The softest buns you’ve ever had! These whole wheat sweet potato buns are so incredibly soft. If you’re looking for a bun that mimics the softness of a store bought bun then this is the recipe you need to try! The flavor is slightly sweet and they have a gorgeous golden color.
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Ingredients and Substitutions
- Hard white wheat flour: This recipe is best made with fresh ground flour from hard white wheat. You can also use high quality pre ground flour.
- Sweet potato: You’ll need a small sweet potato for making mashed sweet potato.
- Water: For the dough and for cooking the sweet potato.
- Brown sugar: This adds a little sweetness to the dough, you can substitute honey.
- Yeast: This recipe works with either active dry or instant (rapid rise) yeast
- Salt
- Eggs: There is an egg in the dough and 1 is used to brush the tops of the buns.
- Butter: We usually use unsalted butter but salted will also work. You don’t need to adjust the salt in the recipe.
- Sesame seeds: Optional, we sometimes sprinkle the tops with sesame seeds.
See recipe card for quantities.
Variations
- You can make this dough into dinner rolls, hamburger buns (this recipe), slider buns or hot dog buns. Just follow the shaping and baking instructions in the linked recipes.
Instruction Photos
Overview of instructions with photos. See recipe card for quantities and full instructions.
Step 1: Peel the sweet potato and cut it into ½ inch chunks. Place in a small saucepan with about 1 inch of water. Place over medium/high heat, cover and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 10 -15 minutes or until they are easily pierced with a fork.
Step 2: Drain the excess water and then mash well. Let cool to under 110° before using.
Step 3: In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the water, sugar and yeast. Cover and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast.
Step 4: Add the sweet potato mash and egg, stir to combine.
Step 5: Add the flour and salt, mix with the dough hook until all the flour is incorporated and the dough has come together. The dough may look a little stiff at this point but it will thin out once you add the butter.
Step 6: Add the butter, about 1 tablespoon at a time while the mixer is running, letting the butter mix in partially before adding more. After all the butter is added, knead on medium speed for about 6-10 minutes or until the dough is stretchy, smooth and supple.
Step 7: Place the dough in a greased container and let rise until doubled in size, about 60 minutes.
Step 8: Divide the dough into 8 equal pieces.
Step 9: Shape each piece into a tight ball, then flatten to about ½ inch tall.
Step 10: Place the buns about 2 inches apart on a large greased or parchment paper lined baking sheet.
Step 11: Cove and let rise until doubled, about 45-60 minutes. Optional, carefully brush the tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
Step 12: Bake at 400° for 13-16 minutes or until golden brown on top. You can also check the internal temperature, it should be over 190°F. Let cool before slicing to serve.
Serving Suggestions
We usually use this as burger/sandwich buns. They are so soft and delicious, so they are great for any dish that needs a soft bun. We’ll list some of the things we have used them for below.
- Fried chicken and honey mustard sandwich. Fried chicken, pickles, lettuce, honey mustard, mayo.
- Regular cheese burger or hamburger
- We’ve used them for the bun with Salmon Burger recipe
Storage
Store the buns in a tightly closed bag or container for up to 4 days at room temperature (they are good as long as they aren’t moldy, they just start to dry out after 3-4 days).
How to Freeze
Place the buns in a tightly sealed freezer safe bag or container and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature.
Tips From Our Kitchen
The dough should be really soft and quite sticky, but after it goes through the first rise it should be pretty easy to work with. A soft dough makes soft buns!
You can make the sweet potato mash a few days in advance and store it in the refrigerator until you're ready to use it.
Related Recipes
📖 Recipe
Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Buns
Ingredients
Sweet potato mash
- 1 small sweet potato about 6 ounces
- water
Dough
- ½ cup (120 g) warm water 100-110°F
- 1 tablespoon packed (13 g) brown sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast or instant yeast
- ½ cup (128 g) mashed sweet potato
- 1 large egg
- 2 ¼ cups (288 g) hard white wheat flour
- ½ teaspoon sea salt
- 3 tablespoons (42 g) butter softened
- Optional for topping: 1 beaten egg and sesame seeds
Instructions
Make The Sweet Potato Mash
- Peel the sweet potato and cut into ½ inch pieces. Place into a small pot and add about ½ - 1 inch of water. Cover and bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low and simmer, covered for 10-15 minutes or until the potatoes can easily be pierced with a fork. Drain the excess water and mash well. Let cool to room temperature or refrigerate for up to 5 days.
To make the buns
- In the bowl of a stand mixer add ½ cup (120 g) warm water, 1 tablespoon packed (13 g) brown sugar, and 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast. Stir and let sit for 10 minutes to activate the yeast, it should be foamy and bubbly.
- Add ½ cup (128 g) mashed sweet potato and 1 large egg, stir to combine. Add 2 ¼ cups (288 g) hard white wheat flour and ½ teaspoon sea salt, attach the dough hook and mix on medium/low speed until combined (the dough may look a little stiff but it will thin out once you add the butter).
- After the flour is incorporated and the dough has come together, add 3 tablespoons (42 g) butter a couple pieces at a time. Then knead on medium/low speed for about 6-10 minutes or until the dough is smooth and stretchy, the dough should be quite sticky. You can also do the windowpane test (see notes) to see if it has been kneaded enough.
- Place the dough into an oiled bowl, cover and let rise until doubled, about 1 hour.
- Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, we use a half sheet pan size.
- After the dough has doubled in size, divide it into 8 equal pieces (use a kitchen scale to get them precise).
- Shape each piece into a tight ball, place onto the baking sheet about 2-3 inches apart. Press the ball with your hand to flatten to about ½ inch.
- Cover with a towel and let rise until doubled in size, about 45-60 minutes. Preheat the oven to 400° about halfway through the rise time.
- Using a pastry brush, brush the tops with beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes or until the tops are golden brown. You can also test the internal temperature, it should be above 190°F. Let cool and slice just before serving.
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.
Geneva Smith
These were delicious!!! I saved the potato water , cooled with ice cubes , to right temperature.. Then cubed my cold butter in with the mashed hot potatoes .
Can you tell I was in a hurry?!
But so totally worth it! And made the hamburger tops !!
Thank you much for sharing!
WholeWheatKitchen
Oh! That’s a great idea to use the potato water! I’m glad you like them, thanks for telling us 🙂