The absolute best brioche burger bun recipe for the softest, fluffiest bread rolls ever! This recipe contains step by step photos so you'll have guaranteed exactly results. The recipe contains a small amount of whole wheat flour, and that's exactly what makes these burger buns the softest, fluffiest ever with the most incredible texture.
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
- First, we're going to scald the milk. 'Scalding' means to heat the milk over medium heat just until bubbles form around the edge of the pan. Steam will waft off the surface. Do not boil the milk, just scald it.
- Remove the milk from the heat, pour it into a bowl, and add the water to help it cool down. Let it rest until the temperature is about 105-degrees Fahrenheit. This makes it safe enough to add the yeast without hurting it.
- Once the milk-water mixture is the right temperature, stir in the yeast and a small pinch of the sugar. Let the yeast mixture bubble and bloom, about 5 minutes. When it's fully bloomed, you will see foam on the surface.
- Meanwhile, in a separate bowl, whisk together both flours with the salt and one tablespoon of sugar.
- To the milk and yeast mixture, stir in the butter and egg. Then, pour this mixture into a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook. Turn on the mixer, add the dry ingredients in two batches. Crank the mixer to medium-high, and knead for 8-10 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
- Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, turning it to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and then let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until doubled.
- Punch the dough down very well, and gather it into a ball. Weigh the dough, and divide it by 4--each dough ball should be between 95 and 97 grams
- Roll each dough piece into a ball, and then use your fingers to pinch the edges under until the seam is on the bottom (see photo above for reference). Then, cup your hand over the dough ball on the counter, and make circles on the counter with the dough to roll it into a perfect ball. Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough.
- Place the 4 dough balls on a baking sheet, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. They will be puffy when ready. Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375.
- Finally, make the topping: whisk the egg yolk with a splash of water. Brush generously on each bun, covering the entire surface, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until deeply golden brown.
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.
Brioche Burger Bun (Brioche Hamburger Buns Recipe)
Homemade brioche burger buns, small batch style! Recipe makes just 4 burger buns.
Ingredients
- ½ cup whole milk
- 1 tablespoon water
- 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
- 1 tablespoon softened butter
- 1 large egg, beaten
- 1 cup all-purpose flour
- ½ cup whole wheat flour
- ¾ teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon sugar
For the top:
- 1 large egg yolk, beaten
- 3 tablespoons sesame seeds (optional)
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, scald the milk (Scalding is heating until small bubbles form around the edges of the pan and steam rises from the surface, but never boiling).
- Remove the milk from the heat, and then add the water. Stir, and let sit until it registers about 105-degrees F.
- Once the milk-water mixture is the right temperature, stir in the yeast and a pinch of the sugar. Let the yeast mixture bloom, about 5 minutes. It should be foamy on the surface.
- To the milk and yeast mixture, stir in the butter and egg. (Don't worry if the butter doesn't melt all the way immediately).
- In a mini stand mixer fitted with the dough hook, add the liquid ingredients, and beat briefly to combine.
- In a small bowl, whisk together both flours with the salt and tablespoon of sugar.
- While the mixer is running, add the dry ingredients in two batches.
- Crank the mixer to medium-high, and knead for 8-10 minutes. The dough will be sticky.
- Place the dough in a well-oiled bowl, turning it to coat with oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap, and then let rise in a warm place for about 2 hours, or until doubled. (Rising time is dependent on the temperature of the room; let rise until the dough is doubled).
- Punch the dough down very well, and gather it into a ball.
- Weigh the dough, and divide it by 4--each dough ball should be between 95 and 97 grams.
- Roll each dough piece into a ball, and then use your fingers to pinch the edges under until the seam is on the bottom (see photo for reference). Then, cup your hand over the dough ball on the counter, and make circles on the counter with the dough to roll it into a perfect ball.
- Repeat with the other 3 pieces of dough.
- Place the 4 dough balls on a baking sheet, and cover loosely with plastic wrap. Place in a warm place to rise for 1 hour. They will be puffy when ready.
- Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 375.
- Finally, make the topping: whisk the egg yolk with a splash of water. Brush generously on each bun, covering the entire surface, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
- Bake for 16-19 minutes, until deeply golden brown.
Notes
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.
