If you think you can’t have soft and fluffy homemade hamburger buns made with 100% whole wheat flour, we’re here to tell you, you can! These are just that. Plus they're sturdy enough to hold up to whatever toppings you throw on them.
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A burger is only as good as the bun that holds it all together, right? We love making gourmet burgers, but it can be hard to find buns that taste good, and aren’t filled with nasty ingredients. So many store-bought buns, even ones that claim to be made with whole grains, have high fructose corn syrup in them, which we try to avoid. So that’s why we make our own homemade hamburger buns, tortillas, bread, and rolls.
Even though we have been baking with whole wheat flour for many years, it took us a while to figure out how to make good hamburger buns. They need to be soft, fluffy and sturdy. We’ll show you how to do just that in this post.
We developed this recipe originally for our sister site The Teary Onion, and have been making them for ourselves ever since.
What's Cool About This Recipe
- 100% whole grain: These hamburger buns are made with 100% whole wheat flour and they are still soft and fluffy. You don’t have to use all purpose flour to make soft buns.
- Fairly easy to make: You just make the dough in a stand mixer, let it rise, shape the buns, let them rise again and then bake.
- Tastes like real food: These buns taste way better than store bought buns. If you’ve ever bought whole wheat buns then you know they mostly taste like fluffy cardboard. These buns have a delicious nutty flavor that tastes like real food.
Ingredients and Substitutions
- Flour: These are the flours that work best in this recipe
- Fresh milled hard white wheat (best for flavor and texture)
- Fresh milled hard red wheat
- High quality store bought white whole wheat flour
- Water
- Oil: Avocado oil or olive oil is our go-to but you can use whatever oil you bake with.
- Egg: You will need an egg for the dough, it helps make the hamburger buns soft. And an egg for brushing the tops of the buns to make them brown and help the sesame seeds stick.
- Sugar or Honey
- Yeast: Both active dry and instant yeast work well in this recipe.
- Salt
- Sesame seeds: Optional for sprinkling on top of the buns. You can use white, black or toasted sesame seeds, or a mix of any you like.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
You can sprinkle the tops with different things such as:
- Everything seasoning
- Poppy seeds
- Black sesame seeds
- Check out our whole wheat sweet potato bun recipe
Instruction Photos
Step 1: In the bowl of a stand mixer dissolve the yeast and sugar in the warm water, let stand for 5-10 minutes or until foamy.
Step 2: Add the oil, egg, salt, and flour. Mix until all the flour is incorporated. Add more flour if necessary 1 tablespoon at a time.
How to tell if your dough needs more flour. After you add the initial amount of flour, scrape the sides of the bowl and start the mixer. Watch how the dough sticks to the side of the bowl, you want it to barely stick to the sides as it mixes.
Step 3: Knead with the dough hook attachment on medium speed for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and stretchy.
Step 4: Place the dough into an oiled bowl.
Step 5: Cover and let rise until doubled.
Step 6: Turn the dough out onto an oiled surface. Divide into 8 equal pieces.
Step 7: Shape each piece into a ball by folding the edges into the center and pinching them together on the bottom. Roll around in your hands or on the counter to make the top smooth. Flatten to ½ - ¾ inch and place on a large baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Step 8: Cover and let rise for 45-60 minutes or until doubled in size.
Step 9: Carefully brush with beaten egg, milk or cream and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Step 10: Bake at 400°F in the center or upper third of the oven for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Serving Suggestions
Use these homemade whole wheat hamburger buns for your favorite burgers. We love making gourmet burger recipes and some of our favorites from our sister site The Teary Onion are
Other ways you can use hamburger buns are
- Breakfast sandwiches
- Sloppy joes
- Pulled pork or pulled chicken sandwiches
How to Store Homemade Burger Buns
Store in an airtight container or tightly closed bread bag at room temperature for up to 3 days.
How to Freeze Hamburger Buns
Wrap the buns individually in several layers of plastic wrap and place in a freezer safe container or bag. Freeze for up to 3 months.
To thaw: Unwrap the buns and place on a plate or tray, cover loosely until thawed then store as usual.
Tips From Our Kitchen
For best results we recommend using a kitchen scale for measuring the ingredients, if you have one. If you don’t have a kitchen scale then use the scoop and level method for measuring the flour (scoop your cup full of flour and then scrape off the top with something with a straight edge).
Coat your hands and work surface with a light coating of oil to keep the dough from sticking. If it starts to stick, add a little more oil, a little goes a long way.
If you don’t want to use oil on your hands then you can use water. Be very careful doing this though, as too much water will make the dough too loose to work with.
