Buttery Homemade Brioche Hamburger Buns

Light, buttery, and slightly sweet, these brioche hamburger buns will elevate any burger night.

There’s something magical about biting into a burger with a perfectly golden, pillowy-soft brioche bun. These are not your average store bought hamburger buns, they are infinitely better. It’s the kind of detail that turns a backyard cookout into something special. Once you try making these homemade brioche hamburger buns from scratch, you’ll never look at store-bought buns the same way again. 

These buns are rich, buttery, and just the right amount of sweet—like the ones you’d find at a gourmet burger joint, but made fresh in your own kitchen. This recipe is perfect for new and seasoned bread makers. 

Why Brioche Buns Make the Best Burger Buns

If you’ve ever had a dry, crumbly burger bun that fell apart halfway through your meal, you know the struggle. Brioche buns are different. Thanks to a dough enriched with eggs and butter, they’re:

• Soft and tender but still sturdy enough to hold up to juicy patties and toppings
• Slightly sweet, which balances out the savory flavors of burgers, BBQ, or pulled pork. I made them for our pulled pork this week and it was sublime!
• Beautifully golden, thanks to an egg wash you brush on before baking that gives them their signature sheen. 

Whether you’re stacking up a smash burger, grilled portobello, or crispy chicken sandwich, brioche hamburger buns add that “something extra” to every bite.

What Makes These Brioche Buns Special?

What sets this brioche bun recipe apart is the soft, fluffy texture that still holds its shape. Unlike some brioche buns that might be rested in the fridge overnight this dough uses an instant yeast and doesn’t require the extra rest. Of course you CAN do an overnight rest in the fridge, but it’s not required here! 

They’re also incredibly versatile. Use them for:

• Classic burgers
• Breakfast sandwiches
• Sliders for game day – half the weight of each dough ball to make perfect slider sized rolls! 
• Pulled pork or BBQ chicken sandwiches
• Grilled veggie sandwiches with aioli

Tips for the Best Homemade Brioche Buns

Here are a few tips to ensure your buns come out bakery-perfect:

• Use room temperature butter – This helps incorporate it smoothly into the dough without making it greasy.
• Don’t rush the rise – Brioche is a rich dough and can take a bit longer to rise. Be patient, and give it the time it needs. You can use instant rise yeast, my favorite is Red Star Yeast Platinum. 
• Shape evenly – Use a kitchen scale if you have one to portion your dough evenly for picture-perfect buns. Guessing can make the buns vary greatly, so using a scale is definitely advised. 
• Egg wash magic – That glossy, golden finish comes from a light egg wash just before baking. Don’t skip it!
• Toast before serving – For even more flavor and texture, slice and lightly toast your buns before assembling your burgers.

Make-Ahead and Freezing Instructions

Brioche hamburger buns freeze beautifully. Let them cool completely, then store in a freezer-safe bag for up to 2 months. To thaw, just leave them on the counter for a few hours or pop them in the oven for a quick refresh.

You can even bake them ahead of time for parties or meal prep and have bakery-quality buns at the ready.

More Ways to Use Brioche Dough

Love this dough? Try using it for:

• Mini brioche rolls for holiday dinners
• French toast with leftover buns
• Brioche loaf for sandwiches

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Whether you’re gearing up for burger night, planning a summer cookout, or just want to elevate your weeknight dinners, these homemade brioche hamburger buns are the ultimate upgrade. They’re soft, rich, and impossibly delicious—everything a bun should be.

Looking for more homemade bread recipes? Try these next:

• Cast Iron Skillet Dinner Rolls
• Rustic No-Knead Bread
• Garlic Herb Focaccia

Brioche Buns: Perfect for Bread Beginners

While an enriched dough can sound intimidating, it doesn’t have to be. It does take practice and patience, but this dough, like the dough for my rosemary sea salt sweet potato rolls. I recommend using a stand mixer with a hook attachment to ensure that it does the heavy lifting of doing the majority of the kneading. 

Brioche bread is an enriched dough that includes eggs and butter, and can include milk or water. It is a sticky dough that needs to be hand kneaded gently to create a taught ball of dough to do it’s first rise in a greased bowl. 

