that yet. Yes, your soaked items are going to tastea bit sour…the soaking process kind of turns them into “sourdough”. It’s very slight and I’ve found that my family has gotten used to the taste.
I’m not sure the deal on the pancakes??? Others have had this same issue. :(
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Wow! I followed your recipe yesterday and they turned out fantastic! We had an expected extra four people, so it was a good thing that I didn’t notice the “makes 18 buns” thing until it was too late!
re the 18 minute suggestion, I did bake them for about 22 minutes and they came out just perfect. I preheated the oven a bit and left my pizza stones in there as I pretty much always do.
I was kind of worried that it might not be possible to make a light and fluffy bun (or anything) with 100% whole wheat flour, but clearly it can be done. Thanks so much for posting this recipe!
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Laura,
I made these today and though they taste fine they are a little heavier than I’d like for sanwich buns. We are still gonna use them but I was wondering what I need to do differently to get them fluffier next time? Do I need to maybe knead them longer? Let the flour/water mix set longer? Or maybe did I knead them too much? What’s your trick for a fluffier bun? Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
March 14th, 2011 at 3:03 pm
It could be that you kneaded them too much? Hard for me to know. I use freshly ground hard white flour…not sure which you used or if that might be what made the difference.
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Laura,
I made these in my bread maker, using the dough cycle. I would suggest making half a batch, as a whole batch was overflowing my 2lb bread pan. As for the baking time, I rolled my a little thinner (who doesn’t want thinner buns), so I adjusted the baking time to 16 min and got 28 buns. The kids and I thought they tasted great. We ate them right out of the oven. :)
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Tried following this recipe and to my surprise they came out wonderful.. thanks to laura!! they are awesome. ‘m waiting for my husband and have those hamburger buns for dinner tonight
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I just made your WW Hamburger and Hotdog buns tonight… Yippee! Now I have nice buns like you! :) Thanks so much for all of your hard work and dedication~I really appreciate you!
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Sarah Reply:
May 9th, 2011 at 3:45 am
How did you shape your hotdog buns? I tried without much success!
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Laura Reply:
May 9th, 2011 at 12:59 pm
Here is my post describing how I make hot dog buns: http://heavenlyhomemakers.com/whole-wheat-hot-dog-buns
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Laura,
I just tried these and they turned out a little flat! I thought they’d be perfect because the rose so well…actually they more than doubled in a 1/2 an hour on the first rising. Perhaps that’s the problem? Suggestions welcome. Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
April 11th, 2011 at 3:32 pm
It could be that they needed a very SHORT rising time the second time since the yeast was so “activated”? If they rose too much after being shaped, they may have fallen in the oven. That’s my only guess????
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They smell and look great. Can’t wait to see what they taste like during dinner tonight! I’ll need to find a bigger cutter because our burgers are going to hang over the edge of these despite using my largest Ateco circle cutter. Thanks for sharing Laura!
I will note that even after adding 6 cups of flour (half whole wheat, half bread) my dough was sticky very sticky to the touch. I ended up leaving it that way, hoping it meant it would create a fluffier bun. We shall see.
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Just finished making these and they look great! I used a breadmaker for the dough as my house is inevitably cool enough that rise times at least double (sigh).
Thanks so much for sharing! I’ll be back to look around here more….
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I made these for the first time over the weekend and OH MY GOODNESS, what a wonderful recipe! I tweaked it a little for high altitude (we live at 8500 feet) and they turned out perfectly. Here are the high altitude changes in case anyone’s interested:
5 1/4 c. whole wheat flour
1 2/3 c. tepid (barely warm) water
1 T. yeast
1/4 c. water
1/2 c. milk
2 T. butter
2 1/2 tsp. sea salt
Follow steps as given except decrease proofing time to 5 minutes, and then watch the dough closely when rising in the bowl (doubling time will be less than an hour.)
Thanks for a great recipe, Laura!
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Hurray! Something I did turned out right!!! Hot from the oven sooooooo yummy slathered in butter! Thank you for this recipe! I’m new at this and I was able to turn out some really hot buns…=) !!!
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How would I freeze the left overs and use them later without them getting soggy?
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Laura Reply:
May 25th, 2011 at 3:54 pm
If you wait until the buns have completely cooled, then place them in a freezer bag, they should do fine without getting soggy.
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Hi Laura. I’m lazy, or smart, depends how you look at it! Ha. Anyway, I’d like to double your recipe so I can freeze a bunch of them. I may add a little vital wheat gluten to make them a little softer. First, what do you think of gluten? Second, if you think it’s okay, at point in the process would I add it? Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
May 25th, 2011 at 3:55 pm
I’ve not every tried baking with gluten, so I’m really not sure!