You can make the dough ahead of time and let it rise in the fridge for up to 12 hours. Remove from the fridge, and proceed as the recipe says. Note the rise time after shaping will be longer, since the dough is cold.
FAQ
If your hamburger buns are crumbly it usually means that the dough was not kneaded enough. You want to knead the dough until it is very smooth, and stretchy.
These hamburger buns are best eaten the same day they are baked, but they will still be good for 2-3 days after baking.
If we have leftover hamburger buns we like to leave them out to dry and then grind them up in a food processor for brea d crumbs.
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Ingredients
- 1 cup (240 g) warm water about 110℉
- 2 tablespoons (26 g) granulated cane sugar or honey (1 tablespoon, 21 grams)
- 2 teaspoons (6 g) active dry yeast or instant
- 1 large egg, beaten
- ¼ cup (48 g) oil avocado or olive
- 1 teaspoon (6 g) sea salt
- 3 cups + 3 tablespoons (384 g) hard white wheat flour
- beaten egg or milk for brushing the tops
- sesame seeds optional
Instructions
- If you scroll up you can find step by step photos.In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the water, sugar and yeast. Let sit for 5-10 minutes, or until foamy.1 cup (240 g) warm water, 2 tablespoons (26 g) granulated cane sugar, 2 teaspoons (6 g) active dry yeast
- Add the oil, egg, salt and flour. Mix until all the flour is incorporated. Add more flour if necessary 1 tablespoon at a time.How to tell if your dough needs more flour.After you add the initial amount of flour, scrape the sides of the bowl and start the mixer. Watch how the dough sticks to the side of the bowl, you want it to barely stick to the sides as it mixes. Also when you stop the mixer watch how the dough falls from the hook. It should hold its shape and fall slowly (be careful not to add too much flour).1 large egg, beaten, ¼ cup (48 g) oil, 1 teaspoon (6 g) sea salt
- After all the flour is added, knead the dough on medium speed for 5-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and stretchy. It should form a nice smooth ball around the dough hook. Note: the dough will be quite sticky, but you should be able to pick it up with oiled hands. It will be much easier to handle once it has gone through the first rise.
- Place the dough into a large oiled bowl, cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled in size (about 1 hour). Or you can let it rise in the fridge for up to 12 hours.
- Line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Turn the dough out onto a lightly oiled surface. Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (use a kitchen scale if you want them all the exact same size). Shape each piece into a ball, pinch together on the bottom and roll between your hands to make it smooth. Flatten each ball to about ½" - ¾" tall.
- Place on the prepared baking tray about 2½ - 3 inches apart. Cover and let rise for about 1 hour or until they are roughly doubled in size (if the dough was refrigerated they will take longer to rise). Don’t forget to preheat your oven to 400° before the buns are done rising.
- Using a pastry brush, carefully brush the tops with beaten egg, milk or cream and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake in a preheated 400°F oven for 14-16 minutes or until golden brown on top. Let cool for a few minutes or until ready to use, before slicing.These will stay good for up to 3 days in a closed bag at room temperature.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
We calculate these nutritional facts using an estimate and they can vary drastically between ingredients used and measuring technique. So, they are not intended for medical use.
Diana Begeman
I love these! It was fun to watch them rise, I’ve never made hamburger buns before. They had a really good texture and had body and flavor you don’t find in store bought bread. I used white whole wheat flour. I’m hooked and will be making these again and again. I passed the recipe along to my sister.
WholeWheatKitchen
Oh, that makes us so happy! Thank you for letting us know how they turned out for you, and for sharing the recipe!
Julie Escarda
I’m familiar with grinding my own wheat & I bake bread weekly. I have never made whole wheat hamburger buns. Made these tonight, they turned out beautifully. Husband reminded me 3 times while eating to bookmark your recipe. Thank you
WholeWheatKitchen
That is amazing to hear! Thank you for telling us!
Carol D
Been milling for about a month now (we are in our 80's and had health issues with bleached flour and gluten free) and the difference is out standing. Feeling better and more energy. Made your hamburger buns yesterday. The only thing I did different was to make them flatter. For the first try they turned out really great. Hubby made hamburgers for us and they were delish. Thanks for great recipe.
WholeWheatKitchen
That is amazing to hear! I’m so happy you’re feeling better and that our recipe worked out for you!
Loralie Seawell
Hi! Great recipe! I’m were a little tough on the outside. I didn’t egg wash or milk wash them. Do you think that would be why?
Thank you
Loralie
WholeWheatKitchen
Hmm, that shouldn’t have made too much of a difference. You could try brushing them with butter right after they come out of the oven to soften the outsides.