Name: Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns
Prep time: 120 min
Cook time: 30 min
Total time: 150 min
Ingredients: 1/2 cup active sourdough starter; 1 1/2 cups warm milk or buttermilk; 1 tbsp yeast; 1 tbsp butter; 2 tbsp sugar; 1 tsp salt; 1 egg; 4 - 5 cups flour

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These sourdough discard hamburger buns are the perfect addition to any cookout or grilling night. They have a beautiful fluffy texture, a soft crust and they make the perfect burgers or sliders! They are quick and easy to make, because they are made with yeast and sourdough discard. I have a recipe for long-fermented sourdough hamburger buns which are healthier, but they take a few hours to make. So if you’re looking for something that you can get baked up in less than three hours, this is the recipe for you. Oftentimes hamburgers is a last-minute dinner idea around our house, and if I don’t have any buns made, I can quickly make these in my Bosch mixer and have them ready by supper time.

sourdough discard hamburger buns with poppy seeds

We make these buns quite often, as hamburgers are one of my husband’s favorite meals. I like to make up a batch of homemade mayo, grab some home-canned ketchup and pickles from the pantry, slice up some homemade cheese and grill up some homegrown beef to put between these delicious buns! Served alongside some oven fries baked in tallow, and you have the perfect homestead meal, cooked from scratch with all the ingredients being produced by us except for the flour and spices. Pretty amazing!

If you’re looking for a faster way to make these buns, try my sourdough discard hamburger bun recipe. It’s made with commercial yeast, but is much healthier than purchasing buns at the store and can be made in less than 2 hours.

Simple and Easy

I like to make this recipe because it is so simple. There is no stretching and folding or difficult steps to follow. I just put it into my Bosch mixer, mix it up, and then let it rise a couple times and bake. The entire process takes about 2 hours from start to finish, but it takes less than 10 minutes of active time, as most of the time the dough is just fermenting or raising.

Healthy

There can be more than 50 ingredients in some store-bought buns, most of which you can’t pronounce and don’t know what they are. They are full of preservatives, seed oils and unhealthy flour. Not to mention the cost and time it takes to go to the store to purchase them. I like this recipe because it has only 8 ingredients that I can easily keep stocked in my homestead pantry like flour and sugar, or produce fresh on the homestead, like milk and butter.

No Scale Needed

This recipe can easily be made without a scale as everything is measured in cups. For those of you that want to measure in grams, I have included those measurements for you.

Why Make Homemade Sourdough Hamburger Buns

So why would you want to take the time to make sourdough hamburger buns anyway? Well there are several reasons.

The taste and texture of these sourdough hamburger buns will be unlike any other hamburger buns you will make. They are soft, not dense, and will stay moist for several days.
These buns will stay fresh longer on your counter without molding because they are already inoculated with the beneficial bacteria from the sourdough making it harder for mold to grow.
Made with sourdough discard and added yeast, these are a quick and easy option for a delicious hamburger bun.
Even though this recipe isn’t allowed to sit and long ferment like some sourdough recipes, it still contains sourdough discard, which is fully fermented flour and water. So these buns will have a delightful sourdough tang and be a little bit more healthy than regular yeast hamburger buns

hamburger sourdough discard bun with condiments

Simple Ingredients

What makes these sourdough discard hamburger buns so soft and beautiful is the addition of fat, sweetener, and milk.

Flour

For best results I recommend using all or mostly white flour in this sourdough hamburger bun recipe as it will make a softer and more beautiful dough. Bleached or unbleached all-purpose flour or bread flour works the best. Unbleached flour is obviously healthier for you and bread flour will make a more beautiful loaf than just all-purpose flour because it has a higher protein content, but any of these flours will work. If you use whole grain or whole wheat flour, I suggest using at least half all-purpose or bread flour when making your sourdough buns for best results. If you want to make these with fresh milled flour, just be sure to use hard white wheat for best results.

I like to get my high protein bread flour in bulk from Azure Standard. You can check it out here.

Milk

You can use any kind of milk in this recipe. I like to use raw milk or buttermilk from my Jersey cows, but you can use any kind of milk that you like. The milk helps to give the bread a softer texture.

Fat

You can use melted butter, beef tallow, or coconut oil.

Sweetener

You can use honey, sugar, or anything similar in this recipe.

Salt

I like to use redmond real salt, but you can use whatever salt you have on hand. Salt is what gives the buns their delicious flavor, and it’s really important not to leave it out.

Egg

I like to add an egg to this recipe because it makes the dough extra soft.

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Sourdough Starter

This recipe is designed to be made with sourdough discard, because we are adding yeast to the recipe to make the dough rise. You can use active sourdough starter however, if that’s all you have.

Yeast

You can use regular yeast or instant yeast, either one will work just fine. I like to purchase my yeast in bulk from Azure Standard and keep it on hand for use in quick recipes like this one or to make my families favorite Amish White Bread.

I enjoy making lots of sourdough discard recipes. You can find them here.

Tips For Making These Sourdough Burger Buns

Use warm milk in this recipe, and that will keep the ingredients warm enough to activate the yeast and help it to rise quickly.
Use a stand mixer if possible, as it will make these buns so fast and easy to make. You can also make this without a mixer, and just knead the dough by hand, but it will be more work of course.
Divide this recipe into 16 small buns, and serve them as sliders with meat and cheese and maybe some lettuce.
These buns freeze well, so if you won’t be able to eat all of them right away, you can just put some in the freezer.

This post contains affiliate links, which means I make a small commission at no extra cost to you. See my full disclosure here

Tools You May Need

Stand mixer – my favorite mixer is a Bosch. They are very heavy duty and a good investment if you plan to cook from scratch. They pay themselves off in no time especially with the high cost of groceries.
Measuring cups and spoons
Bench scraper
Parchment paper
Baking sheet

How To Make Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns

Mix Up The Dough

Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook attachment. Mix it until the dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl. After mixing for a few minutes, if the dough still seems sticky, you can add a little more flour if needed, so that the dough doesn’t stick to the edge of the bowl. It should pull away from the mixer bowl, and not be sticky.

mixing up sourdough discard hamburger buns

First Rise

I like to put the lid on my mixer bowl and let it rise in a warm place for 30 minutes. If you have the time, you can let it rise a bit longer. The bosch mixer has a nice lid that seals down, keeping the moisture in the bowl and helping the dough to rise quickly. You can also put your dough in a separate bowl covered with a damp tea towel.

Shape The Buns

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide dough into 8 or 10 equal pieces using a bench scraper, depending on how large you want your hamburger buns. Shape them into buns by tucking the outsides underneath and placing tension on each ball of dough. Place them on a parchment-lined baking sheet with some space in between. I usually put them about three wide and four long on the baking sheet. I don’t mind if they end up touching each other after they raise.

shaping sourdough discard hamburger buns

Second Rise

Cover the shaped buns with a tea towel, and allow the buns to rise until they look nice and puffy and have doubled in size. Depending on the temperature of your kitchen, you can turn on your oven until it’s about 125 degrees. Shut it off and put the buns in there to rise where it’s warmer.

Egg Wash (Optional)

Beat an egg yolk with 1 Tablespoon of water and gently brush it on top of the buns. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired. This step is optional, but will make a beautiful golden top to the buns.

Bake

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and bake the buns for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the oven. Brush the tops with butter if desired. I usually do this if I didn’t brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash.

Enjoy

Slice the homemade hamburger buns in half and serve with your favorite burger, condiments, cheese, pickles and oven fries baked in tallow. So delicious!!

Leftover buns can be stored in an airtight container on the counter or in the refrigerator for up to a week.