These Homemade Whole Wheat Buns are perfect for Burgers, Slow Cooker Pulled Pork, Smoked Pork Butt and more. Whole wheat flour is balanced with all-purpose, for an amazing bun that’s soft and not too dense, but with the richness of whole wheat flavor.

Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns Sliced on a Board

While it’s true that storebought buns are convenient, I can never find any that I actually like. Homemade is the way to go.

Burger buns at the grocery store are usually full of dough conditioners, preservatives, corn syrup, and other things that I prefer not to have in my food. And they don’t taste very good either.

Fortunately, it’s really easy to make your own!

Why I Love This Recipe

Good flavor – Because we’re using good ingredients and making this from scratch, there’s a very clean flavor here. You can taste the whole wheat and a touch of sweetness from the honey. Kind of like how bad bread can ruin a sandwich, a bad bun can really ruin your hamburger, but we’ve got good flavor here.

Sturdy – These are a nice balance between sturdy and soft. They’re not as light as Brioche, but they’re still plenty soft and not overly dense. They really hold the meat in place.

Doesn’t take too long – Like any bread that requires time to rise, this isn’t quick, but it’s relatively quick for bread. The first rise only takes an hour, and the second rise between 30 and 45 minutes.

Freezer friendly – This recipe makes 12 buns, and what you don’t want to eat now, you can cut in half and stick in the freezer for later. Just put them in the toaster for a few minutes and they’re ready to eat again!  

Whole Wheat Burger Bun on Parchment Paper

Step by Step Overview:

As an overview, we will combine the wet ingredients, add them to the flours and yeast, knead it all together, then let the dough rise. Then we’ll portion it into 12 pieces and roll them into balls, do a second rise, and bake!

Combine the Wet Ingredients

In a small saucepan, combine milk, water, butter, honey, and salt:

Honey, Butter, Water, Milk in a Saucepan

Place this on the stove and heat it just enough so that the butter and honey melt and everything combines.

You don’t want to bring it to a boil, and it doesn’t need to in order to combine.

Remove the pot from the heat, and let the melted butter milk mixture cool down at room temperature to 110F, which will take about 10 minutes.

Combine the Dry Ingredients

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour, and instant yeast (aka rapid rise yeast).

Note: I recommend using a regular whole wheat flour here (sometimes labeled ‘all-purpose whole wheat flour’), and not a whole wheat pastry flour (which is made from soft wheat). White whole wheat flour is fine to use for this recipe, as it’s also made from hard wheat.

All Purpose Flour, Whole wheat Flour, yeast in a bowl

Whisk that together to distribute everything evenly.

Add the Wet to the Dry

Pour the lukewarm liquid in with the dry ingredients:

Pouring the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry

Using a spatula, mix this all together until it forms a rough, shaggy dough:

Burger Bun Dough Looking Roughly Combined

Knead The Dough to Build Strength

Get the bowl onto the stand mixer and fit the machine with the dough hook. Knead on low speed for about 10 minutes, until relatively smooth:

The Dough Looking Smooth In The Stand Mixer

If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can do this by hand for about 10 minutes, but just know that the dough is relatively sticky. Adding more flour will make the buns denser, so try not to add any more.

Prepare for the First Rise

Shape the dough into a smooth ball, then gently place the dough ball into an oiled bowl.

Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, so the dough does not dry out.

The Dough Rolled Into a Bowl and Covered with Plastic Wrap

Let the dough rise in a warm place until it doubles in size, which should take about an hour:

The Risen Dough Doubled in Size

Divide and shape the dough

Divide the dough into 12 equal portions. I just do this by eye, but you may also use a kitchen scale to ensure equal pieces by weight.

Then shape each piece of dough into a ball. I do this by pulling the top down and underneath the ball, like this:

Shaping the Homemade Hamburger Buns Dough with hands

Flatten the dough

Place the dough balls onto two trays lined with parchment paper, then flatten each piece with the palm of your hand, pushing down on the baking tray, until about one inch tall.

Flattening the Whole Wheat Hamburger buns with Palm of Hand

Do the Second Rise

Cover the dough again and let the dough rise for 30 to 45 minutes, until nearly doubled in size again.

The Raw Burger Buns Doing a Second Rise on the Pans

I personally love my baking sheet lids (affiliate) for this job, since you have an airtight seal to prevent the dough from drying out and the lids don’t touch the dough.

Egg Wash the Tops

Brush the risen pieces of dough with egg wash:

Brushing the Whole Wheat Buns with Egg Wash

This will give the homemade burger buns a gorgeous golden color, but it also allows you to dress up the tops of the buns if you’d like.

I like to sprinkle on sesame seeds, poppy seeds, wheat germ, and sometimes Everything Bagel Seasoning.

Sprinkling Sesame Seeds and Poppy Seeds On Each Piece

Bake!

Bake the buns for about 15 minutes, until they are golden and puffed.

A Tray of Baked Homemade Whole Wheat Buns with Sesame Seeds

If you have a thermometer, you can check that they are at least 200F inside.

