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Hi Bold Bakers!
Summertime is grilling time and nothing goes better with Kevin’s homemade burgers than my ultimate homemade Brioche Hamburger Buns! This hamburger bun recipe creates an irresistibly soft and buttery roll that’s also slightly sweet, which is the perfect companion to a big, juicy burger.
If you’ve ever been to a restaurant that has gourmet burgers, chances are they’re served on a brioche bun. In my opinion, the best buns for a hamburger are brioche because, not only are they sturdy and spongy, they have a light sweetness, ideal for your savory protein of choice — like cheeseburgers, hamburgers, sloppy joes, portobello mushroom burgers, pulled pork, fried fish, or fried chicken.
They’re soft to bite through, sweet to cut the savory of your protein, and strong enough to hold the weight of your perfect meal, all while sopping up any of those delicious juices that are planning on escaping!
Oh, and if you’re wondering how to shape buns and rolls, I’ve got you covered — watch my How-To Shape Buns and Rolls Video.
What Are Brioche Hambuger Buns?
Brioche dough is an “enriched” dough, like a croissant, which makes brioche bread a beloved, eggy, buttery, and slightly sweet French pastry that just happens to be perfect to balance out a salty burger with all the toppings.
You’ll hear a lot of flak from backyard BBQ-ist saying that any grocery-brand 8-pack bag will work for any burger, and not to get fancy, but why settle for a dry bun? Explore the possibilities of a brioche bun! A magical thing happens when your burger is wrapped up in a warm, soft, buttery bread pillow, with crispy lettuce and pickles, and a juicy tomato… I’m getting carried away — it’s no wonder burgers are a summer favorite!
[ Looking for Hot Dog Buns? Get my Brioche Hot Dog Buns recipe here! ]
What You Need To Make Brioche Hamburger Buns
- Measuring Cups and Spoons
- Mixing bowls
- Standing mixer
- Plastic wrap and parchment paper
How To Make Brioche Hamburger Buns
Just because there’s a whole aisle dedicated to bread at the grocery store doesn’t mean you need a factory to make gourmet hamburger buns! Here is a quick step-by-step guide (and don’t forget to get the full recipe with measurements, on the page down below):
- Combine all-purpose flour, sugar, yeast, and salt in a large bowl of a mixer.
- In a separate bowl or jug, whisk together milk and eggs. Pour some of the wet mixture into the dry ingredients and knead on medium speed with the dough hook attachment. If you need more liquid for the dough to come together, add more.
- Once the dough has come together, and there is no dry flour, add in your sliced, softened butter. Knead the dough for another 6-8 minutes, and your dough will start to become soft and shaggy.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball. Place this ball into a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Keep this little ball of love in a warm place for 1 1/2 – 2 hours. This is the first proofing of the dough.
- After 1 1/2 – 2 hours, it is time to make the buns! Divide the dough into 6 pieces, roughly 3 ¾oz each. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet to proof for the second time (watch how to do this!). This proofing will take around 45 to 60 minutes.
- After their second proof, brush each bun with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds. (You can go without sesame seeds, but they really do add so much flavor for such a tiny package!)
- Bake the buns at 375°F (190°C) for 20-22 minutes or until they are golden brown.
Gemma’s Pro Chef Tips for Making Brioche Hamburger Buns
- These buns can be kept in the freezer for up to 6 weeks, so there’s no reason not to make these for the long summer months!
- To make sliders, make smaller sized pieces, around 2 1/2 oz.
- A shower cap works great as a cover for proofing bread dough. Instead of plastic wrap, the shower cap is a great, reusable tool to ensure that no air can harm your dough!
- Feel free to introduce some whole wheat flour to this dough for more fiber!
- While making your dough, don’t be afraid to hold back on the liquid. You can always add more, but you can’t take it back.
How Do I Store Brioche Hamburger Buns?
You will want to store brioche hamburger buns in an air-tight container for only up to 2 days at room temperature. Since there is a lot of butter and eggs in brioche, it can spoil after 3 days. You can keep them in the refrigerator for longer shelf life, or freeze them for up to 6 weeks.
