These quick sourdough discard hamburger buns are perfect for grilling season.
Make these quick sourdough discard hamburger buns in around 2.5 hours - and use your sourdough discard. Winning right?
They are soft and tender with a rich, buttery crumb yet will wow you with their glossy sheen.
You'll use 100g of sourdough discard in this sourdough hamburger bun recipe.
Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns ... Fast!
Just like this sourdough discard sandwich loaf, these sourdough discard hamburger buns are perfect to make while you are establishing your sourdough starter.
They utilise a small amount of commercial yeast, along with your unfed sourdough starter, to make them rise.
This gives you a delicious flavor, without having to wait.
9 simple ingredients combine to make these sourdough buns. You'll more than likely have these on hand - flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, yeast, salt, unfed sourdough starter and sesame seeds.
You can use sourdough burger buns during grilling season, for burger night, breakfast or lunch sandwiches - they're even delicious just with melted cheese and a little cayenne pepper on top.
Baking Notes & Variations
There are a myriad of burger combinations you could use these buns for. The hardest part will be choosing your favorite!
Here are some tips for getting the most out of your sourdough buns:
- I choose to knead the dough in a stand mixer because it's fast and convenient. The butter and eggs need to be worked into the dough really well and the stand mixer is very efficient at doing this.
- These buns are best eaten within 12 hours of making them. Freeze your leftovers (you'll see notes on this further down).
- Split the buns and toast the insides for a delicious brioche style burger. The butter and sugar ensures that these toast up perfectly.
- You can skip the sesame seeds for a plain bun. Or use black sesame seeds or even Everything Bagel Seasoning. It's totally up to you.
- If you want to make these buns earlier than you need them, you can put them in the fridge after shaping. They can stay there for up to 24 hours. Just bring them to room temp before you bake them. Because they have commercial yeast, they will complete the second rise in the fridge.
- This recipe makes 8 buns around 140g each. You can make larger or smaller buns depending on your needs. Just divide the total dough weight by the number of buns you need to get the individual bun weights.
Shaping Sourdough Burger Buns
These buns are really easy to shape. The enriched dough is smooth and not sticky at all. You'll be able to handle it very easily.
You need to divide the dough into 8 evenly weighted pieces (or however many buns you're wanting to bake).
For larger buns divide into 8 pieces of approximately 137g each.
For smaller buns, divide into 12 pieces of approximately 90g each.
You can see the easy shaping technique here in this video.
Freezing Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns
These buttery hamburger buns are super fast to make fresh, however sometimes you may have a few leftover. Or perhaps you like having a stash in the freezer for easy weeknight dinners.
These sourdough buns can be frozen. Simply place them in a ziploc bag and freeze.
Thaw at room temperature. You can microwave them for a few seconds to soften them up or simply split them and toast the insides before adding your favorite burger fillings.
For more information on freezing sourdough, check out this informative guide.
Want More Recipes?
If you are loving these discard burger buns, you'll love these ideas!
- These sourdough onion rings are the perfect side to burgers!
- Looking for Sourdough Brioche Buns?
- Check out this speedy sourdough discard sandwich loaf - it's an absolute cinch!
- These sourdough hot dog buns are soft, fluffy and super easy to make! And you'll just love these sourdough pigs in blankets!
- Looking for the best sourdough recipes for 4th of July celebrations? Check out these ideas!
- Got a hunger for more sourdough discard recipes? You'll find loads here.
Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns Recipe
Equipment
- Stand Mixer
- Digital Scale
- Baking Tray
Ingredients
- 250 g Milk Warm
- 100 g Sourdough Starter Discard unfed sourdough starter
- 500 g Bread Flour
- 50 g Sugar
- 2 Egg Yolks
- 100 g Butter softened but not melted
- 7 g Instant Yeast
- 10 g Salt
- 1 Egg White for egg wash
- 30 g Sesame Seeds optional
Instructions
- Combine the warm milk, yeast and sugar together in a stand mixer bowl and gently incorporate so that the yeast and sugar are dissolved in the milk.
- Add the flour, sourdough discard, egg yolks, butter and salt to the bowl and bring together to form a shaggy dough. You may need a silicon spatula to scrape down the sides of the bowl.
- Use a dough hook and/or knead function for this step.Knead the dough for 6 to 8 minutes using a stand mixer (see notes for hand kneading below).The dough will be silky and completely come away from the sides of the bowl when it's done. There should be no stickiness at all.
