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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Is the correct amount of salt REALLY 1-TABLESPOON? That seems like an awful lot. I used 1-teaspoon. Please confirm.
Yes, that’s what I use! 4-5 cups of flour makes these 12 buns and would also make 2 loaves of bread, so the salt is distributed throughout. You can certainly cut it down from the tablespoon (3 teaspoons) to your taste, but I wouldn’t go lower than 2 teaspoons, as the flavor would be really impacted.
Just made these and they are so good. I used about 4.5 cups of fresh milled hard white wheat flour. Will make again.
Yay- Thanks so much for the review!
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.
I’m so glad you found these, Michaela – I, too, think they are amazing for the amount of time needed. 🙂
I make sourdough bread and would like to know if I could substitute 11/2 tablespoon of starter for the yeast?
You can try it – I haven’t so I can’t say.
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!
We usually let them thaw for a bit and then grill or use a toaster oven.
do you use instant yeast?
I use active dry, but instant works, too.
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..
Thank you so much for your kind words, Sangeetha! I’m so happy you keep coming back. 🙂
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!!
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.
CLICK on the arrows at the top or the bottom of the page to go to the full recipe!
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.
SO glad you went for it, Rhonda!
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.
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.
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?
During the last rise – brush with an egg wash and sprinkle with seeds!
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.
So glad you found it, Gayle – I feel the same way as you!
Thanks Jami, these sound really good and I will try them. How long do they keep? Do they freeze well?
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.
Never good at working with yeast. I will give this a go. Fingers crossed 😉 xx
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!
I’m so glad you like it as much as we do! Still in regular rotation at our house, too. 🙂
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. 🙂
Nice to hear, Petra – and thanks for sharing your adaptation!
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.
I think you – and your parents – will really enjoy this bread, Sherlyna!
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!
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.
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!
Have you made this recipe ahead of time, but baked them later, like the next day?
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! 🙂