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
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.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
My hamburger buns turned out great! My first time making hamburger buns especially with discard. Some buns turned out larger than others which worked out because some times I just want a small burger. They were soft and fluffy. Not going to buy store hamburger buns again!
Yummy and quick.
I’m going to make these. I have a question about my starter. My house is very cold especially at night. I usually use a lamp to keep it warm but it’s inconsistent. It’s very warm on one side but not the other. I’m trying to figure out where to keep it so the temperature is warm enough and the same temperature all the way around it. It’s in the oven with the light on right now but I can’t keep it there because I use my oven a lot. I saw your suggestion of keeping it on top of the fridge. That sounds like a great idea. I’ve never thought of that. Thank you for your help!
Can I substitute something for the honey, I’m out? Sugar or maple syrup?
Maple syrup will work.
If you have a gas oven the pilot light may be warm enough. I put mine in my electric oven with the light on and that holds a temp
Is the nutritional value for one bun or all eight?
One bun.
I made a double recipe of these today. I put everything bagel seasoning on top! Oh my word, these are awesome. We ate some tonight as meatballs sandwiches! I will be using this recipe again,and again! Yummy! My new go to recipe! I may use this recipe as a recipe for sweet rolls. I’ll add more honey and another egg. Can’t wait to experiment.
Hi Lisa! Very new to sourdough – as in I FINALLY made a successful starter (after 4 attempts) that’s currently bubbling up on my counter and I’m trying to figure out what to do with it haha.
Wondering if I can make this recipe with my bubbly active starter? I don’t have time to make your other recipe since I need buns for sloppy joes tonight.
Thanks for your thoughts! Love your recipes…I’ve learned so much from you!
I came here because I’m making sloppy Joe’s also! I had made ketchup today and saved some to make homemade sloppy Joe mix with ground venison.
Happy kitchen time!
I made these last night. The dough was very dense and heavy. The buns are tasteless and dry. Will not make again. I was looking for light and fluffy. They did look pretty.
I am sorry you did not enjoy the recipe.
Excited to try these but I like to cook to temp, what should the internal temperature be for these?
180-190!
My first recipe with the discard is definitely going to be made again. Thank you for sharing!
Why a glass bowl? I don’t have a glass mixing bowl..