The only real reason I ever eat a burger is for the bun. Brioche buns, to be more specific. I can pass up on a burger if it has a bad bun, because really: I’m just here for the carbs. A burger bun should be soft and fluffy, but never mushy or stiff. It shouldn’t detract from the actual burger, which in my case, I have to be honest: I’m usually a veggie burger girl. And while you might not want to trust a veggie burger eating gal, you totally should. I mean, look at these fluffy brioche burger buns! Plus, I do eat regular burgers on occasion, like spicy turkey burgers, bleu cheese burgers, or chicken apple burgers. But let’s not forget my favorite: French burger + French fries. Wait, I might be a burger girl, after all.
Why you’ll love Brioche Hamburger Buns
I’ve never been happy with burger buns I’ve bought at the store, so I set out to make my own homemade hamburger buns. It wasn’t an easy task, because I knew that I wanted to incorporate some whole wheat flour. I started with a standard brioche hamburger bun recipe, and then added increasing amounts of whole wheat flour until they were the perfect texture. I had to adjust the liquids along the way, so I wouldn’t call this recipe authentically brioche. But I would call it delicious! Another delicious one to make is small batch hot dog buns, which are very similar to these buns!
What is a Brioche Bun?
Brioche is an enriched dough that contains eggs instead of just flour and water. The resulting bread is light, fluffy and slightly yellow from the additional eggs. If you’ve ever had a burger at a fancy burger place that had a golden yellow bun with a shiny top, that is a brioche bun. We love them for burgers because they’re fluffy and soft.
Brioche Burger Bun Ingredients
Whole Milk. Anytime bread dough contains milk and/or eggs, it’s considered an enriched dough. The opposite of an enriched dough is just water, flour and yeast. So, anytime a bread dough uses milk, it’s best to use whole milk. Skim milk lacks the fat required to fully enrich the dough. Active Dry Yeast. Please read your yeast labels, as yeast products vary. The label should say ‘active dry yeast,’ and not ‘instant yeast.’ If all you have is instant or fresh yeast, use google to figure out the conversion, and use your skill set to determine if the yeast is foamy enough in step one to proceed with the rest of the recipe. Butter. We just need one tablespoon of softened unsalted butter. Egg. We need one whole egg plus one egg yolk. The whole egg is for the dough, and the egg yolk is for brushing on the buns before baking to help the sesame seeds adhere. Obviously, sprinkling the sesame seeds on top is optional so if you want to omit them, you won’t need the second egg yolk. All-Purpose Flour. We need 1 cup (120 grams) of all-purpose flour that has been fluffed, scooped and leveled off with a knife. Whole Wheat Flour. Just ½ cup of whole wheat flour brings some structure to these brioche burger buns. Sugar. Granulated white sugar for the dough. Sesame Seeds. Again, entirely optional, but great for that classic hamburger bun look.
How to make Brioche Hamburger Buns
Brioche Buns recipe adaptations
By-Hand: I use my mini stand mixer to do all of the work, but you could knead by hand, or double the recipe to make in a regular stand mixer. Whole Wheat Flour: If you don’t want to use whole wheat flour in this recipe, and want the classic brioche bun recipe, you can make this recipe with all regular flour. Just know that you’ll have to add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of flour to combat any stickiness. Climate: I’m just going through the comment section on this recipe now, and I’m so happy to hear that this recipe worked perfectly for so many of you. For the few people that said the dough was too wet, you need to add an extra tablespoon or two of flour and knead again. We all live in different climates with different humidity. Bread making is an adaptable technique, and you should be flexible when making anything with flour and yeast. Gluten-Free: My friend Sarah has an incredible recipe for a gluten free version of these rolls!
How to store Brioche Buns
This brioche bun recipe makes just 4 burger buns. We use two buns at dinner, and then freeze the other two buns for our next burger craving. To defrost, leave them on the counter for a few hours, and then slice and heat before serving. I love the commenter below that said they used this recipe to make two burger buns and two hot dog buns. That is smart small-batch baking! After you let these beautiful balls of dough rise twice, you brush them with egg yolk, sprinkle with sesame seeds and bake. You’ll never eat any other bun again. Promise.
Whole Wheat Flour: If you don’t want to use whole wheat flour in this recipe, and want the classic brioche bun recipe, you can make this recipe with all regular flour. Just know that you’ll have to add an extra 1-2 tablespoons of flour to combat any stickiness. Climate: If the dough seems too wet, you need to add an extra tablespoon or two of flour and knead again. We all live in different climates with different humidity. Bread making is an adaptable technique, and you should be flexible when making anything with flour and yeast. Storage: This brioche bun recipe makes just 4 burger buns. We use two buns at dinner, and then freeze the other two buns for our next burger craving. To defrost, leave them on the counter for a few hours, and then slice and toast before serving.
