The Best Sourdough Burger Buns Recipe (2024)

These Sourdough Burger Buns are deliciously golden on the top and light and soft in the middle. Perfect for burgers, brisket, BBQ pulled pork or artisan sandwiches, you will love these sourdough burger buns!

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If you are into baking sourdough breads like me, you need this recipe in your sourdough recipes arsenal. I have tried many sourdough burger buns recipes over the years, and have always been wondering what could make them better. They were either too chewy, you know the kind, where your jaw gets tired from working so hard? Too dry, or just not flavorful enough.

For this sourdough burger buns recipe, I decided to go back to the drawing board. I thought about what type of sourdough bread would make the best burger buns, and I came to the conclusion that a brioche style burger bun is just what I was wanting. But not too dense, as brioche can sometimes be.

I finally came up with this recipe and I have to say, it was a hit with our family and friends. If you have been searching for the perfect sourdough burger buns recipe, I hope you will give these a try!

Is sourdough bread good for burgers?

Most burger bun recipes call for yeast, which is manufactured to make dough rise quickly. When baking with sourdough starter, the dough fermentation takes a longer amount of time because it is relying on the wild yeasts in the air.

The benefits of using a sourdough starter instead of commercial yeast are vast. Giving the dough time to ferment allows the wheat and phytic acid to be pre-digested, making it more easily digestible and acting as a prebiotic. Sourdough burger buns are an excellent way to make a burger delicious and much healthier!

a note on weighing ingredients vs measuring in cups…

I feel like I need to touch on why I make my sourdough recipes in weight measurements versus volume by cups. When my second baby was about 3 months old, I started my sourdough starter. I was so excited to start making delicious sourdough bread, so I began trying recipes! Most of the recipes I could find online were all measured using cups.

Sometimes my attempt at making a sourdough recipe turned out excellent.. and then the next time I made the same recipe, it was, well.. not so great. It tasted fine mostly, but the inconsistent results were frustrating. Once I started baking sourdough recipes which were measured by weight using a kitchen scale, I realized that the results were consistently the same.

As I began to develop my own sourdough recipes, an important part to me was consistent results when made multiple times. I know using a kitchen scale might be a little intimidating or even seem frustrating at first, but I promise, once you are familiar with it and see how the recipes turn out right every time, I think you will also become a fan of using weighing your ingredients vs measuring for sourdough recipes!

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How to Make Sourdough Burger Buns

Tools you will need:

Stand Mixer or Dough Whisk/Large Wooden or Glass Bowl
Kitchen Scale
Bench Scraper
2 Baking Sheets
Parchment Paper or Silicone Baking Mats
Pastry Brush

Ingredients:

180 g Active Sourdough Starter
285 g Filtered Water
145 g Whole Milk
43 g honey
2 Large Eggs
600 g unbleached All-Purpose Flour – I purchase my flour in bulk through Azure Standard!
64 g unsalted butter, room temperature (Kerrygold is my favorite!)
17 g sea salt

Combine the ingredients

Whisk together the starter, water, milk, honey and eggs till combined. Add the flour, unsalted butter (room temperature) and salt. If using a stand mixer, mix using the dough hook attachment on medium – med/high for 10-15 minutes till the dough pulls away clean from the sides of the bowl. If mixing by hand, use a dough whisk to combine everything and then perform stretch and folds every 30 minutes repeating that process 4-6 times until the dough is holding its shape and is smooth.

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Bulk Rise

After mixing or stretching/folding, cover the bowl with a damp tea towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rise until doubled. Usually around 6-12 hours depending on temperature/climate and maturity of the sourdough starter.

Refrigerate

Once doubled, place the dough covered in the refrigerator for a minimum of 4 hours and up to 24 hours. This is to slow the fermentation process down so that the dough does not overproof, while still allowing the sourdough to process break down the phytic acids and gluten, which is what many people are sensitive to when consuming gluten. Refrigerating the dough also will make shaping the buns so much easier since this is a wetter dough.

Shape sourdough burger buns

After the dough has chilled, scrape it out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 12 equal parts for 12 buns. You can eyeball this or actually weigh it out to get uniform sized buns.

Second Rise (shorter time)

Place the dough balls on two baking sheets lined with parchment paper or silicone baking sheets. Cover with a light weight tea towel and let the dough rise for another 1-4 hours until doubled in size (again, timing depends on temperature/climate).

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Egg Wash + Bake Sourdough Burger Buns

Once the sourdough burger buns have doubled in size, gently apply an egg wash (1 egg + 1 TBS milk) to the tops of the burger buns using a basting brush.

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Bake in a 375 oven for 25-30 minutes until the buns are a warm golden color. Transfer to a cooling rack and allow to cool completely before cutting and serving. Enjoy!

Store any extra buns in an airtight container at room temperature or in a linen bread bag and bread box for a few days.

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Pin these sourdough burger buns for later!

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OTHER SOURDOUGH RECIPES TO TRY!

Sourdough Orange Cinnamon Rolls
Artisan Rustic Sourdough Bread
Sourdough Sandwich Bread
Pumpkin Spice Sourdough Bagels
Sourdough Croissants
Sourdough Dinner Rolls

If you try this recipe and love it, I would love to know! Come back and leave a review! Tag me on Instagram@oursimplegraces