Buttermilk Buns are a glorious thing.
The perfect bun was not an easy thing to nail down. I had been on the hunt for a great recipe for several years, but to no avail. I wasn’t asking for much. Just a basic bun sturdy enough to rest a thick and juicy burger patty atop. Soft enough to stuff with copious amounts of shredded pork butt. And simple enough to showcase a fried egg crowned with a slice of gooey melted cheese. During this search, I had baked up many bun recipes promising to be the best. Sadly, they never lived up to their claims. Until now.
I found this recipe in The Big Book of Bread, a cookbook by King Arthur Baking and I’ve adapted it for the blog. There are so many great recipes in this book, but these Buttermilk Buns are worth the purchase price alone. Whether you’re a beginning bread baker or a seasoned one, add this book to your arsenal.
Jump to Recipe
What’s so great about Buttermilk Buns?
First of all, they are not difficult to make. No more than other homemade bread, anyway. They are sturdy, yet tender, and hold up well to most sandwich iterations. Even the heavy duty ones that include meaty slices of steak or crispy chicken thighs. They bake evenly in the oven achieving the perfect golden hue ensured by a swish of egg wash and a pinch of salt. In fact, with a few practiced shaping sessions, your dinner guests will think these were purchased from a professional source. And finally, but most importantly, they are absolutely delicious and outshine their gummy grocery store counterparts by miles.
Plan Ahead
Buttermilk buns can go from mixer to table in just under 3 hours, but I highly recommend making them the day before you plan on serving them. Homemade bread is best enjoyed the same day. However, these buns hold up well and easily stay tender until the next day. Plus, if you plan on toasting them before building that perfect burger, making them the day before is preferred as they’ll be that much sturdier. Plus, it’s one less thing to worry about if these are already locked and loaded.
Practice Makes Perfect
Achieving an attractive round bun shape can be challenging, but it becomes easier with every batch. I have a few tips that might help.
Weigh out the dough. I like to weigh the dough in equal portions so that the buns are the same size. It’s just one more reason on a long list to invest in a kitchen scale. Truly a tool that will change a homebaker’s life.
Don’t over flour. Unless the dough is very tacky and wants to stick to the counter, I do not dust the surface with extra flour. I find that cupping and rolling the dough on a clean counter ensures that it will create tension, closing the pinched seam on the bottom of the ball of dough and forming a taut gluten skin. This gluten skin will help the dough maintain its shape during its final rise. If the counter is too dusty with flour, it is difficult to create that tension on the surface during shaping.
Finish with an egg wash. A final brush of egg wash mixed with a pinch of salt before these buns hit the oven will result in a deep golden hue. I find the toasty brown finish very appealing and akin to burgers/sandwiches I see at some of my favorite local restaurants.
Buttermilk Buns
Equipment
- Stand mixer
- Scale (optional but recommended)
- Bowl scraper (optional but recommended)
- Instant read thermometer (optional, but recommended)
Ingredients
- 420 grams or 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
- 37 grams or 3 tablespoons sugar
- 9 grams or 1 tablespoon instant yeast
- 8 grams or 1 1/4 teaspoons Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
- 1 large egg
- 241 grams or 1 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
- 57 grams or 4 tablespoons butter (room temperature) *See note 1 below.
- Egg Wash: 1 egg plus 1/8 teaspoon Diamond Crystal Kosher Salt
Instructions
- In the bowl of a stand mixer, add the flour, sugar, yeast and salt. Lightly whisk together.
- In a microwave safe measuring cup, add the buttermilk and microwave it in 15 second increments until it registers 90° on an instant read thermometer, about 30 seconds.
- Add the egg and the buttermilk to the bowl with the flour mixture. Using a wooden spoon, loosely mix together the dry and wet ingredients just until they start to combine. Place the bowl back on the stand mixer, attach the dough hook and mix on medium-low (number 2 on a Kitchen Aid) until a soft dough starts to form, 2-3 minutes.
