Homemade Sandwich, Slider and Burger Buns
Just one simple but incredible recipe is all you need to make homemade sandwich rolls and burger or slider buns. These brioche buns are soft and delicious, and so much better than store-bought!
If you’re looking to step up your summer potluck or barbecue game, homemade buns and sandwich rolls are a great place to start! While store-bought buns are fine, they’re too often bland and boring. Whereas these buns are light, tender and full of so much flavor! They’ll be just as delicious as whatever you want to pile inside.
Whether you’re making hamburgers, pulled pork sliders or cold cut sandwiches— they all deserve to start on a tasty homemade bun.
More homemade recipes to try: Check out my whole wheat brioche burger buns, cheesy herb burger buns, and homemade hot dog buns.
One bun recipe, lots of ways to bake it!
Use this one versatile recipe to make buns however you like. You can bake larger buns for burgers or pulled pork sandwiches, or smaller rolls for cold cut sandwiches, sloppy joes, and burger sliders. The options are endless! And I’ve got step-by-step instructions for everything down below.
Ingredients you’ll need
- Milk, butter, sugar and eggs provide additional flavor and richness, and make the buns very soft and tender.
- Bread flour has a higher protein content more gluten power, which means more rise and better texture.
- Active-dry yeast or instant yeast will both work for this recipe. I also really like to use Platinum Yeast from Red Star.
- Salt for flavor.
- Sesame seeds or poppy seeds are optional toppings.
How to make homemade brioche buns
Prepare the brioche dough
To make these buns or rolls, first we need to prepare the dough. You can use a stand mixer with a dough hook, or if you plan to knead by hand you can use any large bowl.
- Heat butter, milk and water. Combine in a small saucepan over medium low heat until butter is melted and mixture is 120-130°F. (Use an instant-read thermometer for most accurate results, and so you don’t accidentally kill your yeast with temperatures over 140°F.)
- Combine dry ingredients. Stir some of the bread flour, yeast, sugar and salt in mixing bowl.
- Add liquids and eggs. Pour warmed milk mixture and eggs into mixing bowl and combine to make a very wet dough.
- Add more bread flour while kneading. Knead with a mixer and dough hook or by hand, adding remaining flour a bit at a time, waiting until it is incorporated into the dough before adding more. Stop adding flour when dough mostly clears the bowl and is only slightly sticky to the touch (you may need slightly less or more than the recipe calls for).
- Let rise. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
Now that the dough is prepped, we’re ready to shape it into buns or rolls!
How to bake larger burger buns
If you want larger homemade hamburger buns, like what you can buy at the store, follow these instructions:
- Divide dough. Portion into 8 equal pieces. I like to use a scale to make sure all pieces are the same size (weigh the dough and divide by 8, then weigh each piece to make sure they’re even).
- Shape into a ball. This video from King Arthur is super helpful to show you how to tuck and roll like a pro.
- Let rise until doubled. Place on a parchment-lined sheet pan and as they rise, very gently pat the tops occasionally to encourage them to spread wider not rise taller, but be careful you don’t press to hard and deflate them.
- Bake. Brush with egg wash to make them shiny, and sprinkle with sesame seeds, if you want. Bake at 400°F for about 10 minutes until golden brown.
How to bake smaller sandwich rolls
You can also use this same recipe to make smaller buns about the size of a dinner roll. These are great for smaller burger sliders, sandwiches and more. Here’s what to do:
- Divide dough. Portion into 12 equal pieces, using a scale if you want to make sure they’re the same size.
- Shape into a ball. Shape each piece into a ball, this video is very helpful!
- Let rise until doubled. Place in a parchment-lined 9×13-inch pan, cover with plastic wrap and let rise until doubled in size.
- Bake. Brush with egg wash for shiny tops and sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds, if you want. Bake at 400°F for about 15 minutes until tops are golden brown. These smaller buns need a longer bake time because they’re closer together in the pan.
Note: If you like the look of burger buns but want a mini size, bake the 12 rolls on a sheet pan so they’re more spread out, and gently pat the tops of them as they rise to encourage them wider not taller.
Make-ahead instructions
- Rise the dough in the fridge overnight— Place kneaded dough in a greased bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Put in the fridge overnight. The next morning, portion and shape into rolls, rise and bake.
- Rise the shaped rolls in the fridge overnight— Place shaped buns/rolls in prepared pan and cover with plastic wrap. Put in the fridge overnight. The next morning bring it to room temperature for 1 – 1 ½ hours until risen, then bake.
