Quick Hamburger Buns Recipe (+ Hot Dog and Breadstick Options)
A tried and true hamburger buns recipe you can make in about an hour (really!) using simple ingredients including whole wheat flour. The dough is easy to work with and can be shaped into classic buns, hot dog buns, or breadsticks, making it a flexible recipe to keep on hand for so many meals. The results are so moist and tender you may find you won’t need to buy buns again.
✩ What readers are saying…
“I have been looking for this recipe for years…decades, actually. Just made a batch – 5 hot dog buns, 4 hamburger buns and 3 cheddar hot dog buns. amazing!!! Easy quick and very light bread. Thank you. This is my go to from now on.” -Gayle
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Years ago I started searching for a hamburger buns recipe and the only criteria that I had was that they needed to be soft like store buns (though not as squishy).
You’d think I’d asked for the moon.
Most recipes I found produced hard buns. When I tried simply making my soft sandwich bread into buns, my family didn’t care for them and my soft whole wheat rolls were too soft for this.
Then I found a recipe for “quick and tender breadsticks” on a (now defunct) website and I couldn’t believe how soft and easy they were, which made me think the recipe might also make the buns we were searching for.
So I adapted it, making both hamburger and hot dog buns, and lo and behold, we loved them! They’ve become a family favorite because they are so quick and perfectly soft with a great texture.
The original recipe produced a very wet dough which I found tough to work with and a bit frustrating. My changes included using less water and yeast, adding more whole grains, and using honey instead of sugar. With these changes, the buns produced are the best hamburger buns I’ve tried (and I’ve tried a lot). I hope you think so, too!
Recipe Ingredient Questions
This recipe uses basic bread ingredients, flour, yeast, water, salt, oil, and honey, but over the years I have gotten some specific questions about them. Here are the answers:
What type of flour to use, regular or bread?
I have always used a half-and-half combo of regular unbleached flour and regular whole wheat. However, it’s perfectly okay to use bread flour if you have it.
Can I use all whole wheat flour? Or Spelt flour?
I have made them with all whole wheat flour and while they were okay they were not as tender and my family didn’t appreciate them. I have used all white whole wheat flour, though, with good results if you can find it. Spelt flour is similar to whole wheat – it’s fine to use it for half the flour, but all spelt will be less tender.
Can I use sugar instead of honey?
Yes, if you can’t have honey for some reason, use a similar amount of sugar. This ingredient flavors the dough and provides quick food for the yeast to eat to help it rise quicker.
Is it really 1 tablespoon of salt?
Yes, the original recipe called for this amount and I’ve always used it and thought the buns were great. It’s regular sea salt, not kosher. You can lower the amount if you want, of course. It’s only included for flavor.
How To Make Hamburger Buns
Step 1: Mix ingredients together to make a soft dough. The photo above shows that the dough will still be a bit wet and sticking to the bowl.
Step 2: Mix the dough about 1-2 minutes in the stand mixer (for a quick knead), adding about 1/4-1/2 cup more flour to make shaping a bit easier (it will still be a bit sticky).
Step 3: Shape into a ball and let rest in the bowl for 10 minutes.
Step 3b: You can see above that after 10 minutes it will have risen a little bit already.
Step 4: To get semi-even buns, flatten the dough out on a floured surface and pat into a squarish shape (Tip: Use a tea towel with a bit of flour for easy clean-up if you don’t have a smooth space to roll out).
Step 5: Use a knife to cut 12 pieces, cutting a bit off the bigger center pieces as needed and adding them to the smaller corner pieces before shaping.
TIP: Want bigger buns? Simply cut into 10, 8, or even 6 pieces instead of 12. You are in control of the sizes!
Step 6: Shape the buns by stretching the top towards the bottom on all sides, turn it over and pull the ends together creating a nice smooth ball (similar to how I shape our soft WW dinner rolls).
Step 7: Place the balls on a greased or silicone lined cookie sheet, flattening the dough balls around the edges- it’s okay if the edges touch. Let rest a second time (they’ll rise some, but most of the rising happens in the oven). If you’d like sesame seeds, brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with seeds after the rest.
TIP #1: Notice my well-floured hands and doughy fingers in the shaping photo? The dough will still be sticky even with floured surfaces, so you’ll want to keep your fingers nicely floured.
TIP #2: You’ll want to use a full half sheet baking pan to fit these, like this USA half sheet pans (my favorite brand).
Step 8: Bake at 400 degrees for 15-17 minutes, or until browned. Let cool a bit before slicing.
