Light, fluffy and easy to make, sourdough discard hamburger buns will upgrade your next cookout. They're also the perfect size for most standard burger patties.
A Beginner Sourdough Recipe
I started with discard recipes when I was new to sourdough bread baking because they take less time to prepare compared to traditional sourdough. They're leavened with active dry yeast which rises faster than working with sourdough starter alone.
This recipe is very similar to my sourdough discard dinner rolls, but with a slightly different method. So if you love this recipe, try that one next!
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Ingredients
- Dry active yeast
- Warm milk - Between 100F and 110F will be most effective for activating your yeast
- Sugar
- Eggs
- Oil - I usually use either olive oil or avocado oil since they're neutral in flavor. Melted butter would work here, too!
- Sourdough Discard - If you're new to sourdough, learn more about discard from this article.
- Salt
- Flour - I like to use unbleached all purpose flour for this recipe which yeilds a soft bun. If you prefer a bit more of a chewy bun, go for bread flour which contains more protein and develops more gluten when it's being kneaded.
See recipe card for quantities.
Equipment
- Kitchen scale - I love using a kitchen scale because it's more precise, and it means I'll have less dishes to do. I just place my mixing bowl on the scale and dump ingredients right into the bowl keeping an eye on the numbers. For example, measuring the flour, I place the mixing bowl on the scale, hit the "tare" button to zero out the scale and then start adding flour until the scale says 435 grams. No need to clean measuring cups after!
- Dough scraper - This is one of my favorite bread tools. It's silicone so it bends and makes it so much easier for scraping the dough ball out of the bowl after the first rise.
- Stand mixer with the dough hook attachment - Again, another tool that isn't required. But I do love to use a stand mixer when baking bread. I'm a lazy baker, so I leave all the kneading to my KitchenAid.
- Instant Read Thermometer - Read any bread recipe on this website and you'll know I'm obsessed with an instant-read thermometer. I stick it into my breads and other baked goods at the end to make sure they're fully cooked. Buns like this are done when the thermometer reads between 185F and 190F.
- 9 x 13 Baking pan - My favorite is this one from USA. I actually don't grease it when I make these rolls and they come out clean every time. But if I use a different pan, I make sure to use non-stick spray so the rolls come out clean.
Instructions
Let's make some sourdough discard buns!
- Step 1: Prepare the dough and let it rest covered in a bowl until doubled in size.
- Step 2: Once it's doubled, punch it down and remove the dough with a dough scraper.
- Step 3: Weigh your dough to determine the full weight. Then divide by 12 (the number of rolls) to determine how much each roll should weigh.
- Step 4: Cut down the dough using a bench scraper or knife into individual pieces based on the weight from your previous step.
- Step 5: Create a roll out of each dough ball by folding up the sides of the dough ball together, creating surface tension on the underside, then do the same with the opposite sides of the ball so you get a nice taught surface on the underside.
- Step 6: Place the dough ball seam side down on your work surface and roll in circular motion continuing to round out the dough ball and maintain nice tension on the top of the roll, pressing it against the countertop.
- Step 7: Place the dough ball on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, silicone sheets or sprayed with non-stick cooking spray and repeat rolling each remaining dough ball, placing them so that there's plenty of space for the rolls to expand when they rise and bake.
- Step 8: Cover the rolls with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel for a second rise for 30 to 45 minutes until puffed up. You can test if they're ready if when you gently press your finger dusted with a bit of flour into the top, the dough very slowly rises back. If it bounces back fast, then they can proof for a bit longer. While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350F.
- Step 9: Brush then with egg wash.
- Step 10: Top with sesame seeds if you like.
- Step 11: Bake at 350F for 15 - 20 minutes until golden on tops and a thermometer inserted into the center reads 185F to 190F.
