Nothing makes a juicy hamburger better than a soft, homemade sourdough hamburger bun. These sourdough burger buns light, fluffy and packed with flavor —perfect for summer grilling, BBQs, and backyard cookouts!
Why I Love This Soft Sourdough Hamburger Buns Recipe
In my personal opinion, the most important part of any summer BBQ is a burger, and the most important part of a hamburger is the bun! These sourdough hamburger buns are incredibly fluffy, filling, and full of flavor. Topping them with sesame seeds before baking makes them the perfect homemade hamburger bun.
This recipe is perfect for beginner and novice sourdough bakers alike. No fancy equipment is needed, just a baking sheet and a bowl, making them the perfect summer recipe and a breeze to whip up for your next cookout.
Using Your Sourdough Starter for Sourdough Hamburger Buns
What is Sourdough Starter? These homemade sourdough hamburger buns use sourdough starter to rise instead of traditional bakers yeast. If you’re not sure what sourdough starter is, check out my How to Make a Sourdough Starter post to learn all about it.
For this sourdough hamburger buns recipe use your sourdough starter when it is at its peak. When is that? Each sourdough starter will behave differently, so learn your starter to know for sure its ready to bake with. As a general rule of thumb most starters will peak about 8-16 hours after their last feeding. When your starter is at its peak it will have at least doubled in size, be light, airy, and filled with bubbles.
Still not sure? Try a float test. To float your starter drop a spoonful into a glass of water to see if it floats. If it does your starter is mature and ready to bake with!
Strengthen the Dough for Perfect Sourdough Burger Buns
Strengthening the dough is an important step, and necessary to get the most rise from your homemade buns.
To do this you can knead the dough on medium speed with a dough hook attachment in a stand mixer for approximately 12 minutes, or strengthen it by hand by performing stretch and folds.
How to Stretch and Fold:
- Lightly wet your hands before handling the dough to prevent sticking.
- Scoop up an edge of the dough and gently pull it upwards.
- Once the dough reaches a point where it resists being pulled go ahead and fold the dough over itself.
- Give the bowl a quarter turn and repeat this stretching and folding motion.
- You will turn the bowl, stretch and fold until the bowl comes full circle. These four stretch and folds are called a set.
- Repeat the process of resting the dough and performing stretch and folds two more times. You will have performed three total sets.
Tips and Tools for Making the Perfect Sourdough Hamburger Buns
Plan Ahead: Sourdough baked goods have a long rise times in comparison to conventional bakers yeast. Take a look at the Sample Bakers Schedule for this recipe before you begin so you have a better idea on when to begin and how to plan ahead.
Weigh Your Ingredients for Best Results
It can be easy to add too much flour to the dough when measuring in cups, so for best results I recommend weighing the ingredients using a digital kitchen scale .The recipe card below has weight measurements for the listed ingredients. If you choose to convert them to volume measurements, try spooning the flour into the measuring cup to prevent it from packing and creating a dough that is too dry.
Chill The Dough for Easier Handling
The dough for these sourdough hamburger buns can be pretty sticky. To make shaping easier and to help develop the flavor you can chill the dough for 4 hours in the refrigerator before shaping. You can also make dough the day before you plan to bake and place it in the fridge for an overnight cold ferment after I’ve finished the room temperature ferment.
Tools I Recommend
For this recipe I find the following tools quite handy (Amazon affiliate links):
Sample Bakers Timeline — to Make your Life Easier!
Sourdough baked goods have a long rise time. To make your life a whole lot easier I have included this sample bakers timeline to give you a better idea on when to start these sourdough burger buns, and how to plan ahead.
9 PM (day one): Mix the hamburger bun dough.
9:30 PM (day one): Strengthen the dough and cover it for first rise.
6:30 AM (day two): Shape the dough into hamburger buns.
7:30 AM (day two): Cover the shaped buns for second rise.
9:30 AM (day two): Bake the sourdough hamburger buns.
11 AM (day two): Slice the buns and serve them.
How to Store Sourdough Hamburger Buns
Store at Room Temperature: Sourdough hamburger buns can be left uncut at room temperature for up to three days. Store them in a bread bag to keep them from drying out and becoming too chewy.
Freeze Them: Allow the buns to cool completely after baking before freezing in a freezer safe container or air tight bag for up to a month. When ready to serve allow the sub rolls to thaw completely.
More Summer Sourdough Recipes to Try
Sourdough Hamburger Buns
8
servings30
minutes10
hoursThese sourdough burger buns light, fluffy and packed with so much flavor —perfect for summer grilling, BBQs, and backyard cookouts!
Ingredients
- The Bun Dough
300 g filtered water
100 g sourdough starter, active and bubbly
35 g granulated sugar
475 g all-purpose flour
8 g salt
70 g olive oil
- The Egg Wash
1 large egg
2 tbs filtered water
1 tbs sesame seeds (for topping)
Directions
- Make the Hamburger Bun Dough
- In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the filtered water, active sourdough starter, and granulated sugar until the starter is completely dissolved.
- Sift in the all-purpose flour and salt, mixing until a shaggy dough forms.
- Mix in the olive oil by hand or with a stand mixer, until it’s fully incorporated into the dough.
- Strengthen the Dough
- After mixing, cover the bowl with a damp cloth and allow the dough to rest for 15 minutes.
- Uncover the dough and knead it in a stand mixer on medium speed with a dough hook attachment for approximately 12 minutes. The dough is ready when it becomes smooth and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If working without a stand mixer strengthen the dough by hand. To do this perform three sets of stretch and folds.
- Bulk Fermentation
- Cover the bowl with a damp cloth to bulk ferment the dough at 72°F(21°C) for 8-9 hours, or overnight. The dough will need to rise until it is double its original size. It’s important to note that rise times can vary based on the temperature in your home, so adjust the time accordingly.
- Shape the Buns
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Using a bench scraper or a non-serrated knife, divide the dough into 8 equal pieces. For precise measurements, weigh each piece out to 124 grams using a digital kitchen scale.
- Take a piece of dough and gently fold the edges inward, tucking them into the center. Flip the dough over and use your hands to shape it into a ball. Repeat this process with the remaining pieces of dough.
- Second Rise
- Place your shaped buns on a parchment lined baking sheet seam side down. Leave about 2 inches between each to allow room for rising.
- Cover the buns and let them rise at a temperature of around 72°F (21°C) for approximately two hours. During this second rise, the buns will increase in size and become visibly poofy. It’s important to note that rise times can vary based on the temperature in your home, so adjust the time accordingly.
- Bake
- Preheat your oven to 375°F (190°C).
- In a small bowl, whisk together 1 large egg and 2 tablespoons of water to create an egg wash. Apply the egg wash by gently brushing the mixture on top of the buns with a basting brush, then sprinkle them with sesame seeds if desired.
- Place the buns on the center rack to bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops turn golden brown.
- Let the hamburger buns cool for approximately one hour before slicing and serving.
Notes
- Plan Ahead: Sourdough baked goods have a long rise times in comparison to conventional bakers yeast. Take a look at the Sample Bakers Schedule for this sourdough hamburger bun recipe before you begin so you have a better idea on when to begin and how to plan ahead.
- Chill the Dough: The dough for these sourdough hamburger buns can be pretty sticky. To make shaping easier and to help develop the flavor you can chill the dough for 4 hours in the refrigerator before shaping. You can also make dough the day before you plan to bake and place it in the fridge for an overnight cold ferment after I’ve finished the room temperature ferment.
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