Learn to make tender, buttery sourdough discard hamburger buns with this same-day recipe. With some basic ingredients and a bit of discard, you can save yourself a trip to the grocery store and create homemade burger buns with the perfect texture and rich, wholesome flavor.
With the weather warming up, I see so many posts about grilling, cookouts, and picnics with fresh deli sandwiches. I’m right there with you.
Any time I can get at least some of the heat out of the kitchen in the warmer months, I’m on board.
I also just love the warm weather and all that the garden will bring. Soon we will be enjoying glorious, fresh produce for daily meals, baking, and preserving.
I’m also a big supporter of recipes that utilize sourdough discard — both for the flavor and to be purposeful in not wasting good food. Check out some more great sourdough discard ideas here.
So in honor of warmer temperatures and cooking outdoors, here is a wonderful recipe for sourdough discard hamburger buns.
These buns are quick and easy, incredibly simple to prepare, and most importantly — delicious.
With a glossy, golden top and a soft, lightly sweetened crumb, these are a great choice for your summer cookouts.
They are structured enough to hold a burger and all your toppings without being too chewy or too weak.
It’s a good balance of not wanting to demolish your perfectly layered sandwich because you have to bite through a delightfully but obnoxiously chewy crust, and also wanting it to be firm enough not to become soggy from tomato juice or crumble under pressure.
For all those reasons, as well as the mild sourdough flavor, I’m really very pleased with these.
Since we are using discard rather than an active starter, this recipe calls for commercial yeast and a series of two short rises.
All in all, this is a quick recipe. You’ll have fresh hamburger buns in less than 3 hours!
Why You’ll Love This recipe
Discard recipe: This is another great recipe to use up your sourdough discard and sneak in the sourdough tang we all love.
Texture & flavor: This recipe produces soft buns full of buttery, sourdough flavor and a bit of sweetness from the honey. They are tender and fluffy while still being structured.
Versatility: I love how these buns can effortlessly serve as hamburger buns, sandwich buns, sliders, or dinner rolls. They can easily fit most occasions.
Tips
- The temperature of the environment will determine the rise times. When I need a quicker rise, I place my covered dough in a warm place. This might be next to a heat source, on top of your fridge, or in a sunny window seat that traps heat.
- A stand mixer is not necessary, but if you prefer it, go ahead! Use a dough hook attachment for best results.
- The time listed for kneading the dough is a guideline. If your dough is still quite tacky, continue kneading until it feels smooth and workable. One of the benefits of working the dough by hand is the literal feel you have for when the dough is just right.
- You can adjust the size of these buns — larger or smaller, more or less — to fit the crowd or recipe. Bake time will need to be adjusted accordingly.
- When shaping the buns, you can use a kitchen scale to produce perfectly even buns if you prefer. You also won’t go wrong by just eyeing it.
- Top with honey mustard glaze and poppy seeds for hot ham and cheese or shredded pork sandwiches. These are versatile, so don’t hesitate to change up the flavors on top! Fresh herbs, garlic, a variety of seeds — there are so many different ways to flavor these fluffy sourdough buns.
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Tools You May Need
Large mixing bowl or stand mixer
Wooden spoon
Parchment paper
Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns Ingredients
Milk – Warm, not hot, to activate the yeast.
Yeast – Instant dry yeast to provide a quick rise.
Honey – A bit of honey gives the perfect touch of sweetness.
Butter – Unsalted, melted but not hot.
Egg – A large egg, lightly beaten.
Sourdough discard – A small amount of starter discard adds delicious flavor.
All-purpose flour – Use your favorite here.
Salt – I use sea salt.
Egg Wash
Egg yolk
Water
Sesame seeds (optional)
How to Make Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns
Begin by adding the warm milk to your large bowl with the instant yeast and honey. Whisk until the honey is dissolved and the yeast is combined.
Add the melted butter, egg, sourdough discard, all-purpose flour, and salt to the same bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
Turn this rough dough out onto your countertop and begin kneading. You will knead for about 4 to 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth.
Form the dough into a ball, and place it into a lightly greased, large glass bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size. This will take approximately 90 minutes, depending on the temperature.
Prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
With the dough on a hard work surface, begin dividing it into 8 equal parts. A bench scraper can be helpful here for cutting and moving around the dough.
Shape each dough piece into bun shapes by pulling the top smooth and tucking the sides underneath. You’ll space them out, 4 buns per baking sheet.
Cover and let the dough rise a second time until doubled in size. This may take around 60 minutes.
With the second rise completed, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Prepare the egg wash by whisking the egg yolk with the water.
Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds or your topping of choice. The egg wash gives the buns a beautiful glossy crust.
Bake the buns for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are glossy and golden brown.
Cool completely before slicing and serving. You can use a cooling rack, or simply cool on the baking sheet.
Storage
While these are best served right away, you can store them in an airtight bag or container at room temperature for a few days.
If you’d like to freeze them for future use, let them cool completely, then store them in an airtight and freezer-safe container for up to 3 months. Thaw at room temperature, then gently reheat them in the oven.
FAQ
To maintain a healthy sourdough starter, you’ll be “discarding” a portion of it frequently. Sourdough starter needs to be fed consistently, and with these feedings, it is multiplying in size. If you aren’t using your starter daily, then you’ll need to remove a portion of it to keep the starter at a healthy size. The portion that you remove is said to be discarded — though I strongly suggest keeping all of it for use in discard recipes like all of these. Just keep the discard in a separate jar in the fridge, feeding it every 7-10 days, and keep on using it.
