Hamburger Buns

It's difficult to find good fresh bread for hamburgers in Paris. Or at least it has been for me 😊 I decided to make my own homemade burger buns to enjoy my Sunday cheeseburger in the comfort of my own house. Not that we have a choice these days 😊. They are easy. I promise. You only need to be patient and follow the steps.

How to make hamburger buns

Hamburger buns are easy to make. You just need to be patient and let them rest so they can grow beautifully.

There are four stages to making any bread, hamburger buns included: kneading, first fermentation, bread shaping and second fermentation. And off course baking the bread at the end.

How to make the dough for hamburger buns?

You can either do the hamburger buns using a stand-mixer or by hand.

* With a stand mixer

In the bowl of your stand-mixer dissolve the yeast in water. Water shouldn't be hot, or it will kill the yeast! It should be slightly warm; 20 degrees Celsius would be perfect! If you are using active dry yeast, let it rest for about 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. Until you can see little bubbles forming. If you are not it is not necessary to wait you can proceed with the recipe.

Add the rest of the ingredients together except for the butter. Knead at a low speed (using the hook attachment) for about 4 to 5 minutes.

Add the butter at room temperature and continue to knead at a low speed until the butter has incorporated into the dough. Knead for an extra-8 minutes on medium to high speed. The dough is ready when it no longer sticks to the sides of the mixing bowl.

Shape your bread into a ball and let it rest for an hour covered with a humid kitchen towel. It should have at least doubled in size. This is the second step in making your burger buns: the first fermentation of the dough.

* By hand

Dissolve the yeast in warm water. If you are using active dry yeast, let it rest for about 10 minutes before adding the rest of the ingredients. Until you can see little bubbles forming. If you are not it is not necessary to wait you can proceed with the recipe.

On the kitchen counter make a fountain with the flour, the sugar, the salt. Make a hole in the middle and pour the egg yolk and half of the water. Using your fingers start mixing bringing in the flour around. Add the rest of the water and finish mixing the ingredients together. Add the butter at room temperature.

Knead the dough until it no longer sticks to the kitchen counter. To knead you should tap the dough against your counter, fold it and repeat the movement.

Shape your bread into a ball and let it rest for an hour covered with a humid kitchen towel. It should have at least doubled in size. This is the second step in making your burger buns: the first fermentation of the dough.

How to shape burgers buns

Divide your bread dough into 8 equal parts. If you have a scale, each one should way around 100 g.

Now we are going to shape the bread. This is very important because it is what's going to allow your bun to grow nicely during the fermentation process and in the oven. It gives it strength. This is called "façonnage" in French. We are going to be shaping each piece into a small tight ball.

Watch the video to see how this is done:

Hamburger buns resting time (second fermentation)

After you have shaped the burger buns, transfer to a baking tray with parchment paper, cover with a humid kitchen towel and let them rest for about 1 hour, or until they have doubled in size (if this happens before the hour, it's OK).

Time will depend on the temperature/humidity conditions you are working with.

Decorating hamburger buns with sesame seeds

If you want to decorate your hamburger buns using sesame seeds, you should do it just after shaping your burger buns.

Beat 1 egg. Transfer the sesame seed onto a small shallow dish.

After you have shaped all the buns, using a brush paint each bun with the beaten egg, and then turn over your bun and dip into the sesame seeds. Place on an oven tray lined with parchment paper.

Let them rest until doubled in size.

How to bake hamburger buns

15 minutes before the end of the fermentation pre heat the oven to 170 degrees Celsius and place an empty tray at the bottom of your oven.

If you didn't decorate with sesame seeds before, once the hamburger buns have doubled in size you should brush them with the beaten egg.

Just before putting your buns in pour 1/2 a glass of water onto the empty tray.

Bake for about 15 to 17 min, or until golden brown.

Freezing hamburger buns

Hamburger buns can be frozen after they have been baked. Let them cool down at room temperature and freeze. You can keep the buns for 3 months.

To defrost: in the refrigerator overnight, or room temperature for a couple of hours.

I like to warm them up in the oven if I'm using frozen hamburger buns.