Make More Bread!
- White Sandwich Bread
- Simple Sourdough for Beginners
- Artisanal Whole Wheat Bread
- Homemade Hot Dog Buns
And don’t forget to buy my Bigger Bolder Baking Cookbook!
Full (and printable) recipe below!
Try These Recipes!
Watch The Recipe Video!
The Ultimate Brioche Buns for Burgers Recipe
Ingredients
- 2 1/4 cups (11oz/319g) all-purpose flour
- 2 tablespoons sugar
- 1 teaspoon instant dry yeast
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs
- 1/2 cup (4floz/113ml) whole milk
- 1/4 cup (2oz/57g) butter, softened
Instructions
- In a large bowl of a mixer, combine all-purpose flour, sugar, yeast, and salt.
- In a separate jug whisk together the milk and eggs.
- Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients and knead on medium speed with the dough hook attachment. (Tip: hold back a little liquid in case you don't need it all to make the dough come together)
- Once the dough comes together and there is no dry flour add in the sliced, softened butter. Continue to knead the dough for another 6-8 minutes. You will notice it is a soft, shaggy dough.
- Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured surface and shape into a smooth ball. Place it into a greased bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap (or a shower cap), and keep in a warm place for 1 1/2 - 2 hours.
- To make your Hamburgers: Divide the dough roughly into 6 (3 ¾oz) pieces. Shape each piece into a smooth ball and place it on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to proof. This should take about 45 to 60 minutes. (Shaping the dough into a smooth ball is very important. Watch how, here.)
- Once proofed, brush each bun with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake at 375°F (190°C) for 20-22 minutes or until they are golden brown.
- Store buns in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days. Because of the butter and eggs, they can spoil after 3 days so you can either keep them in the fridge or in the freezer for longer shelf life.
Amazing! Normally I don’t write reviews but this came out amazing. So soft and fluffy. And as a 14 year old it was super easy and super simple. Thank you!
The milk 225ml is wrong….
This recipe is good except the kneading time was way off for me. “Shaggy” is also not how I would describe what the fully kneaded dough should be like. It should be clearing the bowl and needs to be able to withstand some modest tugging if you want something that can reasonably shape into a bun, and that will hold a 1/3 lb burger and toppings. For me that took about 20 minutes. The good news is it’s basically impossible to over-knead something like this and it did come together eventually and make very good buns.
Love it! I’ve customized these with different flours–ww, etc., but what I really enjoy is the brioche sweetness and fluffiness. Full disclosure: totally stole the idea from another baker of briefly resting the tops on a clean wet cloth and dipping them in the seeds, as an alternative to egg wash.
Gemma – I love your recipes! Can I use a sourdough starter instead of yeast? I only have it on hand and shop once a week. Thanks!
Hi Gemma…thank you for this great recipe. I followed your recipe exactly and they turned out wonderful and delicious. I stored some in a plastic bag in the fridge, some in a plastic bag on the countertop, and froze some. The ones that were stored or frozen and not eaten the same day became very dry and crumbly although they still tasted great. Can you tell me what would cause this since they were perfect the first day?
Hi Gemma, thank you so much for this recipe! I will definitely try it out and tell you how it goes. You have been making my quarantine so much more fun and better. One quick question though, can we substitute the butter in for olive oil or avocado oil. I would like to double the recipe but that is a lot of butter, and using oil would be a healthier alternative. Please let me know if that will work or not.
Made these in my bread maker with dough option and baked in oven. Only substitution was a cup of fresh ground spelt flour instead of one of the cups of white flour. Delicious!
Hi Gemma
Please advise if the shaggy dough could be left in the fridge for slow first proofing while I am out from noon till late afternoon. Follow through with final proofing/baking later. We could then have the brioche nice & fresh for dinner. Thanks.
They turned out well even when I substituted 20% with wholemeal flour & reduced sugar by 1 tbsp. I may have to either reduce the banking time or the temp though as the buns were browner than yours. Thanks for the recipe!