- Cover the bowl with a plastic bag or wrap and set aside for around an hour to rise. The time it takes depends on the temperature in your home.
- Once the dough has doubled, transfer it to your kitchen counter for shaping. If you are able to, weigh your dough. Divide the weight of the dough by the number of buns you want. Then you'll know how big to make each bun.I make 8 from this recipe and each bun is around 137g. For smaller buns, divide into 12 pieces of approx. 90g each.
- Divide the dough into 8 perfectly even pieces (weighing them for accuracy).
- Shape each piece into a bun. Pull the edges into the centre to form a rounded top and then place each piece on the counter and roll to shape (like you'd shape a boule).
- Place your buns on a baking tray lined with parchment paper and cover with a plastic bag or wrap. Set aside to rise for around 30 minutes. They will be plump and round when they're ready to bake.
- Preheat the oven to 180C/350F.
- Brush each bun with egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds (optional).
- Bake for around 22 minutes or until glossy and hollow when you tap the base. They burn very easily so keep an eye on them.
- Cool on a wire rack.
Joe Calabria
GREAT BURGER ROLLS - especially toasted on the grill! Theycame out perfect and the ingredient portions were spot on. One thing to mention in step 10 is to add a teaspoon or 2 of water to the egg white wash for a better application. Thanks!
Gina
So easy!! You have to try these! Thank you for your amazing recipes ❤
Kathleen
I used 50% white flour, 50% whole wheat flour. Very good! And I'm making them again for our Super Bowl party. Thank you!
Patti
I made some challah hamburger rolls and thought they were my forever rolls. Then I made these. WOW! So much flavor, so delicious! I used 75% bread flour and 25% WW. Make these!
Aimee
This is my favorite recipe of yours, so far. I agree with the comment above about adding water to the egg white. My bun tops look drippy, but otherwise, I'm really crazy about this recipe. Super easy!
Pamela Collins
These are the most awesome burger bun /rolls I've ever made, and quite easy!
Erin
These were fantastic. Perfectly pillowy, it’s definitely going to be my go to for sandwich buns.
Darla Hankins
I made the hamburger buns today, they are amazing, I would rather have wheat buns so after reading the notes, next time I’ll be making WW buns.
Thank you for sharing your recipes.
GORDON RUMBALL
Made my first batch of buns and very happy. Easy to follow steps, ingredients worked well together. Definitely they're on they're the list for future batches.
Beth V
Super easy to make and really nice, soft and fluffy hamburger buns. I made the recipe as is. Next time I might try a little whole wheat flour. Thanks for a great recipe!
Dawn ciarleglio
These buns are so easy and delicious. Perfect recipe and instructions. I make them at least once a week! They freeze beautifully. Thanks for all of your sourdough knowledge and recipes. I've learned so much from you.
Lu Schmidt
The measurement for milk says grams, should it say milliliters?
The Pantry Mama
No, always grams 🙂
Christy
I made these tonight. I cut the recipe in half because it’s just me. I made 4 perfect hamburger buns! Ii used one tonight and it’s perfect! I hope you all give it a try.
Jeanette
Ah-ma-zing!!! Great recipe, first time making- won’t be my last. Easy to follow directions, buns are perfect!
Mary
I have made a vegan version of these twice now, the recipe works perfectly with a 1:1 substitution of soy milk, plant-based butter and flax/chia eggs (I have tried both and both worked well). So delicious!
Linda
I made these today, using 2/3 hard, white wheat berries and 1/3 soft white. They were amazing, thank you so much for this recipe.
Kathy Strand
New to sourdough baking--Can I use fed starter for this or only unfed?
The Pantry Mama
You can use either fed or unfed 🙂 If using unfed, make sure you add some yeast 🙂
Margaret Montez
If fed starter is used, do you still need to add yeast? If so how much.
The Pantry Mama
No if you're using active starter then there's no need to add yeast 🙂
Jay Clark
If you substitute active starter for dry yeast, how much active starter do you use?
The Pantry Mama
You can use the exact same amount of active starter as you would discard 🙂
Michele
I loved how these delish hamburger buns came out. My grandbabies called them baby bread and wanted them with homemade apple butter on them. They loved them. I made them exactly as the recipe stated, but I did have to knead by hand. (I can't afford those fancy appliances). They came out beautifully. Thank you for the recipe.
Keithann Porter
Having friends over that are gluten intolerant and wanted hamburgers. Instead of lettuce wraps, I made this recipe and it was moist and delishious!! Big hit at the party. No one wanted the regular buns that could eat them.
