Description

These super soft burger buns are fun and easy to make. They use the Tangzhong method, which gives a super soft burger bun which stays soft for days. These burger buns can be made either in bun rings or freeform, and freeze extremely well.

Ingredients

Scale

Tangzhong

25g bread flour
120g whole milk

Burger Bun Dough

All of the Tangzhong
200g cold milk
20g granulated sugar
2 tsp (7g) instant yeast
30g milk powder
1 ½ tsp (7g) kosher salt
1 egg, at room temperature
360g bread flour
45g unsalted butter, at room temperature
Egg wash - 1 egg whisked with 1 Tbsp water

Instructions

TANGZHONG

Combine the milk and bread flour in a medium saucepan. Place over medium heat and cook, stirring continuously, until the mixture thickens into a paste. Remove from heat and transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer.

BURGER BUN DOUGH

Add the cold milk and mix to combine, checking with your finger that it is not hotter than lukewarm (the cold milk should cool the hot tangzhong enough). Add the sugar, yeast, milk powder, salt, egg, and flour. Transfer to the mixer and fit with the dough hook.
Mix the dough on medium speed until it is smooth and elastic and clearing the sides of the bowl, about 12-15 minutes. Don’t freak out, as it is sticky - if you have made it by weight you will be fine. Set a timer and walk away from the mixer if you need. If after that time it really isn’t coming together and you’re worried, add flour a teaspoon at a time just until the dough just comes together.
Add the butter and mix for a further 5 minutes until incorporated. The dough should be smooth and elastic, and pass the windowpane test.
Turn the dough out onto a surface and flour very lightly if needed to bring into a tight ball with a bench scraper. Transfer to a greased bowl and cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Place the dough in a warm spot and rise until doubled in size, approximately 1 ½ hours.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. If you are using rings for your buns (I used 100mm rings for 90g buns), grease them lightly.
Divide the dough into 9 equal portions, each weighing about 90g. Working with one piece of dough at a time, flatten out the piece of dough, then tuck up into a ball, then turn the ball seam side down and roll into a tight ball by cupping your hand to create a 'claw' shape, using the tension from the counter to roll the dough tightly. Place to the side and cover lightly with plastic wrap. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough, grouping the balls together on your counter with a little space between them so they don't touch.
Leave the buns to rest for 10 minutes, then give them a quick roll to tighten them back up. Place them in the prepared rings or spaced apart on the baking sheets. They rise quite a lot so ensure they are far enough apart - you can do 5 on on pan and 4 on the other. Alternatively you can space them closer so they bake to be touching.
Cover the buns either with a lid, or some lightly greased plastic wrap, or place a second sheet pan upside down over the top to act as a lid. Leave the buns to rise again for about 1 ½ hours. You want them to puff up and double in size, and when you press lightly on one, it should leave a small indentation that doesn’t quite spring back. See images for how they look just after rolling and then risen. Remember that rising time depends on your environment so go by how the dough is looking, rather than a rising time.
When there is about 20 minutes to go in the rise, preheat the oven to 360°f / 185°c. Brush the buns with egg wash. If you are baking in rings just brush what is exposed, if you are baking plain buns brush the edges too. and bake in the oven for 15-18 minutes, until they are a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and remove the rings if using.
Leave to cool on the pans for 10-15 minutes then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely. The buns will wrinkle slightly as they cool and if you used the rings the edge may not stay completely straight and may fold on itself a little - this is due to them being very soft and is totally normal.

Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature - they should stay soft for at least 5 days. These can also be frozen. After the first day or two, toast the buns if needed.

Notes

How to make ahead of time
If you would like to get a head start on making these hamburger buns, you can do the first rise overnight. I like to make the dough then leave it to stand on the counter for about 15 minutes before putting it into the fridge to do the first rise. I tested this overnight but you could probably do as little as 3 hours in the fridge if you wanted to make the dough in the morning for later in the day.
Remember that the fridge is your friend when you are working with yeasted dough - if for some reason the dough is going to be risen before you need it, you can pop it in the fridge to slow down the rising time.

I try not to leave dough in the fridge for more than 24 hours as the yeast starts to lose its rising power. You should be able to shape the dough into burger buns straight from the fridge but leave it to stand for 10 minutes or so if it feels a little firm. Remember starting with cold dough will mean you need to add some time onto the second rise. Go by how the dough looks, not the time in the recipe. It all depends on your starting dough temperature and the environment.

Do I have to use Bread Flour?
Yes. The dough needs it for strength. If you are outside of the US bread flour is sometimes called high grade or strong flour. If bread flour isn't available in your country you could add in some vital wheat gluten to add strength.

Can I make this recipe by hand?
No. It is a very sticky dough and needs the strength developed by the mixer. If you want a recipe that is developed to be made by hand, my small batch dinner rolls will do the trick - you could shape into larger buns.

How to do you store Burger Buns?
Store burger buns in an airtight container at room temperature. I usually have them fresh the first day then lightly toast after that!

Can Burger Buns be frozen?
Yep! Just pop them into a ziploc or airtight container and stick them in the freezer. Defrost at room temp. They are probably best toasted once defrosted.

How do you replace active dry yeast with instant yeast?
To use active dry yeast in the place of instant you need to activate the yeast first. Pop the warm tangzhong in your stand mixer bowl as usual, then add the cold milk. Stir around - this will warm the milk up a little. Add the sugar then add the yeast then leave to sit for 5-10 minutes until foamy. Then proceed with the rest of the recipe!

Can Burger Buns be made without ring molds?
Yes. Just shape each bun into a tight ball and space well apart on a baking sheet. See images for buns made without rings - they are a little shorter but it works perfectly.

Can this recipe be made into sliders?
Yes! If you wanted to make these as slider buns I would divide the dough into 12. It will fit perfectly into a 9"x13" (20x30cm) pan and make 12 sliders. Alternatively you could double the recipe and bake it into 24 slider buns which would fit perfectly in a rimmed half sheet pan (13"x18" or 33x45cm)

Why did my buns wrinkle when they came out of the oven?
This happens with a super soft dough. If you are using the rings then they might get a little fold around the edge, and the crust might get a little wrinkly. It's all good. You didn't do anything wrong. You just made really soft bunz.