So, after mixing, two 10-minute rises, about 15 minutes of shaping, and 15 minutes baking you have soft, beautiful hamburger buns – in an hour. Amazing, right?
And notice all the slightly different sizes? No matter how hard I try, the buns are never all the same size. It’s just fine, though, because Brian eats the bigger buns and I like them smaller!
Oh, and this recipe still makes great breadsticks, plus the dough is easily shaped into longer buns for hot dogs, and make terrific homemade pigs in a blanket. See? It’s a keeper for sure.
Reader Raves
“These are my go to buns! I was looking for something that didn’t require me to be in the kitchen all evening. I came across your recipe and gave it a go, they were excellent. I will be making these again.” -Michaela
“This recipe is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it. These will be in our rotation quite regularly!” -M.
“Hi, just made them and they are great. I used almost only ww flour and just about 1/4 cup of all-purpose flour and they are unbelievably soft! Thank you for this great recipe.” -Petra
“I, too, have tried other homemade hamburger bun recipes with discouraging results. Today, I decided to give these a chance and….WOW!! Thanks so much for taking the time to tweak a recipe to get it to be so easy (pretty much fool-proof!) and delicious. These truly are moist and tender and I love the hearty, healthy taste that the wheat flour gives.” -Jackie
I hope you love this hamburger buns recipe like we do – please leave a rating and review to let me know!
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Quick Hamburger Buns Recipe (with Hot Dog and Breadstick Options)
Equipment
- stand mixer or hand mix
- Half sheet baking pan
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1½ tablespoons yeast (instant or active dry)
- 2 tablespoons honey or sugar
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt or adjust to your taste
- 2½ cups whole wheat flour or spelt, or more all purpose
- 2 to 2½ cups unbleached all purpose flour* or bread flour
- Optional: egg wash and sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease or line a large, half sheet baking pan with silicone or parchment.
- Mix water, yeast, and honey until yeast and honey are dissolved. Add the salt, oil, 2½ cups whole wheat flour and 2 cups all purpose flour to make a soft dough (or use only all purpose).
- Beat with a stand mixer for a minute or two (or stir well by hand about a minute), adding up to 1/2 cup flour as needed to help dough be less sticky (you may not need all of it – it should still be somewhat sticky).
- Gather into a ball and let rest 10 minutes in the bowl. Remove the dough from the bowl to a floured surface and knead by hand a few times.
- Press dough into a flat rectangle on floured surface then cut for hamburger or hotdog buns: cut into 12 even pieces (or for larger buns, cut into 8 pieces). Using floured hands, shape each piece of dough into a ball. Slightly flatten the balls and place on the prepared pan, flattening down the edges to create hamburger bun shapes. For hotdog buns, elongate the balls and place on the pan.
- Set aside to let rise 10 to 15 minutes (they will rise a bit, but not double). No need to cover them.
- Optional: If you'd like a sesame seed topping, make an egg wash of 1 egg and a tablespoon of water, brush that gently on the buns, and sprinkle with sesame seeds before putting them in the oven.
- Bake hamburger buns for 15 to 17 minutes, depending on size, until golden. Remove to a wire rack and let cool a bit before slicing in half and serving.
Notes
- Cut into 18-24 pieces, lengthwise (depending on the size you want).
- Lay them out with 1/2-inch between them on a greased baking sheet.
- Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until golden. Brush with melted butter and garlic.
Nutrition
More Easy Yeast Bread Recipes
- Soft & Easy 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
- Soft, 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
- Easy Artisan Bread Recipe (Yeast, Dutch Oven, Whole Wheat)
This recipe has been updated, it was originally published in 2009, updated in 2016 and 2026.
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Shooting my shot here! Can I substitute the oil for butter ? Thanks!! I could totally google it but I’d rather ask the source!
Sure, you can use melted butter instead.
Are you using all purpose flour or bread flour and does just white flour work OK?
Both all-purpose and bread flour work, Pat. I usually do a mix of unbleached all purpose and whole wheat.
I have not made bread in years but I’m going to try this. Thinking it would make the pigs in a blanket even better!
It’s so good and easy, Linda – hope you like it!
Have honey allergy in family.
Feel free to use sugar – they are interchangeable in bread recipes (it’s just a small amount to feed the yeast and tenderize the dough).
They have a great taste, but to me, they are a lot heavier than I would expect ‘hamburger buns’ to be. Also, dividing the dough into 12 pieces made VERY small buns.
You can definitely make them the size you want, Loretta!
Did you use half whole wheat? If so, you can just go with the unbleached for a lighter bun.