- Freeze shaped rolls up to 2 months in advance— Place shaped buns/rolls on a pan lined with parchment paper so they aren’t touching. Cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 1 hour. Transfer frozen rolls to a heavy duty ziplock bag and store for up to 2 months. When ready to use, place frozen buns/rolls in prepared pan and thaw at room temperature for a few hours, let rise, then bake.
- Freeze baked rolls up to 1 month in advance— Bake buns/rolls as normal and cool completely. Wrap in foil and then place in a ziplock bag. When ready to serve, remove from bag and warm in a 350°F oven for 20-25 minutes until warmed through.
Recipe FAQs
Active-dry yeast or instant yeast (also known as quick-rise or rapid-rise) will both work for this recipe. If you use instant yeast, you may only need about half of the rising time. Otherwise, results are the same. This recipe has not been tested with fresh yeast.
I learned method for this recipe from Red Star Yeast, and I love that it saves a bit of time! If you are confident that your yeast hasn’t expired, you do not need to complete this step when making bread. Soaking yeast in water does hydrate it and speed activation along, however if you combine all dry ingredients with liquids heated to 120-130°F (which is much warmer than “warm water”) it accomplishes the same thing.
Bread flour will give the homemade buns the best rise and texture because of it’s higher protein content and gluten power. Yes, you can use all-purpose flour if that’s all you have, but I highly recommend bread flour for yeast-risen recipes!
The amount of flour you’ll need for these rolls will vary depending on many factors, which is why I give a range of 3 – 3½ cups. You’ll know you’ve added enough flour when the dough is still very soft and tacky to the touch, but you can handle it without the dough sticking too much to your hands. Adding too much flour will make your rolls tough and dense, so use only as much as you need.
I prefer the ease of using a stand mixer with a dough hook to knead the brioche dough, but it’s possible to do it all by hand. I like this tutorial on how to knead bread by hand.
More homemade buns recipes
Get the recipe
Homemade Sandwich, Slider and Burger Buns
Ingredients
- ¼ cup (57 grams) milk
- ¾ cup (170 grams) water
- 3 tablespoons (42 grams) unsalted butter
- 3-3 ½ cups (360-420 grams) bread flour
- 2 ¼ teaspoons (7 grams) Red Star Platinum Yeast
- 2 tablespoons (25 grams) granulated sugar
- 1 ½ teaspoon salt
- 2 large eggs , beaten
- 1 large egg , beaten with 2 tablespoons water, for egg wash
- Sesame seeds or poppy seeds , optional
Equipment
Instructions
- In a small saucepan, combine the milk, water, and butter. Warm over medium low heat until butter is melted. Cool for about 5 minutes, or until temperature is 120-130°F.
- In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook (or in a large bowl if planning to mix by hand), combine 2½ cups of the bread flour, the yeast, sugar and salt. Add the warm water mixture, followed by the beaten eggs, mixing on low speed until incorporated.
- Add the remaining bread flour 2 tablespoons at a time while mixing on medium low speed until dough almost clears the bowl and is only a slightly sticky to the touch (It’s okay if some dough sticks to your fingers). You may not need all of the remaining flour, or you may need more than is called for. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 5-7 minutes more.
- Cover with plastic wrap and put in a warm place and allow to rise until doubled, about 1.
- Punch down dough and let rest for a few minutes. Divide dough into eight equal pieces for larger buns and 12 equal pieces for smaller rolls. Shape into balls.
- Place on a sheet pan (for buns) or 9×13-inch pan (for smaller rolls) lined with parchment paper. Spray some plastic wrap with non-stick cooking spray and place over the shaped buns/rolls. Return to a warm place and continue to rise for an additional 30 minutes until doubled.
- When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400°F. Brush buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds or poppy seeds, if desired.
- Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes for larger buns and 15 minutes for smaller rolls. Cool completely on a wire rack.
Video
Notes
- Yields 8 larger burger buns or 12 smaller sandwich rolls. Nutritional information is for 8 burger buns.
This recipe was originally published June 2021 and was sponsored by Red Star Yeast. All opinions are my own, as always. Thank you for supporting partnerships with brands I believe in.
These came out perfect. It’s surprisingly hard to find a good homemade bun recipe (as opposed to dinner rolls) and these were incredible!
So light, fluffy, super easy. Just don’t forgot the salt 🤣. Will write this recipe down to make over and over.
These were a huge hit with my family for our ‘build your own sandwich bar’. Sturdy* yet soft. *Used 00 bread flour
Amazing! Thank you for that feedback and comment! 🙂