Let the buns cool before slicing and enjoying. They’re now ready to be filled for your favorite burgers!

A Sliced Whole Wheat Burger Bun on a Wooden Board

FAQ and Tips

How do you freeze hamburger buns?

After baking, let them cool completely, then store in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. Before freezing, I recommend cutting them in half. That way you can put the frozen slices directly into the toaster and reheat them.

Can I make my homemade whole wheat burger buns completely with whole wheat flour?

The reason why most recipes don’t do this is because using only whole wheat flour won’t give you enough strength for the dough. Things like Whole Wheat Pancakes or these Whole Wheat Oatmeal Cookies you are able to use 100% whole wheat flour because you don’t need to build the gluten and strength, but here we need that strength. You can try Whole Wheat Pretzels for a 100% whole wheat recipe.

Can you double the batch?

Technically yes, though it may be difficult for the stand mixer to knead a double batch of the whole wheat dough. You may need to divide the dough for that stage, but otherwise yes, you can double it just fine.

Can you make whole wheat buns ahead of time?

After you’ve done the second rise, you can hold the buns in the fridge for a day before baking fresh. However, since the fully baked buns freeze pretty well, I like to bake everything completely and save some for later.

Did you enjoy the recipe? Please leave a 5-star rating in the recipe card below and/or a review in the comments section further down the page. Or, follow me on Facebook, Instagram or Pinterest!

Homemade Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns Sliced on a Board

Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns

Servings: 12 buns
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 15 minutes
Rise Times: 1 hour 30 minutes
Total Time: 2 hours
These Homemade Burger Buns are perfect for filling with all sorts of meats. They are soft but sturdy, with whole wheat flavor.
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Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk (whole recommended)
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 tbsp butter (unsalted or salted)
  • 1 tbsp honey
  • 1.5 tsp kosher salt
  • 15 oz all-purpose flour, by weight (3 cups, measured)
  • 10 oz whole wheat flour, by weight (2 cups, measured)
  • 2.25 tsp instant yeast (one envelope)
  • 1 tbsp olive oil for greasing the bowl
  • 1 large egg
  • everything bagel seasoning optional for topping (or sesame seeds, poppy seeds, etc)

Instructions 

  • In a small saucepan, combine the milk, water, butter, honey, and salt over medium to medium high heat. Cook until the butter and honey melt, making sure you do not bring the mixture to a boil, which is unnecessary for melting the ingredients. Remove the pan from the heat, and let stand for about 10 minutes, until it’s 110F. Ideally use a thermometer to check, but if you don't have one, you want to wait until the liquid feels lukewarm.
  • In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the flours and yeast together to combine. Pour the lukewarm wet ingredients into the flour, and stir roughly with a spatula until the dough starts to come together.
  • Fit the bowl onto the stand mixer with the dough hook, and knead on low speed for 10 minutes, until relatively smooth. If you don't have a stand mixer, you may knead by hand, but know that it will be sticky. Do not add more flour, as this will make the buns dense.
  • Grease a large bowl with the olive oil using your fingers, then shape the dough into a ball and place it inside. Toss the dough to coat in the oil. Cover with plastic wrap and let stand until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.
  • Divide the dough into 12 portions. Shape each one into a ball by pulling the dough underneath itself and gathering on the bottom (see blog post for photo). Split the balls between two half sheet pans lined with parchment paper (6 on each), and flatten each ball with the palm of your hand until it’s about 3 or 4 inches wide and one inch tall. Cover the trays, then let the dough rise until doubled in size, around 30 to 45 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 400F.
  • Beat the egg in a small bowl, then brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash. Sprinkle the tops with everything bagel seasoning, sesame seeds, or poppy seeds. Or, you may leave them plain.
  • Bake for 15 minutes until they are golden brown in color and read 200F with an instant read thermometer. Let cool completely before slicing and serving. Enjoy!

Notes

Storage: Because there are no preservatives here, you should only keep these for 2 days at most at room temperature. If you want to store longer, I recommend freezing.
Freezing: These will keep in an airtight container in the freezer for up to 2 months. I recommend slicing before freezing, so you can simply reheat them in the toaster straight from the freezer.
A note on baking: As with most baking recipes, you want to bake these on the center rack of the oven. I find it better to bake each tray one at a time, so it’s truly in the center. If I try to get both racks in at the same time, my oven will brown the top tray more. You can also switch them halfway through.

Nutrition

Calories: 249kcal, Carbohydrates: 47g, Protein: 8g, Fat: 3g, Saturated Fat: 2g, Polyunsaturated Fat: 1g, Monounsaturated Fat: 1g, Trans Fat: 1g, Cholesterol: 7mg, Sodium: 320mg, Potassium: 174mg, Fiber: 4g, Sugar: 3g, Vitamin A: 80IU, Vitamin C: 1mg, Calcium: 39mg, Iron: 3mg

Nutrition is estimated using a food database and is only intended to be used as a guideline for informational purposes.

Course: Side Dish
Cuisine: American
Author: Joanne Ozug

Post updated with new photos, writing, and more tips and instructions in August 2021. Originally published in May 2011.