Soft and fluffy sourdough buns are perfect for sandwiches or your summer BBQs. These fermented rolls make great hamburger buns.
Summer is approaching, and between warm weather, a huge new garden, and an abundance of veggies that come with it, we couldn’t be more excited.
We recently tore down our garden cottage and built raised garden beds. This past week, Luke added a lovely picket fence to protect our soon-to-be prolific garden.
Something else that we look forward to every summer happens to be family barbecues.
There is nothing like a delicious, grass-fed burger on fluffy, sourdough hamburger buns, topped with a fat, juicy slice of homegrown heirloom tomatoes and some homemade pickles.
These would also make great sourdough dinner rolls, but I prefer this recipe for those.
Benefits Of Sourdough
Grains contain phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antinutrient found in grains, beans, and nuts that interferes with the absorption of certain nutrients.
Proper preparation of grains, like fermenting with sourdough, eliminates most, if not all, of the phytic acid.
This is the very reason traditional cultures soaked and fermented their grains, seeds, and beans.
Instead of using instant yeast packets, people in traditional cultures leavened their bread with a fermented starter that captured all the yeasts in the environment.
These days, we’ve lost that art, and so many people have a difficult time digesting grains. Let’s bring back the sourdough and fermented grains.
Tips For Making Sourdough Buns:
- Ferment the dough overnight for the most benefits, or make a quick version.
- If you are new to sourdough, make sure to see how to make your own sourdough starter and how to care for it.
- Adding an egg wash to the top gives them a beautiful golden color. This is an optional step. You can also use a little milk instead.
FAQ:
How do you shape a sourdough bun?
Place a small amount of dough on a floured surface and pull the dough up and fold it into itself 3-4 times until a ball forms. Place the dough seam side down.
Why is my sourdough bread so flat?
There could be a few reasons for this:
- The bread was not proofed enough. Allow the buns to double in size on the baking sheet before placing them in the oven.
- Over-proofing. Allowing the dough to proof too long can cause them to be flat. You can reshape them and proof again for a shorter period.
- The temperature was too low during baking.
Why does my sourdough not hold its shape?
If the dough was under kneaded, it may not hold its shape. To fix this, make sure to knead the dough well to improve gluten development.
If your house it too warm and/or you allow the dough to sit out too long, it can become over fermented. This can cause the dough to turn into a gloopy mess.
What does sourdough buns taste like?
Sourdough hamburger buns have a slightly tangy flavor from the fermentation process which is balanced out with a hint of sweetness. They are so delicious.
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Tools you may need:
Grain mill to grind fresh grain (optional)
Measuring cups
Parchment paper
Sourdough Hamburger Buns Ingredients:
Sourdough starter – Active and bubbly. Your sourdough starter should be fed 4-12 hours before starting this recipe. It should be nice and active to give the hamburger buns their rise.
Warm water – The warm water really helps activate the natural yeasts in the starter. Make sure the water isn’t too hot or you risk it killing the starter.
All-purpose flour – Gives it a nice fluffiness. You could also substitute with up to 1/2 whole wheat flour. Water may need to be adjusted a little and the buns will not be as soft.
Coconut oil or butter – Both work. To make this recipe dairy free use coconut oil.
Honey – Or substitute with maple syrup.
Salt – Brings out all the delicious flavors.
Egg – This is considered an enriched dough since it includes eggs and butter. Makes it rich, fluffy, and delicious.
Egg wash (optional step)
- Egg yolk
- Water
How To Make Sourdough Buns
Day 1
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, salt and egg. Knead for 5-10 minutes with dough hook until smooth and elastic.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for 8 hours.
- Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill covered overnight.
Day 2
Divide the dough into eight equal pieces.
Shape the buns by creating a flat surface on top and tucking the remaining dough underneath. I also like to create a little tension by rotating each bun slightly on a lightly floured surface.
Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise until doubled.
Beat the egg yolk and water and brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.
Sprinkle with sesame seeds. (optional)
Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. You want them to be golden on top.
For Quick Buns
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, egg, and salt. Knead for 5-10 minutes with dough hook.
- Roll into eight balls and place about two inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let buns rise until doubled, approximately 1-2 hours.
- Beat one egg with milk and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash, without deflating the risen dough. (optional)
- Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until lightly browned on top, approximately 25-30 minutes.
- Let cool completely before serving these sourdough buns.
Storage:
Store in an air-tight container. Best if used within 3-4 days. Freeze for longer storage. I love freezing bread. Freezes so well and basically taste like fresh bread.
Baker’s Schedule:
8:00 am: Feed sourdough starter
12:00 pm: Start dough. Allow to rise for about 8 hours or until doubled.
8:00 pm: Place dough in fridge.
The Next Day:
8:00 am: (Or really any time the next day). Take dough out and shape. Allow to rise until doubled. Usually 1-2 hours.
10:00 am: Bake:
Find more of our farmhouse favorites:
- Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes
- Homemade Sourdough Crackers
- Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
- Long Fermented Sourdough Biscuits
- Best Chicken Pot Pie
Sourdough Buns
Equipment
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup sourdough starter, active and bubbly (113g)
- 3/4 cup warm water, 177g
- 3 cups all-purpose flour, 420g
- 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter, 60g
- 3 tablespoons honey, 63g
- 1 teaspoon salt, 6g
- 1 egg
Egg wash (optional step)
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- sesame seeds, optional
Instructions
- In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, salt and egg. Knead for 5-10 minutes with dough hook until smooth and elastic.
- Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap for 8 hours.
- Transfer the dough to the refrigerator and chill covered overnight.
- Divide the dough into eight equal pieces.
- Shape the buns by creating a flat surface on top and tucking the remaining dough underneath. I also like to create a little tension by rotating each bun slightly on a lightly floured surface.
- Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a damp tea towel and allow to rise until doubled.
- Beat the egg yolk and water and brush the tops of the buns with the mixture.
- Sprinkle with sesame seeds. (optional)
- Bake the buns for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. You want them to be golden on top.
Notes
- *If you plan to make this recipe without long fermenting you can add all the ingredients (including the egg) in a stand mixer, and skip the fermentation process.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
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Hi Lisa,
I have been following along for almost 2 years now, and I just love your blog and channel. I made these buns last year and they came out great! This year, I decided to try the long ferment process and the dough was perfect. Then next day when I added the egg it became super sticky and instead of rising went out and flat. Does this ever happen to you? Any suggestions to correcting the stickiness when adding the egg the next day?
Thanks
Alina
This hasn’t happened to me, but with any sourdough recipe, the flour amounts totally depends on the hydration of your starter. So if you starter is a bit thinner, you may want to add a bit more flour to the recipe. It can also vary by temperature and humidity!
I love the podcast and the blog, but this is the second recipe I’ve been disappointed in the result with (the first was the sub rolls). For both recipes, the dough struggled to rise and it took a considerable amount of time longer than the recipe called for to cook. I bake sourdough bread each week, so I definitely know when my starter is ready to go. The only difference I can seem to think of between these two recipes and the others I make regularly is that these recipes don’t call for any proofing before the refrigeration step. The taste was good on these and the sub rolls but even after 5 extra minutes for the buns they were still very dense and not cooked through in the center. Perhaps next time I’ll skip the bulk ferment step and just quick rise to test my theory? Basically I’m just confused and really want these recipes to rise as they should along to go with the great taste they already have 😂
Hi Jennifer, I am confused too because this is the exact process I use to make buns. I don’t do the fridge proof, like you mentioned. I do it exactly as outlined in this recipe, that I tested multiple times, and then took the pics. So for me, they do rise with this exact recipe. Sorry you’re having so much trouble with it! Maybe it is a humidity thing, or the temp in your house.
I think measuring style/flour type affects the amount of flour needed…I added flour until the texture was right. Maybe take a photo of the dough so people know what to look for. It took 4 cups of flour to get the right consistency. Also, It is much hotter where I live so I needed a way shorter bulk rise before my fridge time. Hopefully, this helps others.
Once I added the egg my dough became so sticky I can’t pick it up to form it into anything?! Ive added more flour and some oil to my hands but no luck. Any ideas??
When I made them into buns, half of them formed into perfect buns and half of them were super sticky/wet and wouldn’t form… They pretty much fell flat. Any troubleshooting ideas if the dough is too wet?
Hi Lisa,
I have just created my first sourdough starter and it’s ready to to. I’d love to make some burger buns. My family is plant-based so we don’t eat eggs. Can I just leave the egg out? Or is it necessary to bind the dough? If so, I could use an egg replacer, or make a flax-egg.
Thanks!
Mona
You say that tools you’ll need are a grain mill, but then the recipe says to use all purpose flour. I only grind my own flour, wondering which flour I should use? I’m assuming hard white wheat for the gluten content?
Yes, use a hard wheat.
I am also curious if there is a way to make it without the egg? Love your recipes 😊
I made these for the first time. The quick version and mine didn’t rise? Are they supposed to be covered with a cloth to rise? This is the first time I have ever used a sour dough starter. Any pointers for me?
Make sure your sourdough starter is active and bubbly! I always put a dollop of mine in some water and make sure it floats!
Mine didn’t rise the first time I made them either. Our house is too cold I believe. This time I turned our oven on 200 until it preheated then put the buns in there for 45ish minutes, checking periodically. Rose beautifully:)
Hi Lisa, thank you so much for sharing all your recipes! I love all of them! My preliminary taste test says these are just as amazing 😋 I did have a few questions…have you made these without adding the egg? I long fermented mine and added the egg as instructed. The dough was very wet/super sticky and just fell flat on the cookie sheet and didn’t rise. They did bake okay, but wondering if I should have mixed longer or done something else? Do you have any thoughts?
Making these right now and this happened to me too. I added more flour after the egg and that made it more stiff, but still is super sticky. They’re rising now and I’m just hoping they bake ok since burgers are for dinner tonight!
Oh I’m ready to GRILL; good thing it already feels like summer in Texas. Thanks for recipe!
Hi 🙂
Have you made them without the egg? Should I replace it with a flax egg? Tomorrow I’ll be baking our fourth batch of sourdough sandwich bread, your recipe is great, thank you.
Hi Lisa,
My family is plant-based so we don’t eat eggs. What purpose does the egg serve? Can I leave it out? Or should I use a flax egg?
Hello Mona,
I don’t eat eggs either. I made this recipe with a flax egg and it turned out wonderfully!
First time was perfect loved them thank you for having these recipes available!
I replaced with a spoon of Greek yogurt and that did well
I’m plant based and my go to egg substitute for breads is 1/4 c applesauce. Works perfectly every time and doesn’t add any flavor. Flax eggs are also a go to, but not my personal favorite for breads.