A ridiculously easy recipe that makes truly soft & tender hamburger buns, hotdog buns, or breadsticks – in about an hour! This and many other top recipes are found on the Best Bread Recipes page.
Years ago I was on a search for homemade hamburger buns. 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 produced hard buns and simply making our sandwich bread into buns didn’t create the buns our family liked and my soft whole wheat rolls were too soft for us.
When I found a recipe for “quick and tender breadsticks” on a (now defunct) website and made them, I couldn’t believe how soft and easy they were – and I thought it might also make the buns we were searching for. So I adapted it, making both hamburger and hot dog buns, and we loved them! They’ve become a family favorite because they really are quick and soft with a great texture, which is especially surprising because they are not kneaded.
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!
How to Make Quick & Tender Hamburger Buns
The top left picture of the dough shows that the dough is still a bit wet- it should still stick a bit to the bottom of the bowl. I mix it 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 before letting it rest in the bowl.
To get semi-even buns, flatten the dough out on a floured surface (tip: use a tea towel with a bit of flour for easy clean-up) and pat into a squarish shape. Use a knife to cut 12 pieces, cutting a bit off of the bigger center pieces as needed and adding them to the smaller corner pieces before shaping.
To shape the buns, stretch the top towards the bottom on all sides and then turn it over and pull the ends together creating a nice smooth ball, similar to how I shape our soft dinner rolls. Notice the well-floured hands and doughy fingers? The dough will still be sticky even with floured surfaces, so you’ll want to keep your fingers floured.
Place the balls on a greased or silicone-lined (affiliate link) cookie sheet, flattening the dough balls around the edges- it’s okay if the edges touch. You’ll want to use a full half sheet baking pan to fit these, though – similar to this OXO brand half sheet on Amazon.
They’ll rest a second time and will rise some, though most of the rising will occur in the oven.
So after mixing, two 10-minute rises, about 15 minutes of shaping and 15 minutes baking you have easy, 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…and a bit imperfect, of course.
Oh, and this recipe still makes great breadsticks, plus they are easily shaped into longer buns for hot dogs and sausages, and make terrific homemade pigs in a blanket. See? It’s a keeper for sure.
Quick and Tender Hamburger Buns (or Breadsticks!)
Ingredients
- 2 cups warm water
- 1½ tablespoons yeast
- 2 tablespoons honey
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 1 tablespoon salt
- 4½ to 5 cups unbleached flour I use half whole wheat
Instructions
- Mix water, yeast, and honey until yeast and honey are dissolved. Add the salt, oil, and 4½ cups of flour to make a soft dough.
- Beat with a stand mixer for a minute or two (or stir by hand about a minute), adding the other 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). Let it rest 10 minutes.
- Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
- Remove to a floured surface and knead by hand a few times. Press dough flat on floured surface then cut for hamburger (or hotdog) buns: cut into 12 even pieces and using floured hands, shape each into a ball. Slightly flatten the balls (or elongate for hot dogs) and place on a greased cookie sheet, flattening down the edges to create bun shapes.
- Let rise 10 to 15 minutes (they will rise a bit, but not double).
- Bake hamburger buns for 15 to 17 minutes until golden. Let cool a bit before slicing in half.
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
Note: this recipe was originally published in 2009 and has been updated with all new photos, clearer formatting and printable recipe.
Like more easy bread recipes like this? Check out more great bread recipes:
Soft & Easy 100% Whole Wheat Dinner Rolls
Soft, 100% Whole Wheat Sandwich Bread
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Haley says
This was such a wonderful recipe, thank you for sharing!
I am going to freeze my leftovers, any tips on reheating the frozen ones? Thanks!
Jami says
We usually let them thaw for a bit and then grill or use a toaster oven.
tru says
do you use instant yeast?
Jami says
I use active dry, but instant works, too.
Sangeetha says
I stumbled upon your site when looking for whole wheat bread rolls… and have kept coming back… I love the explanations , I love the fact that you use whole wheat flour as much as possible.. and the fact that I find what I am looking for and am happy with the results when I follow your recipe.. thank you.. hope to visit Oregon some day and meet you in person..
