Sourdough Hamburger Buns

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These sourdough hamburger buns are perfectly soft and chewy. They’re the ideal companion for your grass fed beef burgers, or anytime you need a delicious and healthy sourdough bun. 

Sourdough hamburger buns

One of the things I love to do in the kitchen is to take beloved recipes and make them healthier, AND even more delicious. If you’re into that kind of thing as well, you’ll want to try my sourdough pizza crust recipe here.

If you want some dill pickles to go with your burgers, you’ll want my recipe for fermented pickles that stay crisp, which you can get here. Learn how to make my sourdough pasta recipe here. If you want to make healthy tortillas, get my sourdough tortillas recipe here, and also check out my sourdough pancakes and sourdough dinner rolls. 

For this recipe you’ll need some active sourdough starter. I show you how to make your own Nourishing Traditions sourdough starter here.

It’s really easy!

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Why make your own sourdough hamburger buns?

This sourdough hamburger bun recipe allows you to enjoy a delicious, soft and chewy bun, while getting all the health benefits of properly prepared grains.  By changing the shape, you can make them as sourdough hotdog buns, too!

The long rise time deactivates those pesky anti nutrients, while unlocking the nutrients in the grains to make them available for our body to easily digest and use (source). I like to make these as overnight sourdough hamburger buns to get that nice long rise time. 

And, these homemade sourdough hamburger buns are so satisfying, you’ll never want to go back to any other kind! 

Tips for making homemade sourdough hamburger buns

How do you make hamburger buns from scratch? It’s pretty simple. Like so many sourdough recipes, the hands on time is quite minimal. It’s really just a matter of working it into your weekly or monthly baking routine.

To help you get started, here are a few tips for making sourdough hamburger buns…

• When forming the bun shape, keep in mind the size of the patty that you will serve. No one wants giant buns and tiny meat patties (or vice versa).
• I love to add sesame seeds for that authentic touch, but keep in mind that they are not necessary.
• I like to double or triple this recipe and freeze the extras (see below) for quick meals or nights I don’t really feel like cooking.

Ready to make your own sourdough hamburger buns? Keep reading for the recipe…

How to make homemade sourdough hamburger buns

You and your family deserve a really great burger. Of course, every great burger starts with an even better hamburger bun! Here is my favorite sourdough hamburger bun recipe…

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup active sourdough starter (I fed my starter with whole grain spelt for this recipe)
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 cups flour (I used unbleached white)
• 1/2 cup water or more
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions:

1. Put sourdough starter, salt, and honey in mixing bowl for stand mixer.
2. Add 3 cups flour and 1/2 cup water.
3. Begin to mix. Add more water, up to 1/2 cup, if needed, until dough forms a sticky ball. 
4. Knead in mixer for 3 minutes.
5. Let dough rise at room temperature overnight, or at least 7 hours. 
6. Shape dough into 6 equal portions and shape into bun shapes.
7. Let buns rise until doubled or tripled in size, around 4-6 hours. 
8. Brush tops of buns with egg yolk and milk, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
9. Bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes.
10. Let cool on cooling rack. 

This recipe will make between 6-8 burger buns and between 12-16 sliders (depending on how much meat you use).

What is the best sourdough starter to use?

You can use a variety of different flours for this sourdough hamburger bun recipe. For example, you can use this recipe to make the ultimate healthy whole wheat hamburger bun recipe, or combination of flours, or use whatever flour you like.

I feed my sourdough starter with rye flour in general, and then use whatever flour I want to bake with it. When I feed my starter, I try to have it be the consistency of a thick pancake batter.

My favorite way to make sourdough buns is to use my rye starter, and then feed it whole grain spelt flour as I’m getting it active and ready to bake. Then, when I’m putting the dough together, I add some organic, non enriched, all purpose white flour to give the buns some lightness.

Keep scrolling for some inspiration on what you should serve on top of your burger…

How do you store sourdough hamburger buns?

Sourdough hamburger buns stay fresh at room temperature for a few days. Something like this linen bag is perfect for storing them if you are working to keep toxins out of your home like I do. 

To store them longer than a few days, I keep them in the fridge for up to a week or in the freezer for longterm storage. 

Can hamburger buns be frozen?

Yes! Several of my family members don’t eat grains on a regular basis, while several of us do. I like to make a big batch of sourdough hamburger buns, and freeze most of them. 

Whenever I make burger patties or another meal that goes with buns, I just pull a couple of my sourdough buns out of the freezer, pop them in the toaster oven, and they’re as delicious as ever.

If you’re looking for a delicious topping for your homemade hamburgers, check out my lacto fermented zucchini relish recipe here. 

I also like to batch bake and freeze my Nourishing Traditions sourdough bread. If you want to make some pie, check out my lard pie crust recipe. 

What to serve on homemade burger buns

For this recipe, there are plenty of ways to customize it and make it your own. Here are a few hamburger toppings that would be a hit at any BBQ: 

• The Classic. Tomato, romaine lettuce, ketchup and mustard. 
• The Cluck-Cluck. Fry up an egg and top it.
• The Ferment. Top your burger with KimChi for this asian inspired cuisine. 

These are just a few, with some silly names to make your meal even more fun. This sourdough hamburger burger recipe will complement any burger topping that you want to use!

Other sourdough recipes

Pizza crust

Nourishing Traditions sourdough bread

How to make a sourdough starter from scratch

What are your favorite things to make with sourdough?

Share your favorites in the comments!

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Shop this post: Sourdough tools I use

I love this danish dough whisk for mixing my sourdough starter whenever I feed it, or whenever I’m making something with thinner dough. 

My Kitchenaid mixer makes kneading super easy. 

I like this jar for storing my main sourdough starter.

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Yield: 6 buns

Sourdough Hamburger Buns

Print

These sourdough hamburger buns are perfectly soft and chewy. They're the ideal companion for your grass fed beef burgers, or anytime you need a delicious and healthy sourdough bun. 

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 30 minutes

Additional Time 14 hours

Total Time 14 hours 45 minutes

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup active sourdough starter
• 2 tsp salt
• 3 tbsp honey
• 3 cups flour 
• 1/2 cup water or more
• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk
• 1 tsp sesame seeds

Instructions

1. 1. Put sourdough starter, salt, and honey in mixing bowl for stand mixer.
2. Add 3 cups flour and 1/2 cup water.
3. Begin to mix. Add more water, up to 1/2 cup, if needed, until dough forms a sticky ball.
4. Knead in mixer for 3 minutes.
5. Let dough rise at room temperature overnight, or at least 7 hours.
6. Shape dough into 6 equal portions and shape into bun shapes.
7. Let buns rise until doubled or tripled in size, around 4-6 hours.
8. Brush tops of buns with egg yolk and milk, then sprinkle with sesame seeds.
9. Bake at 375ºF for 30 minutes.
10. Let cool on cooling rack.

Notes

Feel free to use whatever bread type flours you like, in white, whole grain, or a mix.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

6

Serving Size:

1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 311Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 31mgSodium: 791mgCarbohydrates: 64gFiber: 2gSugar: 9gProtein: 9g