Simple Hamburger Buns Recipe Using Potato Flake Starter

This simple hamburger buns recipe is a crucial component of the classic burger. It provides a convenient and tasty vessel to hold all the delicious ingredients together. Toast with butter before assembling to enhance the flavor and texture and you’re on your way to one delicious meal.

What makes a good hamburger bun?

When eating a hamburger, one of the worst things that can happen is that it falls apart before you finish your last bite. Making sure you have a bun that will hold up to that juicy burger and all it’s toppings is of the utmost importance.

When making this simple hamburger bun with your potato flake starter, you can be sure that you will be upping your hamburger game and wont have to worry about a bun that can’t compete with your loaded juicy burger.

Customize your hamburger bun

This recipe is extremely versatile! You can easily make a bun with no toppings at all, and it will be delicious! However, if you want to get creative there are so many options that you could try topping your buns with to add or change the flavor based on the type of burger you decide to serve.

Try one of these variations:

• sesame seeds
• everything but the bagel seasoning
• garlic butter
• parmesan cheese
• Herbs and spices
• incorporate various seed to make a seeded bun
• Mix red pepper flakes for a spicy bun

What do I need to make homemade hamburger buns

Equipment

Stand mixer

Bench scraper

Scale (optional, but helpful for getting equal sized buns)

Bowl and plastic wrap for rising

Ingredients

3/4 cup of active starter

2 T softened butter

1 egg

1 egg yolk (save egg white for egg wash)

1/4 c sugar

3 1/2 cups bread flour

1 1/2 t salt

1/2 cup warm water

Glaze, Egg wash & Topping

3 T butter, melted

1 egg white

2 T water

2 T of sesame seeds

How to make soft hamburger buns

Begin by adding your ingredients (all except egg wash ingredients) to your stand mixer. Be sure to save the egg whites for your egg wash.

Once added to your mixing bowl turn your mixer on low speed and mix about 7 minutes. The dough should be pulled away from the side, but slightly sticking to the bottom. It should be stuck on the dough hook.

Prepare a large bowl by throughly greasing. Remove the dough, form into a neat ball and place in the greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. You want to use plastic wrap to prevent the dough from drying out and forming an unpleasant crust on the top.

Place the bowl in a warm place (on top of the fridge, in the oven with just the light on) let it rise until doubled. This time frame can vary. It typically takes about 8-10 hours for the dough to double.

Shaping hamburger buns

After the dough has doubled, gently punch the dough down and divide it into eight pieces (weigh your dough before dividing and divide that number by 8 to get the weight each bun should be) Shape each piece into a ball.

Be sure each ball has a smooth surface. Any imperfections in the dough will become more prominent once it has risen. You can smooth the surface by gently rolling the ball in your hands.

Gently press down each dough ball with the pal of your hand to flatten the dough until it is about 3″ across.

Place the unbaked buns on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.

Cover with plastic wrap (you can reuse the plastic wrap you removed from the bowl) and let rise until noticeably puffy, about 3-4 hours.

Prepare to bake your homemade hamburger buns

Once the buns have risen, preheat the oven to 375°F.

Brush the buns with about half of the melted butter.

Vigorously whisk the water and egg whites together. Brush the egg white/water mixture right over the melted butter; it helps the seeds adhere.

Sprinkle buns with sesame seeds, or another seed of your choice.

Bake for 15 to 18 minutes, until golden brown on tops.

Remove them from the oven and carefully brush with the remaining melted butter; this will give the buns a satiny, buttery crust, but be careful not to brush the seeds off.

How do you make regular hamburger buns better? Customize!

The best part about making your own hamburger buns is the having the ability to make them how you want them!

One of the easiest ways to spruce up a basic bun is by trying a variety of toppings, like mentioned above.

Try switching out some of the flour for whole wheat or incorporating herbs and spices into your dough.

Butter could be substituted with oil or shortening.

If you want a vegan alternative to eggs in this recipe try this suggested egg substitute; 1 egg= 1 Tbsp ground flaxseed+ 3 Tbsp water.

The best burger toppings

When it comes to burger toppings I have my three tried and true favorite varieties: traditional, mushroom swiss, and breakfast.

On my traditional hamburger you’ll find ketchup, mustard, pickle, onion, tomato, cheese, and sometimes mayo!

A mushroom swiss burger is exactly what it sounds like, a burger topped with sautéed mushrooms and swiss chesse.

The breakfast burger is what I like to call my “fancy burger.” This burger is topped with a runny fried egg, a few slices of bacon, cheddar cheese, tomato and some avocado slices. I might even throw on some spinach too if I’m feeling extra healthy that day.

These three are my go-to favorites, but there are so many more options out there. Check out this great post on 65 best burger toppings if you want to branch out and try something new.

Best way to store and reheat your hamburger buns

If you haven’t devoured all of the buns in one sitting and happen to have some buns left, your two best options for storing them are on the counter, or in the freezer.

If you store them on the counter, be sure to place them in an air tight container or ziploc bag. Your buns will only last a few days using this method, but it’s a great option if you plan to use them for tomorrows lunch.

Storing them in the freezer is a great choice if you don’t plan to eat them right away. Seal them up in a zip loc bag and put them in the freezer. When ready to use them take them out of the freezer and place them on the counter at room temperature to thaw.

For both of the options, the best thing to do before eating your extra buns if to toast them before topping them. The easiest and most efficient way would be in a toaster. However, it’s much more tasty to toast them in a skillet with some butter!

Why make homemade burger buns

Is it cheaper to make your own hamburger buns? Well, no…especially if you pick up the cheapest $1 generic buns at the store. If you are wanting to make your own hamburger buns the two main benefits of doing so are for healthier buns, and tastier buns!

These homemade buns are much better for you than store bought because:

1. You know all of the ingredients-no preservatives or words you can’t pronounce in the ingredient list
2. It’s naturally risen with sourdough, which means it is lower in gluten and the fiber helps feed the good bacteria in your gut.

You can do it!

If you aren’t ready to make these buns now, go ahead and pin it for later so you don’t forget about it! if you go ahead and try it out, I would LOVE to hear how your turned out in the comments below. Feel free to post a picture on instagram and tag me! I would love to see your beautiful buns. . . hamburger buns! @littletennesseehome

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