Homemade Brioche Bun Recipe

Classic egg and butter dough made into beautiful homemade brioche hamburger buns. They’ll be the talk of your summer BBQs!

Rich, buttery, and flavorful…and not as hard as you may think. These tasty buns will be the perfect companion to your juicy hamburgers or sloppy joes. Try pairing with Fruit Salad, Hasselback Potatoes, and Mom’s Oven Baked Beans.

Brioche Hamburger Buns on a baking sheet

Homemade Brioche Buns

One thing I really wanted to tackle this summer was homemade burger buns. Our grocery store back in Utah sold some really good brioche buns, but I knew with our upcoming move I’d no longer be able to rely on them.

 I did some research, tested out a few recipes and pieced together one that I’m really happy with! These buns are light and fluffy- perfect for burgers, pulled pork or chicken!!

What makes brioche buns different? Brioche bread is richer and sweeter than typical white bread. It has more milk and eggs than a typical white yeast bread so it makes it more of a pastry than a typical hamburger bun. It is a special treat when we have brioche hamburger buns because they add an extra layer of deliciousness to our burgers!

Dough for homemade brioche hamburger buns in a mixing bowl

How to Make Brioche Buns

To start you’ll make the dough (pictured above). It’s very soft and sticky, so don’t be tempted to add extra flour! That’ll just result in dense, dry buns, and we definitely DON’T want that!

DOUGH. Whisk together the warm water, milk, yeast and sugar, then beat in the eggs. With paddle attachment, mix the flours, salt and butter. Mix on low for 1 minute. Pour in yeast mixture to flour mixture. With dough hook, mix on medium speed for 7-9 minutes (until a soft, sticky dough forms).

RISE. When the dough has been mixed, roll it into a ball, cover it, and let it rise until it doubles.

FORM. Portion the dough out into 8 equal pieces (I used a bench scraper and a scale to get equal size portions). Roll it into tight little balls (see method in recipe). Place them onto a lined baking sheet and cover them with greased foil or plastic wrap.

TOP. Make the egg wash by whisking the egg yolk with water. Brush generously on each bun, covering the entire surface. Sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.

SPRITZ. Use a spray bottle or mister bottle and spritz your hot oven. (This sounds strange, I know, but if you live in a dry climate, it is essential to creating moist, springy bread with a nice crust!) Spritz the tops of your buns, just don’t go overboard.

BAKE. Bake on lined baking sheet at 375 degrees for 15-18 minutes or until they turn a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Brioche bun recipe topped with sesame seeds

Recipe FAQ

Flour:

  • Why use both types of flour? The balance of bread flour and AP flour gives the best texture and development of gluten. Brioche is a very specific and picky type of pastry, hence the precise measurements.
  • You can switch out the AP flour for whole wheat flour. Keep the bread flour in the recipe to get the right texture. You may have to add more butter to get some of the moisture back into the bread if you use whole wheat flour.

Why use warm milk? The yeast is added to the warm milk because it will help the yeast bloom because the lactose or “milk sugar” will feed the yeast and form more air bubbles. It is similar to adding the yeast to warm water, ubt the milk gives it more of a rich flavor.

What do you eat brioche bun with? Brioche buns make a great stand in for any typical hamburger bun. This means you can use it for pulled pork, pulled chicken, hamburgers, grilled chicken sandwiches, sloppy joes, basically whatever meat your sandwich is in need of. Then, pair your sandwich/burger with a nice side like fruit salad, pasta salad, or baked beans.

Close up of Homemade Brioche Buns

How to Store Brioche Buns

Storing? Store hamburger buns in an airtight container/bag at room temp for 3-5 days. If they aren’t stored correctly they will grow stale very quickly.

Freezing dough vs buns? When freezing homemade buns, wrap them individually in plastic wrap and foil and place in a large freezer bag. They will last about 2 months. Let them thaw at room temp for 4 hours before reheating in the oven.

When freezing dough, you need to let it go through its final rise and then place it in a freezer safe bag. It will only last for 10 days!

A Brioche Hamburger Bun sliced in half

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Homemade Brioche Burger Buns | lifemadesimplebakes.com

Homemade Brioche Hamburger Buns

Classic egg and butter dough made into beautiful homemade brioche hamburger buns. They'll be the talk of your summer BBQs!
4.91 from 11 votes
Pin Rate
Course: Bread
Cuisine: American
Prep Time: 3 hours
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Servings: 8 Buns
Calories: 476kcal
Author: Andrea
Print Recipe

Ingredients

  • 1 c. warm whole milk
  • 2 tbsp. warm water
  • 2 tsp. active dry yeast
  • 2 tbsp. granulated sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 3 c. bread flour
  • 1/3 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 1/4 tsp. kosher salt
  • 3 tbsp. unsalted butter - room temperature

For the topping:

  • 1 egg yolk
  • 1/2 tsp. water
  • 2 tbsp. sesame seeds - optional

Instructions

  • In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the warm water, milk, yeast and sugar, then beat in the eggs.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, add the flours, salt and butter. Mix on low for 1 minute. Pour in yeast mixture into the bowl of the stand mixer.
  • Switch to the dough hook. Turn mixing speed on medium for 7-9 minutes until a soft, sticky dough forms.
  • Shape the dough into a ball, then cover the bowl with a damp kitchen towel and let it rise until doubled, this can take anywhere from 1- 3 hours depending on the temperature and humidity in your house. Keep an eye on it after the hour mark.
  • Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a baking mat. Punch the dough down and divide the dough into 8 equal pieces (you can use a kitchen scale to be exact).
  • To shape the dough, flatten each piece, then gather the ends and pinch the dough to seal in the center. Flip the dough over, cup the surface with your palm, and roll it into a ball. Place each ball of dough about 2 inches apart. Cover with a greased piece of plastic wrap or foil (this will prevent the dough from sticking to it). Rest in a warm place for 1 hour, or until puffy and slightly risen.
  • Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
  • To make the egg wash, in a small bowl, whisk the egg yolk with water. Brush generously on each bun, covering the entire surface, then sprinkle with sesame seeds, if desired.
  • Using a spray bottle or mister bottle, open your oven and spritz it several times (6 times or so with a big bottle, 10 times or so with a little bottle). Spritz the top of the buns with water. This will help prevent them from cracking, especially if you live in a dry climate. Place the buns in the oven and bake for 15-18 minutes or until they turn a deep golden brown. Remove from the oven and allow to cool on the sheets for 5 minutes before transferring them to a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutrition

Serving: 1Bun | Calories: 476kcal | Carbohydrates: 79g | Protein: 16g | Fat: 11g | Saturated Fat: 4g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 2g | Monounsaturated Fat: 3g | Trans Fat: 1g | Cholesterol: 80mg | Sodium: 332mg | Potassium: 186mg | Fiber: 3g | Sugar: 6g | Vitamin A: 280IU | Vitamin C: 1mg | Calcium: 95mg | Iron: 2mg

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About the Author

Andrea

Hi I'm Andrea!

Hotelier turned Food Blogger to help make your life simple, one recipe at a time.

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Comments:

    1. Yes! You can mix the ingredients together with a hand mixed and then knead the dough by hand (instead of using the dough hook).

  1. 5 stars
    This is the first time that I have ever made these. They were so simple and did not last long! I am not a roll or bread maker and these turned out perfectly!