Brioche Bun Ingredients & Notes

The ingredients list is really simple of this brioche hamburger bun recipe. They bake soft and deep golden brown. Below is the recipe list for you.

• Bread Flour, all purpose flour does work just fine as well. 
• Instant Yeast
• Water, room temperature
• Eggs
• White Sugar
• Table Salt
• Unsalted Butter, room temperature
• Sesame Seeds, or Everything Bagel Seasoning

I’ve made these buns so often, but go figure that the time I want to make them and photograph them I ran out of sesame seeds. But I did have everything bagel seasoning and it was a great add! 

When you’re making this, be sure to use room temperature butter. Set it out at least an hour ahead of time. If you’re stuck and need to softened, you can put it in the microwave for 8-10 seconds. 

How to Make Brioche Burger Buns

The steps are important and definitely ensure success. Starting with a yeast mixture, a lively yeast will give your bread the rise it needs. 

1. Whisk flour and yeast, and sugar together in bowl of stand mixer. Into a two-cup liquid measuring cup add room-temperature water and 2 eggs and lightly beat. Fit mixer with dough hook and mix on low speed and slowly pour in the water and egg mixture, until dough comes together and no dry flour remains, about 3 minutes, scraping down bowl and dough hook frequently. Turn off mixer, cover bowl with dish towel or plastic wrap, and let dough stand for 15 minutes. 
2. Increase speed to medium and, with mixer running, add room temperature butter 1 piece at a time, allowing each piece to incorporate before adding next. Scrape down bowl and dough hook as needed. Continue to knead on medium speed until dough is elastic and pulls away cleanly from sides of bowl, about 10 minutes longer. The dough will still stick to the bottom of the bowl. It may require a little extra flour, so just monitor it. 
3. Transfer dough to greased large bowl. Cover tightly with plastic and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.
4. Line 2 rimmed baking sheets with parchment paper. Turn out the dough onto a pastry rolling mat, or a lightly floured work surface, using a flexible dough scraper, and divide dough into twelve 3-ounce (about 85-gram) portions; divide any remaining dough evenly among portions. This is where it’s critical to use your scale – do a double check with your bowl and the dough. Divide the total weight of the dough into 12 to ensure you are portioning out the right size of dough.
5. Working with 1 dough portion at a time, cup dough with your palm and roll against counter into smooth, tight ball. Evenly space 6 dough balls on each prepared sheet seam side down. 
6. Spray with non stick spray and cover with plastic wrap. Allow the dough to rise again for about another hour. While the second rise is happening, turn on the oven and allow it to preheat at 350 degrees. Be sure to adjust the racks to the upper middle and lower-middle positions to fit both baking sheets in at the same time. 
7. Create a egg wash and one egg and 1-2 tablespoons of water whisked together. Brush the top of each dough ball with the wash, and then sprinkle with sesame seeds or Everything Bagel Seasoning. 
8. Bake for 18-20 minutes, rotating the baking sheets halfway through baking. Bake until the buns register about 210 degrees with an instant read thermometer. Remove from the oven and allow them to cool completely on the baking sheets set on a wire rack. 

Tips for Success

• Use room temperature butter – this will ensure that the butter incorporates into the dough evenly. 
• You can use active dry yeast, but instant yeast will activate faster and with more enthusiasm. 
• Yes, definitely knead the dough for 10 minutes. This will ensure that the appropriate amount of gluten has formed to give these buns structure. 

This Brioche Bun Recipe Also Makes Hot Dog Buns

Yes, it’s true. In lieu of rolling these into circular buns, you can also roll them into logs about 6 inches long during the forming phase and allow them to do their second rise before putting them in the oven to bake. Watch carefully to ensure they bake properly. Wash with egg wash just like the hamburger buns.

How to Store and Freeze

You can freeze and store these rolls in a freezer ziploc bag for one month. 

Can I use all purpose flour or whole wheat flour in this recipe?

Yes, I have made this with all purpose flour and they turn out great! Bread flour is recommended for the higher protein content. If you want to make these with whole wheat flour, substitute no more than 25% whole wheat flour otherwise the dough will change significantly. 

Tools for Making Hamburger Buns

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