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Shannon Reply:
May 26th, 2011 at 8:03 pm
Loved them Laura. Thanks. I added one tablespoon of gluten and they are nice and soft.
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I made these for dinner tonight. I used spelt flour instead of wheat. They didn’t rise as much as yours, but spelt never does. They were delicious and my picky daughter who doesn’t even like hamburgers ate the whole thing! Thank you for sharing your recipes!
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If you want a little sourdough flavor, make the yeast part of the reciepe ‘sponge’in the morning let set until afternoon then make the reciepe, you will develope a nice not to sour taste. Graham flour is also a nice addition just sub 1/2 c for wheat. I added soft goat cheese and fresh basil, rolled them into small balls, put into cupcake pan, let rise, nice dinner rolls.
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made these this morning for lunch today. amazing! your buns are, by far, the best i’ve seen. :) kidding aside, they had a great rise and were very light and fluffy. my husband freaked over them. i shaped them into hoagie rolls and we had them as a french dip. crockpot roast, au jus, grilled onions, peppers and mushrooms. yummmmmm.
this is my new go-to bun recipe. thanks!
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Hi Laura! I just wanted to let you know that I like simplicity and so I decided to try this recipe for other things as well and I think I have made the BEST of the following with this recipe. Even better than other recipes or even your recipes for the same things (no offense haha).
cinnamon rolls
pizza dough
baguette crackers
and the most pliable soft tortillas I’ve made yet!
the rising time varies with each item and so does the cooking time. I just adapted it as I went.
it has been so nice being able to triple this recipe and make several things out of it. I couldn’t believe how well the tortillas turned out! So THANKS for this universal recipe.
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julie Reply:
December 20th, 2011 at 11:16 am
I would love to know what you did to make the tortillas! Thanks:)
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Kathleen Reply:
February 24th, 2012 at 3:08 pm
I would love to know about the tortillas also :)
Just found this recipe and am going to make it. Will report
my success, fingers crossed. :)
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Made these today…they smell great! We’ll be trying them tonight with our pulled-pork. Question…..do you have trouble getting them to rise? My yeast is fine, as we’ve been using it with other things. Does it have anything to do with using only whole wheat flour? Should I use part whole wheat, part white?
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Laura Reply:
August 13th, 2011 at 4:09 pm
I’m not sure – I always use all whole wheat (freshly ground from hard white wheat). Mine don’t raise up to be big and fluffy, but I don’t really want them to be too bready so I’ve been okay with that. They may have needed to be kneaded a little bit more?? Just a guess. :)
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You crack me up. “Pull dough onto a clean countertop…” Thanks for the reminder to clean my counter first! :)
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hi laura,could u pl unravel this mystery!i followed ur recipe exactly half!(i halved the recipe exactly)n did just as u mentioned but while cutting the dough into crcle shapes with a bottle lid,i felt as if the fizz just went out of thedough,it suddenly seemed to deflate(?)n after baking it was flat not a centimeter rose!u cud play golf with it though!i have tried baking whole wheat bread too several times n the first rise is good, the second always rises lesser n after shaping the loaf n putting it to rise for the third time in the pan, it refuses to rise,(no matter which recipe i follow)n after baking the loaf is as flat as i wish my buns should be!could u enlighten me,por favor,what the hell am idoing wrong?!!!!!!!
quite-fed-up-with-yeast-geet,
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Laura Reply:
August 2nd, 2011 at 6:35 am
Did the dough rise the first time (in the bowl)? Did they then rise in the pan after you cut them into circles?
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thanks for ur reply laura.n its not u, its me ,totally!im a not good enough cook in the first place,so pl bear with me,yes,the dough did rise in the bowl,n the second rising was ok too,it did not double but it had improved ,n while rolling i was quite gentle ,although my 4 year old did “”help”" me with the glass i used to cut circles ,n while we were doing the circle shapes i felt like as though the fizz was going out,if u will excuse me repeating myself,n then the dough did not rise at all in baking maybe my whole wheat flour over rose the first n second times n so collapsed?although if u see the rising in ur videos my dough has certainly not reached anywhere near such reisings!my kids are really very excited about “”helping mama “” make these buns, but the final product sort of,scared me, n im worried that if we dont get good results i wont be able to cajole them into further such “”helping mama”" events!thanks in advance,
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Hi Laura, I have only recently been trying to make my own bread and love this recipe. We are missionaries in Brazil and I look forward to many more recipes with you. Thanks!
