Soft Burger Buns - The Best EVER

SOFT BURGER BUNS - THE BEST EVER Published - Oct 10, 2012, Updated - Nov 8, 2020, by Veena Azmanov. Words - 2189 words. About 11 minutes to read this article.

These soft burger buns are the best you will ever make. The next time you plan a burger feast or need buns for your hamburger patty, give these a try. They are soft, fluffy, and golden but so easy to make too.

The Softest Burger Buns Recipes I love crusty bread - I do! But not with my burgers. With my burger, the bread has to be soft and almost melt in the mouth. So I can taste my meat in all its glory. And at the same time, have that sweet bread flavor. If you love hamburgers as much as I do you know what I mean.

ABOUT THIS RECIPE The recipe is like any other bread recipe with standard bread ingredients. The secret to making these soft, light, and airy is in the kneading and in the consistency of the dough. I highly recommend you watch the video and take note that my dough is soft, smooth, elastic but also quite sticky. This makes it difficult work but it also provides you that soft bun you can squish in your hands. So, don't be tempted to add more flour.

The timeline for these buns is fairly straight forward too.

• Knead dough - 10 mins
• Rise - 45 to 60 mins
• Shape - 10 mins
• Proof - 30 to 45 mins
• Bake - 20 to 22 mins

INGREDIENTS AND SUBSTITUTES

• Flour - Bread flour does give a soft, light, and airy bread with a tender crust. In the past, I have always used all-purpose flour for this bread and it works great too.
• Warm milk - I like adding milk to this bread recipe. It gives a nice soft tender crumb to the bread. And yet, if you want, you can substitute the milk with water. That would work just as well, but the dough might be a bit looser. So, adding a few handfuls of flour may be necessary.
• Yeast - Active dry yeast is usually what I use, but any active yeast works. Over the years, I've used many different brands. And I can tell the yeast has never been an issue. I have even used fresh yeast when I made it in India and the bread was just as soft.

INSTRUCTIONS

• In the bowl of a stand mixer, with the hook-attachment add the warm milk, sugar, yeast, egg, melted butter - stir well and set aside for 3 mins until foamy. Tip - There is no need to activate this yeast but I like to make sure my yeast is good and the temperature of the liquid ingredients is just right. That way I don't waste ingredients.
• Then, add flour and salt. Knead, starting on low for two minutes until all the dry flour is absorbed.
• Scrape the sides of the bowl. The dough will be soft and sticky and that's OK.
• Knead for about 3 more minutes on medium adding only enough flour help with kneading. Tip - If kneading by hand, knead for 5 minutes.
• You want the dough to be really really soft, a little sticky. But it has to be elastic!
• Gather the dough into a ball and place in an oiled bowl to rise for about 60 to 90 minutes or until double in volume.
• Once doubled, transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface. Degas/remove air and bring it back into a ball.
• Divide the dough into 10 to 12 depending on how big you want the burgers.
• 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 (but, do not over roll these or you will rupture the top smooth skin).
• Place on a baking tray leaving enough space to let them rise. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place for about 45 mins to an hour.
• Once almost double in volume at about 20 to 30 minutes. Preheat the oven at 190 C / 370 F.
• Brush each bun with an egg wash and sprinkle on some sesame seeds.
• Bake for 15 to 20 mins (depending on size and oven) or until golden brown.
• Keeping them soft - as soon as you take the burgers out of the oven - cover them with a clean kitchen cloth so the burgers will retain the steam and stay soft.
• Let rest for 15 mins before you remove the kitchen cloth or serve.

RECIPE NOTES

• The amount of flour you add to your recipe is key to the success of these buns. The final quantity of liquid - eggs, milk, the butter will determine if you need 400 or 450 or even 500 grams of flour. What's important is to look at the consistency of your dough. It has to be very soft, spongy, and yes still sticky but elastic!!
• Temperature - If you have made bread before, then you know that temperature plays a huge role in bread baking. Beginning with the temperature of your liquid ingredients - you want that to be approximately 41 C / 105 F. If it's cooler then it will fail to revive your yeast. And if it's hotter again you will kill the yeast giving you a flatbread. NO, you don't really need a thermometer. The best way to test it is - just stick a little clean finger; if you can keep your finger in there without discomfort it's good. I always say - it's the same temperature you give milk to a baby - warm.
• Covering the rolls as soon as they come out of the oven. This is an important step so don't skip and don't forget. When you cover the hot buns in a clean kitchen cloth you are letting the steam in the buns to cool inside the buns - this keeps the buns soft and moist - not dried out.

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS Can I omit the sugar in these buns? I don't want my burger buns sweet. The sugar is not much. It helps feed the yeast and adds a nice flavor too. Do I need to use bread flour for these buns? You can use bread flour for these buns but it is not absolutely necessary. I have been making these buns for years and have always used regular all-purpose flour. Can I make this dough by hand? Do I need a stand mixer? No, you don't need a stand mixer. I usually make these in batches of 12 and always make them by hand. Having said that the dough is soft, sticky, and elastic so a stand mixer makes it easier to handle. What makes the buns soft and fluffy? The consistency of the dough. The dough should be soft, elastic, and slightly sticky. Avoid the temptation to add more flour. Use flour on your hands when kneading but don't make the dough dense. My mom used to say - a well-kneaded bread dough should be soft and jiggly like a baby's bottom. Can I make these buns ahead of time? Absolutely, you can knead the dough the night before and let them slow rise in the fridge overnight. Bring them to room temperature before you shape them into buns. Then let them rise the second time at room temperature before baking. How long do these buns keep? If stored properly these burger buns will last for 3 to 4 days at room temperature. These freeze well too so if you make extra place them in a ziplock bag and freeze them for longer. Can I make these buns with whole wheat flour? Yes, and they are absolutely delicious.

TROUBLESHOOTING WHY DID MY DOUGH NOT RISE? Most often the simplest explanation for this is that the liquid (milk) used was not warm. You need the liquid to be no more than 110 F / 41 C. Hotter than that will not activate the yeast. In some cases, it could also be that the yeast was old and not good. MY BURGER BUNS WERE NOT SOFT? THEY WERE DENSE. If you add too much flour to the dough the buns will be dense, not soft. You want the dough to be soft, elastic and still slightly sticky when kneading. MY BURGER BUNS DEFLATED WHEN BAKING? Prove the buns for only 45 minutes or until just almost double in volume. They will continue to rise some more in the oven when baking. If you overproof the buns they tend to rise and deflate when baking. WHY ARE MY BURGER BUNS FLAT? Again if you over-proof the buns before baking they will rise and deflate giving you flat hamburger buns.