Jami says
Thank you so much for your kind words, Sangeetha! I’m so happy you keep coming back. 🙂
Rana says
Hi! I have your yeast rolls in the oven RIGHT NOW!!! Your recipe was easy to follow with wonderful instruction and what I should be looking for during the process….thank you!!!
I wondered on this hamburger bun recipe if spelt flour could be used for all of the flour?
Thank you again!!
Jami says
Sorry for the delay in responding, Rana – your comment didn’t show in my dashboard for awhile. 🙁
I’m so glad you found the rolls recipe easy to follow – that makes me really happy.
I have used half spelt for the soft burger buns, but never all. They would be heavier I suspect, but sometimes spelt is lighter than WW, so maybe not too much? It may be worth trying just to see.
Linda says
What temperature do they bake at?
Jami says
CLICK on the arrows at the top or the bottom of the page to go to the full recipe!
Rhoda says
I tried the recipe and was so scared, but they came out so tasty and soft.
My oven marking have faded however so I almost got them too brown.
I love them. I will try again.!
Thank you.
Jami says
SO glad you went for it, Rhonda!
dipta says
If I want to make less number of dinner rolls for a first try, should I reduce the quantity of each ingredient to half, effectively.
Jami says
I have found that yeast recipes usually don’t halve well, Dipta, so I make the recipe and freeze the rolls I don’t need to use for later.
Sarah Anderson says
I haven’t made homemade buns before, but this really makes me want to. Hopefully I can get them to turn out as good as yours seem to be. At what point during this process would you add sesame seeds if you wanted them?
Jami says
During the last rise – brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with seeds!
Gayle Leslie says
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.
Jami says
So glad you found it, Gayle – I feel the same way as you!
Sharon H says
Thanks Jami, these sound really good and I will try them. How long do they keep? Do they freeze well?
Jami says
They freeze wonderfully, Sharon – I put a note in the recipe about how I freeze them. They’re like any homemade bread – they’re best a few days after baking, but are okay for about a week sealed at room temp.
Eva says
Never good at working with yeast. I will give this a go. Fingers crossed 😉 xx
M. says
Jami, I just made these as a breadsticks for dinner. Although we will enjoy these WITH dinner, we all enjoyed one while still warm, cooled a tad out of the oven. This recipe is amazing. Thank you so much for sharing it. These will be in our rotation quite regularly!
Jami says
I’m so glad you like it as much as we do! Still in regular rotation at our house, too. 🙂
Petra says
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. 🙂
Jami says
Nice to hear, Petra – and thanks for sharing your adaptation!
Sherlyna says
I cant wait to try. i have been baking my own homemade bread for the past few years but very difficult for me to get a soft bread which my parent prefer. thanks and kind regards to you and family. From : Sarawak, East Malaysia.
Jami says
I think you – and your parents – will really enjoy this bread, Sherlyna!
Tyrysa says
Hi,
I was just wondering what type of flour is called for in this recipe. Does it matter if it is bread flour or just plain all purpose flour? What is the difference between the two? Thanks!
I have been unsuccessful with all my home bread making attempts! Can’t wait to try this one!
Jami says
I use half whole wheat and half all-purpose flour, Tyrysa. Bread flour has a higher protein content, making it good for yeast breads, but not as good for soda/baking powder breads. It doesn’t matter for this recipe – use bread flour or regular! I like adding the whole wheat, but when I’ve used all whole wheat, they haven’t been as tender.
Tyrysa says
Thanks, Jami! I have a few more questions. I’m sorry…I am so new at this. Do you let the dough rise just once? Does it matter how long you leave the dough to rise for? Which hook do you use for knead the dough with your stand mixer? I am reading more of your posts regarding meal planning and I am so glad I found your blog. I can’t wait to try them as I spend so much time in the kitchen preping meals for my family and feel like I have no time for my kids or myself since we moved abroad and no longer eat at my mom’s!!! I feel so frustrated at times! Thanks again!
Trish says
Have you made this recipe ahead of time, but baked them later, like the next day?
Jami says
No, Trish, I haven’t tried that – they’re so quick to make that I haven’t felt the need. If you do try it, let us know how it works! 🙂