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This is the second time I have attempted these buns and both times i could not get them to rise enough to look like your picture. they still taste good but they are only about an inch tall. I let them rise the second time for about 1 1/2 hours just trying to make them bigger and still nothing. what could I be doing wrong? Thanks!
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Laura Reply:
August 13th, 2011 at 4:11 pm
Did they rise well during the first rising (before you shaped them)? If so, I’m not sure why they wouldn’t rise the second time?
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So I was really excited when I found this recipe. I usually have great luck trying recipes the first time…..
I did the math and did 1/3 of the recipe (there are only two of us, plus my almost 1 yr old son, so I really didn’t need 18 buns….lol)…. I ended up having to do this twice, because my dough didn’t rise at all the first time. I think it might have been the yeast, so i opened up a new package and tested it. Twice. I think the honey I used didn’t have enough sugar, bc my first test didn’t do anything, and the second test i added sugar with the honey and THEN the yeast did something. so i added that to the dough. i kneaded it. it rose a little, but not enough. i was only able to get 2 buns out of it! how big are the buns you make? i wanted big buns, bc i was making some ridiculous hamburgers from the Cheese and Burger Society website, and i wanted the buns to withstand the messiness of the burger. DH thought the buns were great bc they were thick and bready and didnt crumble when he took a bite, but i would still like to know what i did wrong since the dough didn’t rise properly….(i did put a little rye flour in it, maybe that was the issue…or perhaps my yeast still wasn’t good enough….or maybe bc i 1/3 the recipe instead of just 1/2 there wasnt enough yeast to react???? I am not sure, but there are left over burgers, so I will be trying this again tomorrow…lol
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Chanel Reply:
August 30th, 2011 at 4:24 am
my dough rose this time! used fresh yeast instead!
waiting for the buns to rise so i can bake them! SO excited!
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I have been working with whole wheat flours and I have found that warming the milk makes a big difference in almost any recipe. It made a huge difference in my english muffins. Thanks so much, the hamburger and hot dog buns will impress my guests at my annual Tacky Tiki pool party Sunday.
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I can’t wait to try this recipe with olive oil. I’ve very recently gone vegan and I’m trying out various recipes that will help me fascilitate my newest adventure. I’ll let you know how they turn out. I really enjoyed reading all of the replies. Thank you!
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Just had to find this post and comment.
If you’d told me a few years ago that I’d be making my own hamburger buns, I’d have called you crazy! ;) I tried this recipe today and the buns were perfect!
My husband, who is sometimes skeptical of my “experiments” thought they were great when I served them as sandwiches for supper with pulled beef, topped with a slice of cheese. Both of my daughters ate them up as well!
I did use a white wheat flour and found them fluffy and not too heavy, which was a relief. I had tried wheat buns from the store, but the wheat taste was too overpowering. It’s so exciting to know exactly what went into these hamburger buns and to enjoy how delicious they taste! Thanks for another great recipe!
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So I am unintentionally making these today =] I was making a few batches of your whole wheat bread and then one of my batches decided to not rise super well, so I just rolled them out and cut them =] I don’t like super huge buns either lol. can’t wait for sloppy joes tonight! I didn’t even know what I was going to make for dinner so this is probably my best goof every!
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OOPS!
Well, everything started out well enough. I used the whole wheat flour for the first part of the recipe, using all the flour in my storage container. Busy doing other stuff, remembered I had a bag of wheat flour and used that for the second part of the recipe. Um, it wasnt wheat flour. It was pastry flour!! They are in the oven now, so I’ll have to write an update later on how they turn out! :)
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Wow! These were GREAT! My kids even asked to take them to school for lunch the next day, with nothing but butter on them! Thanks!
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These are delicious :) I’ve never made a good ww bun that I was completely satisfied with before, but these were perfect. I made 16 buns and they were the perfect size for us. We had them on sloppy joes tonight and my husband kept going on about how good the buns were :)
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Have any tips for adapting these for sourdough?
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Laura Reply:
March 15th, 2012 at 3:45 pm
I’m not sure, but this is a great resource: http://gnowfglins.com/ecourse/249-45-3-49.html
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i made it today , the dough rose perfectly for first time, second time it rose but not much and after baking they were flat not fluffier like yours , what could be the reason please guide.
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Laura Reply:
March 25th, 2012 at 11:55 am
I’m not sure. Mind typically don’t rise much the second time either though and don’t get super fluffy, just a little bit. It could be that you kneaded the dough a little too much before shaping the buns? Just a guess though. :)
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