Top Tip
Use the poke test to know if your buns are proofed and ready to bake. Dust your finger with some flour and then press it gently into one of the rolls. If it springs back quickly the rolls aren't quite ready and need more time to proof. But if it slowly smooths out from where you poked it, they're ready to bake.
Storage
Keep the burger buns in an airtight container or bag at room temperature to stay fresh the longest.
Putting them in the fridge dries them out faster by pulling out moisture!
Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns
- Prep Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 min
- Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes
- Yield: 12 buns
- Category: bread
- Method: baking
- Cuisine: American
Description
Light, fluffy and easy to make, sourdough discard hamburger buns will upgrade your next cookout. Perfectly sized for standard burger patties!
Ingredients
- 1 ½ tsp (5g) dry active yeast
- ½ cup (118g) warm milk (100F to 110F)
- 1 Tbs (12g) sugar
- 2 large eggs plus 1 for an egg wash
- 3 ½ Tbs (47g) neutral flavored oil (avocado, vegetable or extra virgin olive oil all work great)
- 1 cup (240g) sourdough discard
- 1 tsp (6g) salt
- 3 ½ cups (435g) bread flour
- Sesame seeds *optional
Instructions
In a mixing bowl or the bowl of a stand mixer, add 1 ½ teaspoon (5g) of active dry yeast and ½ cup (118g) of warm milk (100F to 110F) and let it sit for five minutes until the yeast has gotten foamy on top of the water.
To the bowl add 1 Tbs (12 g) granulated sugar, 2 large eggs, 3 ½ Tbs (47g) oil, 1 cup (240g) sourdough discard, 1 teaspoon (6g) of fine salt, and 3 ½ cups (435g) of all-purpose flour.
Mix together the ingredients with the dough hook on a stand mixer or by hand. Once a dough ball has formed, proceed to knead for 8 minutes. If using a stand mixer, I use the medium speed. The dough will be a bit sticky and will cling to the bottom of the bowl, but pull away from the sides of the bowl. You know kneading is complete when the dough is smooth and elastic.
Take out the dough hook and keep the dough in the bowl and cover it with plastic or a kitchen towel. Let the dough rise for 45 to 60 minutes until the dough has doubled in size. The warmer your room, the faster the dough will rise. The cooler, the slower it will rise.
Once the dough has doubled in size, remove it from the bowl using a silicone dough scraper or your hands and place it on a lightly floured surface.
Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces (approximately 76-80g each).
Create a bun out of each dough ball by folding up the sides of the dough ball together, creating surface tension on the underside, then do the same with the opposite sides of the ball so you get a nice taught surface on the underside. *see photo in post above for visual reference
Then, place the dough ball seam side down on your work surface and roll in circular motion continuing to round out the dough ball and maintain nice tension on the top of the bun, pressing it against the countertop.
Place the dough ball on a sheet pan lined with parchment or a silicone mat and repeat rolling each remaining dough ball, placing the dough balls far enough apart from each other to accommodate the rolls continuing to rise and expand. I fill half a sheet pan with six buns.
Cover the buns with plastic wrap or a kitchen towel for a second rise for 30 to 45 minutes until puffed up and when you gently press your finger dusted with a bit of flour into the top, the dough very slowly rises back. If it bounces back fast, then they can proof for a bit longer.
While the rolls are rising, preheat the oven to 350F.
Once your buns are proofed and ready, if you want to add the egg wash, whisk one egg and then brush it lightly across the tops of all of your rolls using a pastry brush. Sprinkle on sesame seeds if you like.
Bake the rolls at 350F for 15 to 20 minutes until golden brown on top. A way to verify that they are done is that an instant-read thermometer reads between 185F and 190F when inserted into the center of a roll.
Allow the rolls to cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1
- Calories: 221
- Sugar: 1.7 g
- Sodium: 211.1 mg
- Fat: 5.7 g
- Carbohydrates: 34.9 g
- Fiber: 1.2 g
- Protein: 7.1 g
- Cholesterol: 31.2 mg
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