Dawn
I love these rolls. I need to make these for a larger gathering, could I double this recipe?
The Pantry Mama
absolutely you can double the recipe, no problems at all 🙂 They freeze really well too! xo
Cynthia Gregory
Made the burger buns for the first time today. The recipe is super simple, the dough is lovely to work with and so very soft. The buns came out very well and sized perfectly for us at around 100grams. “Accidentally” had a mishapen one that I ate warm from the oven! 🙂 these buns will be on repeat!
The Pantry Mama
So glad you loved them Cynthia 🙂 Hehehe love those misshapen ones ... chef's privelege I say! xo
Susan Buhlaga
Wish I could upload a photo of the ones I just made. They're unbelievable. The recipes on this website beat Epicurious, Food.com (you name it) hands down. I'm a decades long veteran of bread making and cooking of all kinds and have never come across anything like the ease of success of these recipes; especially this one! Hubs just told me he had no plans to ever eat a store bought hamburger bun again...
Marty
Love the recipe - quick, easy and delicious! I am a year into sourdough and having so much fun with it! (Really appreciate the additions of ingredient check boxes and dark prevention ability. Thank you for those.)
Holly
Just made these today to have for dinner tonight. These hamburger buns are the best and easiest buns I have ever made! Thank you for sharing your recipe!! Will be my go to from now on!
Zaan
Oh, thanks for sharing. I was wondering if I could cut the recipe in half if I only needed 4 buns. Great to know it worked out well for you. I might try it out tonight or tomorrow. Yay!
The Pantry Mama
You absolutely can cut it in half for sure 🙂
Katelyn
Would these freeze well?
The Pantry Mama
Absolutely these sourdough discard hamburger buns freeze really well!
KC
Made these for the first time today, and they were amazing! Perfect texture and flavor and easy to follow instructions. Will definitely be keeping this recipe!!
Abby
First off, I don’t write reviews for anything, but I am so stoked about how these turned out that I can’t not. I bake most of our family’s bread but I’ve always been disappointed in homemade hamburger buns. Not today! This recipe NAILED it, even according to my husband, and that’s the realest endorsement you’ll ever get. I used 50/50 AP flour and fresh-milled white whole wheat flour, and accidentally used 130g sourdough discard instead of 100g. These were so soft and delicious, the dough was so easy to work with, and it’s so convenient to be able to throw these together in an afternoon for dinner that same night. Thank you for saving our hamburgers from store-bought buns!!!
K GStaab
The hype is real! Thank you so much for a fantastic recipe. I've tried several hamburger bun recipes in the past and they were all just slightly off in one way or another.
I made these buns yesterday for homemade smash burgers and they were perfect. The dough was soft and pillowy as promised and very nice to work with. The texture of the rolls is light and buttery while standing up to the burger at the same time.
I also love having a new use for my sourdough discard. I'm going to make these again today as dinner rolls by halving the recipe and reducing the size of the rolls to about 70 grams.
Thank you, again. My family and I will be enjoying these many more times in the future.
Daisy Mancuso
What if you don’t have yeast in the house? How would you change this recipe up?
The Pantry Mama
If you don't want to use the instant yeast, just use the same amount of active starter as discard in the recipe and allow it to bulk ferment for a lot longer 🙂
Deborah Martin
I made these sandwich rolls tonight. They were perfect, soft and delicious. It's great that the recipe is so fast.
Sarah
These were great and so easy. I ended up with 9 buns at about 4 oz each and they were really big. Next time ill go a little smaller. I sprinkled some bagel seasoning on top. Planning to use them for chopped brisket sandwiches! Thanks so much for the recipe!!
Kate
I always make a brioche hamburger buns that my family loves. Today I warned them I was trying a new recipe. They looooved them! This is our new hamburger bun. Thanks!
Vicki
I have never made hamburger buns before, I'm not much of a cook, let alone a baker. I just recently started learning about sourdough. From a very beginner, beginner, I can tell you these were super easy to make.
I do not have a fancy stand mixer and just kneaded the dough by hand for 7 minutes. The dough came together beautifully and I finally made something that looks like all the pictures I see, smooth, fluffy dough.
I halved the recipe and still got 5 pieces of dough that weighed about 105 grams each. They baked for the full 22 minutes, in a gas oven, and were just the perfect shade of golden brown.
We used them right away when still warm and they held up beautifully to the burger and fixings, crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. My partner reports they were the best hamburger buns he has ever eaten.
10 out of 5 stars!