Buns may turn out more dense if you add too much flour. When kneading on the countertop, a small amount of flour may be helpful to keep the dough from sticking, but too much can affect the texture of the buns when they’re baked. I find that the dough doesn’t need a floured surface after the first rise, but is pretty easily worked with.
Sourdough buns are risen strictly utilizing wild yeast and long fermentation times, yielding deeper sourdough flavor and better digestibility because of the fermentation process.
Sourdough discard recipes are quicker, adding commercial yeast to bring about the rise. Discard recipes still have some sourdough flavor, but it is much milder, and the health benefits are not as impactful.
Self-Paced Online Course
Simple Sourdough
What’s in this course?
- Make your own robust starter
- Bake your first loaves of sourdough bread
- Understand sourdough better
- Expand your sourdough bread repertoire
- Download my Complete Recipe Book
More recipes from the farmhouse:
- The Best Sourdough Crepes
- Easy Sourdough Popovers
- Homemade Gnocchi with Einkorn Flour
- Easy Buttermilk Sourdough Bread
- Delicious Sourdough Breadsticks
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you could come back and give it 5 stars! Tag me on Instagram @farmhouseonboone
Sourdough Discard Hamburger Buns
Equipment
- Stand Mixer optional
Ingredients
- ¾ cup warm milk
- 2 teaspoons instant dry yeast
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
- 1 egg lightly beaten.
- ½ cup sourdough discard
- 3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 tsp salt
Egg Wash
- 1 egg yolk
- 1 tablespoon water
- Sesame seeds – optional
Instructions
- Add warm milk to a large bowl with instant yeast and honey. Whisk until the honey is dissolved and the yeast is combined.
- Add the melted butter, egg, sourdough discard, all-purpose flour, and salt to the same bowl. Stir well with a wooden spoon until a shaggy dough forms.
- Turn this rough dough out onto your countertop and begin kneading. You will knead for about 4 to 5 minutes until the dough becomes smooth.
- Form the dough into a ball, and place it into a lightly greased, large glass bowl. Cover with a tea towel or plastic wrap, and set it in a warm spot to rise until doubled in size. This will take approximately 90 minutes, depending on the temperature.
- Prepare your baking sheets by lining them with parchment paper.
- With the dough on a hard work surface, begin dividing it into 8 equal parts.
- Shape each dough piece into bun shapes by pulling the top smooth and tucking the sides underneath. You’ll space them out, 4 buns per baking sheet.
- Cover and let the dough rise a second time until doubled in size. This may take around 60 minutes.
- With the second rise completed, preheat your oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
- Prepare the egg wash by whisking the egg yolk with the water.
- Brush the top of the dough with the egg wash, then sprinkle with sesame seeds or your topping of choice. The egg wash gives the buns a beautiful glossy crust.
- Bake the buns for 20 to 25 minutes, until they are glossy and golden brown.
- Cool completely before slicing and serving. You can use a cooling rack, or simply cool on the baking sheet.
Notes
- The temperature of the environment will determine the rise times. When I need a quicker rise, I place my covered dough in a warm place. This might be next to a heat source, on top of your fridge, or in a sunny window seat that traps heat.
- A stand mixer is not necessary, but if you prefer it, go ahead! Use a dough hook attachment for best results.
- The time listed for kneading the dough is a guideline. If your dough is still quite tacky, continue kneading until it feels smooth and workable. One of the benefits of working the dough by hand is the literal feel you have for when the dough is just right.
- You can adjust the size of these buns — larger or smaller, more or less — to fit the crowd or recipe. Bake time will need to be adjusted accordingly.
Lorelei Yerse says
This dough was way too wet to knead so I added about 3/4 cup of flour, 1/4 cup at a time until it got to kneading consistency. Maybe my discard was too liquidy? Because of the extra flour I added, I had more total volume, so divided into 12 buns. They turned out perfectly! Great recipe – will make these again.
Penny says
Hi! Would this dough freeze well? If so how would that be done properly? I love these buns and I’d love to be able to prep and freeze them so I can always have them on the ready!
Lisa Bass says
You can bake them and then freeze if you like. Alternatively, you could shape them and then freeze. Pull them out and let them do their second rise & then bake again.
Kelsey Robertson says
Turned out great! Super easy! I am going to try and freeze half for later, see how they turn out!
Deborah Ferguson says
Hello, I was wondering when your sourdough book is coming out. Your recipes really work well for me. Love them! And look forward to having them all at hand.
Lisa Bass says
It’s coming out on October 22!
Deborah says
Yahoo!
Vanessa says
I was asked to bake some hamburger buns for my friend’s BBQ kind of last minute. I was so thankful to come across this recipe since I still wanted to incorporate my sourdough starter and be able to make them the same day. I popped all the ingredients in my KBS bread machine and the dough was FANTASTIC. It produced some of the best soft tasty burger buns I e ever made and they were a big hit at the BBQ. We had a couple leftover so I stuck them in the freezer and they were just as good reheated. Thank you so much for sharing this recipe.
Tara Herring says
Can the recipe be halved? Only 2 of us.
Lisa Bass says
Yes.