Sourdough Buns

Soft and fluffy sourdough buns are perfect for sandwiches or your summer BBQs. These fermented rolls make great hamburger buns.

Summer is approaching, and between warm weather, a huge new garden, and an abundance of veggies that come with it, we couldn’t be more excited.

We recently tore down our garden cottage and built raised garden beds. This past week, Luke added a lovely picket fence to protect our soon-to-be prolific garden.

Something else that we look forward to every summer happens to be family barbecues. 

There is nothing like a delicious, grass-fed burger on fluffy, sourdough hamburger buns, topped with a fat, juicy slice of homegrown heirloom tomatoes and some homemade pickles.

These would also make great sourdough dinner rolls, but I prefer this recipe for those.

Benefits Of Sourdough

Grains contain phytic acid. Phytic acid is an antinutrient found in grains, beans, and nuts that interferes with the absorption of certain nutrients. 

Proper preparation of grains, like fermenting with sourdough, eliminates most, if not all, of the phytic acid.

This is the very reason traditional cultures soaked and fermented their grains, seeds, and beans. 

Instead of using instant yeast packets, people in traditional cultures leavened their bread with a fermented starter that captured all the yeasts in the environment.

These days, we’ve lost that art, and so many people have a difficult time digesting grains. Let’s bring back the sourdough and fermented grains.

Tips For Making Sourdough Buns:

• Ferment the dough overnight for the most benefits, or make a quick version.
• The egg will be difficult to incorporate. I use my hands to work it in a bit, and then the dough hook on the stand mixer for a few minutes to finish the job.
• I wanted to let the dough sit out overnight for the fermentation benefits, but I didn’t want the egg to be in it for that process. Adding it in the next day works surprisingly well. 
• If you are new to sourdough, make sure to see how to make your own sourdough starter and how to care for it.

How do you shape a sourdough bun?

Place a small amount of dough on a floured surface and pull the dough up and fold it into itself 3-4 times until a ball forms. Place the dough seam side down.

Why is my sourdough bread so flat?

There could be a few reasons for this:

• The bread was not proofed enough. Allow the buns to double in size on the baking sheet before placing them in the oven.
• Over-proofing. Allowing the dough to proof too long can cause them to be flat. You can reshape them and proof again for a shorter period.
• The temperature was too low during baking.

Why does my sourdough not hold its shape?

If the dough was under kneaded, it may not hold its shape. To fix this, make sure to knead the dough well to improve gluten development.

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Tools you may need:

Stand mixer

Grain mill to grind fresh grain (optional)

Measuring cups

Berkey water filter

Baking sheet

Parchment paper

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup fresh sourdough starter
• 3/4 cup warm water
• 3 cups all-purpose flour 
• 1/4 cup melted coconut oil or butter 
• 3 tbs honey 
• 1 tsp salt 
• 1 egg – add in the next day, if long fermenting.

Egg wash (optional step)

• 1 egg
• 1 tbsp milk

How To Make Sourdough Buns

For Long Fermented Sourdough Buns

1. In a stand mixer with a dough hook the night before, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, and salt. Knead for 5-10 minutes with dough hook until smooth and elastic.
2. Place dough in a greased bowl and cover overnight for 12- 24 hours.
3. The next day, uncover dough and add in egg.
   • This can be done with the stand mixer and dough hook, or your hands.
   • I added the egg the next day because I wanted the benefits of fermented grains, but I didn’t want the egg sitting out overnight. Adding it in the next day works well. 
4. Roll into eight balls and place about two inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let buns rise until doubled, about 1-2 hours.
5. Beat one egg with milk and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash, without deflating the risen dough. (optional)
6. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until lightly browned on top, approximately 20 minutes.
7. Allow to cool before slicing and serving

For Quick Buns

1. In a stand mixer with a dough hook, add sourdough starter, warm water, all purpose flour, melted butter or coconut oil, honey, egg, and salt. Knead for 5-10 minutes with dough hook.
2. Roll into eight balls and place about two inches apart on a parchment lined baking sheet. Let buns rise until doubled, approximately 1-2 hours.
3. Beat one egg with milk and lightly brush tops of buns with egg wash, without deflating the risen dough. (optional)
4. Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven until lightly browned on top, approximately 20 minutes.
5. Let cool completely before serving these sourdough buns.

Find more of our farmhouse favorites:

• Sourdough Buckwheat Pancakes
• Homemade Sourdough Crackers
• Sourdough Cinnamon Rolls
• Long Fermented Sourdough Biscuits
• Best Chicken Pot Pie

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