Soft Sourdough Hamburger Buns
These soft sourdough 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!
Equipment
- 1 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.
- 1 measuring cups and spoons
- 1 Bench scraper
- 1 parchment paper
- 1 Baking sheet
Ingredients
- ½ cup active sourdough starter
- 1 ½ cups warm milk or buttermilk
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 2 tablespoon sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 egg
- 4 - 5 cups flour
Instructions
Feed Sourdough Starter
- Feed up to ¼ cup of sourdough starter with about 1 cup flour and ⅓ cup warm water. This will give you plenty of active starter, and any leftovers can be refrigerated and used in pancakes, waffles, or other sourdough discard recipes.
- Allow fed starter to become active while sitting out at room temperature. When starter has risen all the way to the top and is happy and active, proceed to the next step.
Mix Up The Dough
- Add all of the ingredients to the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with a dough hook and mix 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.
First Rise
- Cover the dough and let it rise at room temperature. You can use the lid on your mixer bowl or transfer the dough to a separate bowl and cover with a damp tea towel. If making the dough at night, place it in the refrigerator for the first rise to prevent overfermentation.
Shape The Buns
- Divide the dough into 8–10 equal pieces, depending on how large you want the buns. Shape each piece into a smooth ball by tucking the edges underneath to create tension. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet, leaving a little space between each bun. It's okay if they touch after rising.
Second Rise
- Cover with a tea towel, and allow the buns to sit out at room temperature and rise. This usually takes 1-2 hours. Shorter in the summer, and longer in the winter because of temperature of course. You want the buns to rise about 50%, and look nice and puffy. They will raise even more in the oven.
- If your house is cool, you can also turn your oven on to warm and let it get just above 100 degrees before shutting off the oven. Put the buns covered with a tea towel into the oven and they can raise in this warmer environment.
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 buns in half and serve with your favorite burger, condiments, cheese, pickles and oven fries baked in tallow. So delicious!!
Notes
- Don’t overferment the dough. Let it rise close to double, then refrigerate if you need to slow the first rise.
- A stand mixer makes mixing quick and easy, but you can also use stretch and folds.
- Rise times will vary depending on the temperature. Dough will rise faster in warm weather and slower in cooler temperatures.
- Divide the dough into 16 pieces to make smaller slider buns.
- These buns freeze well, so save any extras for later.