- Scrape down the bowl and mix on medium-high speed (number 6 on a Kitchen Aid) for another 5 minutes. The dough should start to become very smooth and elastic.
- Reduce the speed to medium-low (number 2 on a Kitchen Aid) add a few cubes of the softened butter and mix until it is fully incorporated into the dough, meaning that there is no buttery residue left around the sides of the bowl. Add a few more cubes, and again, mix until it is fully incorporated into the dough. Do this until all of the butter has been added. Remove the dough from the bowl and knead by hand for a couple of minutes on the counter. Move the dough to a large, lightly-oiled bowl, cover with cling wrap and a kitchen towel, and let rise until doubled, approximately 1 hour.
- After the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl and dump it onto a clean work surface. You can lightly flour the surface if needed. This dough is soft, but easy to work with so I try not to use any additional flour.
- Line a large sheet pan with parchment paper and set aside.
- Using a digital scale, divide the dough into 8 equal portions weighing approximately 100 grams each. Cover the portioned dough with cling wrap or a clean kitchen towel so it doesn't dry out while shaping the buns.
- Shape each portion of dough into a smooth round ball by gently kneading it together, then using one hand to pull the sides taut around the ball while simultaneously using the fingers of the opposite hand to gently push the bottom of the dough in an upward motion. Pinch the bottom of the dough together. You should have some semblance of a ball. Place the ball on the counter with the pinched seam on the bottom, cup your hand loosely around the ball and roll it around gently on the counter in a small circular motion. You should be able to feel the ball of dough loosely moving around within your cupped hand. The tension of the dough against the counter will close the pinched seam on the bottom of the ball and also form a taut gluten skin. Repeat this action with each ball of dough
- Add the balls of shaped dough (seam down) onto the parchment lined sheet pan in the configuration shown above. Cover with a kitchen towel and let them rest for 10 minutes. Then take a smooth, flat bowl scraper or a small flat bottomed metal bowl and press down firmly on each ball of dough. Gently peel the scraper (or bowl) from the dough. The balls should flatten into smooth round discs approximately 4" in diameter. You can also press them out using your fingers. If the dough seems tight and tries to spring back too much, cover them with a kitchen towel and let them rest an additional 10-minutes. Then try to flatten them out again. There will be a little bit of spring back, but they should mostly hold their shape and size.
- While the shaped buns are rising on the counter, place a rack toward the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 375°
- Lightly mist the shaped buns with water and cover with a clean kitchen towel. Let rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The buns should double in size becoming very puffy.
- Once the buns are puffy and ready to bake, prepare the egg wash. Whisk the egg with the salt and lightly brush the buns with the egg wash. Bake 20-25 minutes. The tops should be a deep golden brown and the internal temp should register 190° on an instant read thermometer.
- Remove the buns from the oven and move them from the pan to a wire rack to cool. Let buns cool completely before serving. *See note 2 below.
Notes
- Hot take. I only use salted butter. I keep it out on the counter in a butter dish so that I always have room temp butter available for baking and for spreading on toast, bagels, etc. Salted butter will not go rancid when sitting out like its unsalted counterpart. Also, I do not want to maintain a stash of salted butter and unsalted butter. I do a lot of baking and I do not find that salted butter makes things too salty, in fact, most baked goods could honestly use a little more salt. If anything, I find that salted butter actually tastes more “buttery”.
- I recommend splitting the buns, adding butter and toasting the centers before using them in a burger or sandwich. This added step makes the buns that much sturdier, gives the finished sandwich a slight crunchy texture and adds a little extra buttery flavor. All very good things.
Add Buttermilk Buns to your baking repertoire and you’ll be cranking out Green Chile Smashed Cheeseburgers and Pulled Pork Sandwiches all summer long! Your family and friends will be forever grateful! And honestly, very impressed!
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That’s a great recipe! I also make my own burger buns and it’s the only way to go. I will use you recipe next time e to compare. Thanks so much! It’s great you did this post.