Nutrition Information:
Yield:
4Serving Size:
1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 308Total Fat: 11gSaturated Fat: 4gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 150mgSodium: 472mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 4gSugar: 5gProtein: 11g
Mistie C says
I am with you on the carbs girl! I love a good burger and these Brioche buns look A-MAZ-ING!! I am going to try this with some homemade sweet potato fries made with my new Digital Air Fryer I got last weekend.
Angie says
Funny we had these tonight for burgers with sweet potato fries we made in our new air fryer. I’m so stuffed! But the bread was good! 3 hours total rise time so make sure you don’t need them right away.
Molly says
Made these today and the dough was way too wet - I added at least 5 tablespoons more of flour to get the dough to how it looks in the pictures so the buns are huge. They are light and the texture good but the taste will have to wait until tomorrow since hubby already had his dinner............
Christina Lane says
I'm sorry, Molly, but others have made them and sent me photos and they worked. Do you live in a warm humid environment?
Jenn says
I typically have to add more flour to my bread recipes. I live in WI and today it's 65 with 61% humidity. I added 2 extra T of AP Flour and 1 extra T of Wheat Flour to try to balance it out. It's almost done with the first rise :D
Christina Lane says
This is so interesting, Jenn! I guess anything above 50% humidity is considered high? I just made these again, and I wanted to say that the dough is very sticky BEFORE the first rise, but shouldn't be after the rise. It was super sticky when I moved it from the mixing bowl to the rising bowl, but I just plopped it in, and left it. It's normal now :)
Deanna says
Can I just use all purpose flour if I don’t have whole wheat flour on hand?
Christina Lane says
I haven' tried that, Deanna, but if you search through the comments, I bet someone has. Whole wheat flour absorbs more moisture, so maybe back off on the liquid a touch?
Veronique Corriveau says
I am doing so with only AP flour today... wish me luck. I will keep you posted on the results!
Andrea says
I am currently baking these for the third time. They always turn out perfect and are so much better than storebought!
Tina says
This was my first time making bread, so i'm sure i kneaded too much or too little, or used too much or not enough flour. Lol. Mine were dry, heavy and coarse. Any advice? I kneaded by hand since my mixer was too big to effectively mix the dough.
April Jones says
I wonder about the instructions to "crank up the mixer to medium-high." I grew up with a Kitchen-Aid stand mixer, so I never read the operating manual, but I recently bought my first very own KA and to my surprise the manual says to never use the dough hooks higher than level 2 (or 3, I forget which). Mine is not the classic or mini model, I haven't memorized which one it is, but it's bigger than the classic and it's not the Artisan, either. It's odd in several other ways, so maybe this is the only one that doesn't let you mix dough at a higher speed.
For those readers who are having trouble with the tiny amounts, did you know you can adjust where the beaters reach? Look it up on YouTube to find videos about how to tell if you need to adjust (you put a dime in the mixing bowl and see how it moves), and how to adjust it.
Christina Lane says
SO cool, April! thank you!
Lynise says
Can you use just all purpose flour?
deborah says
can i use just plain flour instead of whole wheat i don't like the taste of whole wheat.thanks alot.
Christina Lane says
Hi Deborah, I didn't test the recipe that way, so I'm not sure. Whole wheat flour absorbs more water than regular flour, so your dough will probably be too wet. But I don't know. I only tested the recipe the way you see written here. best of luck!
Susan says
I just ran across your recipe and I'm so excited! We LOVE burgers but......since there are only 2 of us, I am reluctant to buy the standard package of 8 buns! I think this recipe is the solution. Thanks for sharing it. I'm looking forward to trying some of your other small batch recipes.
Gabby says
Can these buns be frozen after baking?
Christina Lane says
I haven't tried that, sorry! But I don't see why not. Wrap them very well!
California Cook says
Really do have to use a stand mixer, I guess. The dough was too wet to work by hand. I kneaded it as best I could, adding flour but trying not to add too much. Gave up after 3 or 4 minutes! That said, it rose and baked beautifully and I wound up with 4 regular sized beautiful buns. I will make again, but definitely going to be doubling ingredients and pulling out my big stand mixer! Thanks for this recipe it is a keeper!
Tiffany M. says
These were heavenly!!! I felt so accomplished seeing them turn out so well! Store bought buns are officially a thing of the past for this family, thank you for sharing!
Christina Lane says
Yay! This is amazing to hear, Tiffany!