Whole Wheat Burger Buns
These whole wheat burger buns are perfectly light, fluffy, slightly sweet, and beautifully buttery with a sprinkle of sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, or oats for a little crunch. Pair with your favorite burger.
Servings: 8 buns
Ingredients
Burger Buns
- 1 Tbsp active dry yeast
- 1 c lukewarm water
- 3 Tbsp sugar
- 2 Tbsp reduced fat butter, melted and at room temperature
- 1¼ tsp salt
- 1 large egg
- 2 c white whole wheat flour
- 1½ c unbleached all-purpose flour
Bun Toppings
- 2 Tbsp reduced fat butter, melted
- 1 large egg or egg white
- 1 Tbsp water
- toppings of choice: sesame seeds, everything bagel seasoning, or rolled oats.
Instructions
- In a large bowl, combine yeast, sugar, and lukewarm water. Let the yeast mixture sit for 5 minutes to check that the yeast is active. A layer of foam should form on the top of the liquid if the yeast is still active.
- Stir in the remaining bread ingredients: butter, salt, and egg. For the flour, mix in the 2 cups of whole wheat flour and 1 cup of all purpose flour. The remaining ½ cup of all purpose flour will be used to flour the surface and to mix into the dough if it is too sticky.
- Turn out the dough on a floured surface. Knead the bread until it is no longer floury. If the dough is sticking to your hands, sprinkle a portion of the remaining ½ cup of all purpose flour over the dough and work the flour into the dough. Repeat, as needed, until the dough is flexible and no longer sticky.
- Lightly mist the bowl with cooking spray and return the dough to the bowl. Cover with a clean dish rag. Let the dough raise in a warm place until the dough doubles in size, about 2 hours.
- Divide the dough into 8 equal parts. The easiest way to do this is to cut or tear the dough into half, then cut each half in half again, and repeat one more time until you have roughly 8 equal sections of dough. Tuck the edges of each section of dough under and roll out into a smooth ball. Flatten the balls with the palm of your hands until the dough is roughly 3" in diameter.
- Transfer to a baking sheet that is lined with a nonstick mat or is lightly misted with cooking spray. Cover with a clean dish rag and let raise 1 hour.
- When the dough is nearly done raising, preheat the oven to 375°F. Brush the dough with about half of the melted butter. To make seeded buns, brush the egg wash over the top of the buttered buns. Sprinkle with seeds or seasoning of choice (we recommend sesame seeds or everything bagel seasoning).
- Bake the buns for 15 to 18 minutes, or until lightly golden. Remove from the oven and brush carefully with the remaining butter (you'll have to be especially careful if your buns are seeded).
- Let the buns cool on the baking sheet before slicing in half horizontally. Serve with your favorite burgers and enjoy!
- Store leftover buns at room temperature by wrapping them tightly with plastic wrap and add to a Ziploc bag. You can also refrigerate to store them longer, but they may dry out faster. These buns are also freezer friendly. Tightly wrap with plastic wrap and add to a Ziploc bag before freezing.