Delicious soft homemade hamburger buns with a fluffy texture, beautifully golden top, and perfect for any sandwich or grilled burger. Take them up a level by slicing and grilling with butter and garlic salt. Once you make them, you’ll never want store-bought again!

If you’re on the hunt for another bread recipe you can use for sandwiches, check out this simple white bread recipe, or these yummy, fool-proof crescent rolls. Making a giant sub-sandwich? This French bread is fantastic as well.

This soft homemade hamburger bun recipe makes 16 buns. It’s a great one to make for a gathering where you’ll be feeding a crowd. One really special thing about this recipe is that you can also form the dough into hot dog buns! If you only need a few buns, this recipe freezes SO well. Allow the buns to fully cool, then add them to a gallon ziplock bag and freeze up to 3 months. Allow to thaw to room temperature the day you need them.

Need hoagie loaves for sub or meatball sandwiches? You’ll love this recipe for homemade hoagie rolls too!

The Best Homemade Hoagie Rolls

Soft Homemade Hamburger Buns: Ingredient list

2 Tablespoons instant yeast (I only use SAF-Instant)
1/2 Cup warm water
2 Cups Hot water
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
5 Tablespoons Vegetable or avocado oil
6 Cups All-purpose flour Substitute in 2 cups bread flour for a chewier texture (so good!)
1 egg Beaten with a couple of teaspoons of water

Tips for making Soft Homemade Hamburger Buns:

Mix your water and yeast and give it 5 minutes to bloom (become foamy and frothy)
Mix other ingredients in a second bowl while you’re waiting for the yeast to activate.
Combine all ingredients and allow for rise/deflating time (a total of 60 minutes). During this time the glutens will develop to result in an amazing texture!
Form dough into 16 equal smooth balls. Brush with egg wash.
Bake for 20 minutes or until golden on top.
Allow to cool and enjoy for sandwiches and burgers!
Freeze extra buns up to 3 months.

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Soft Homemade Hamburger Buns

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Ingredients

2 Tablespoons instant yeast I only use SAF-Instant
1/2 Cup warm water
2 Cups Hot water
3 Tablespoons Sugar
1 Tablespoon Kosher salt
5 Tablespoons Vegetable or avocado oil
6 Cups All-purpose flour Substitute in 2 cups bread flour for a chewier texture (so good!)
1 egg Beaten with a couple of teaspoons of water

Instructions

Dissolve yeast and 1/2 cup of warm water. Allow the mixture to foam.
In a separate bowl, mix 2 cups hot water, sugar, oil, salt and 3 cups of flour.
Check to make sure your yeast has become frothy/foamy and activated. If so, combined both mixtures. Use a paddle attachment to mix the dough well for 2 minutes.
Switch to the dough hook attachment and add the remaining 3 cups of flour, one at a time so the dough can absorb all the flour. Let the dough hook mix for 5 minutes until flour is incorporated and dough is smooth and elastic.
Turn off the mixer and allow the dough to sit for 20 minutes (just leave the dough hook attached and cover the mixer with a tea towel).
After 20 minutes the dough will look puffy. Stir dough down with a wooden spoon or simply turn on your mixer to low and allow the dough hook to deflate the dough (10 seconds or less).
Repeat this step 2 times more so the dough has a total of 60 minutes to rise (and be deflated every 20 minutes). This will allow the gluten to develop and create a wonderful, soft chewy texture.
Dump dough onto a floured counter top. Cut dough into 16 equal pieces. You do not need to use a scale but it can help if you want evenly sized buns.
Form each portion of dough into a smooth ball and place onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper or sprayed with non-stick spray. You can bake them in rows of 2 or 3.
Allow your buns to rise again for 20 minutes. About 10 minutes into this rise I like to "score" my loaves with 4 small slits (use a bread lame or baking razor). Brush a thin layer of egg wash on them to glaze for a shiny baked finish. This really makes them beautiful!
Bake buns at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Notes

I would highly recommend using a parchment sheet under the loaves for baking.

Buns can be frozen in a gallon ziplock bag and stay VERY fresh! Just allow them to thaw to room temperature before enjoying.

Can I make the hamburger buns ahead or store extras?

This is a great recipe to make ahead. You can make the hamburger buns, allow them to fully cool and store in a ziplock bag in the freezer for up to 3 months. Even if I won’t be using the buns for a few days, I still put them in the freezer. You would need to use these within 3 days, since they do not contain preservatives they will start to dry and won’t be as soft. We love toasting the buns or slicing and grilling with butter in a pan before using them for burgers, they are delicious!