These soft and fluffy brioche hamburger buns are made using the tangzhong method. They take any burger to the next level! It’s hard to believe they are made with fresh milled flour.
I’ve been milling my own flour for almost 3 years now and until now have been using my Basic Bread Recipe and shaping that into buns when I need them. They taste good, but they still aren’t quite the texture we were looking for in a hamburger bun. Most of the time the burger and toppings just kind of slide off the bun, but these soft and fluffy brioche hamburger buns wrap around and hang on to all of that goodness!
Jump to RecipeI kept hunting and researching different methods and finally landed on the tangzhong method for these brioche buns. I actually didn’t try to make it for a while because the extra step seemed too inconvenient…..but it’s SO simple.
What You’ll Need To Make These Soft and Fluffy Brioche Hamburger Buns
Flour– I used fresh milled hard white wheat for this recipe.
Milk
Active Dry Yeast
Salt
Sugar
Eggs
Butter
What Is The Tangzhong Method?
The tangzhong method is an Asian technique that is known to create soft, squishy bread. This method of pre-cooking a small amount of flour, milk, and water pre-gelatinizes the starches in the flour, resulting in more moisture in the dough.
This is great! It gives the fluffy, soft texture that we’re used to in store-bought bread. Pictures just don’t do them justice so you’ll just have to try for yourself and see what it’s all about. If you want to read more about the tangzhong method, check out this article by King Arthur.
Pictured above is the process of the tangzhong method in action. It changes fairly quickly in about 2-3 minutes.
How To Make Your Soft and Fluffy Brioche Hamburger Bun Dough
You’re going to start by making your tangzhong mixture by putting the flour, milk, and water in a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat so that no lumps are left. Keep mixing until thickened. This should take 2-3 minutes. You will go from liquid to a thick roux that will remind you of thick pudding. (see pictures above)
Then in your mixer bowl add the tangzhong mixture while it’s warm and the cold milk. This will even out the temperature before you add the yeast. Then add yeast and sugar in.
Next you’re going to add the rest of the flour, eggs, butter, and salt.
Knead the mixture for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and passes a windowpane test. If you don’t know what a windowpane test is watch here.
Form the dough into a ball, put it in a greased bowl, cover and rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. This will vary by the temperature in your home.
Once it’s doubled in size, oil your hands and punch the dough down. Separate into 8-9 equal pieces. I weigh mine out to 90-95 grams each and end up with 9 buns. Shape each piece like a ball as if you were making dinner rolls and then smoosh them down like pictured below. (These could also be shaped into hotdog buns.)
Next, cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let the buns rise until doubled and puffy.
Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
Before putting your buns in the oven do an egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water.
Bake for 14-16 minutes until they are a nice, deep golden brown. (time may vary with different ovens)
Remove from oven and brush with softened/melted butter and let cool on cooling rack.
Jump to RecipeTopping Ideas For Brioche Buns
**If adding toppings, make sure to add after you apply egg wash.
- Sesame seeds
- Poppy seeds
- Flaky Sea Salt
- Freshly ground pepper
- Everything Bagel Seasoning
- Flax Seeds
How To Store Brioche Buns
If you have any left to put away then put them in an airtight container or ziploc bag. They should last 3-4 days. Just don’t put them in the fridge or it will dry them out and make them stale. You can also read this article on more about bread storage.
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If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars and leave a review below!
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Brioche Hamburger Buns Made with Fresh Milled Flour (Soft & Fluffy)
Ingredients
For Tangzhong
- 18 grams fresh milled hard white wheat flour (2 tbsp.)
- 60 grams milk (1/4 cup)
- 30 grams water (2 tbsp.)
Dough
- 180 grams milk (3/4 cup)
- 2 1/2 tbsp. sugar
- 425 grams fresh milled hard white wheat flour (approx. 3 1/2 cups flour)
- 2 eggs
- 36 grams salted butter softened, (3 tbsp.)
- 9.3 grams instant yeast (1 tbsp.) (I use SAF brand)
- 1 1/2 tsp. salt
Egg Wash Topping
- 1 egg
- 1 tbsp. water
- melted butter for brushing on after baking
Instructions
Make Tangzhong
- Combine all ingredients for tangzhong into a small saucepan and whisk over medium heat to make sure there are no clumps.
- Stir constantly until thickened.2-3 minutes. I like to use a spatula after whisking so it doesn't stick to the edges. It will look like a thick roux similar to thick pudding.
Make Dough
- Mix the tangzhong mixture with the milk to cool it down so it doesn't kill the yeast.
- Next mix in the yeast and sugar.
- Add in flour and turn mixer on.
- While mixer is going add in the eggs. Mix until incorporated. Then add in your softened butter and salt.
- Knead dough for 8-10 minutes until the mixture is smooth and passes a windowpane test. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a greased bowl, cover and rise for about an hour or until doubled in size. This will vary by the temperature in your home.
- Once it's doubled in size, oil your hands and punch the dough down. Separate into 8-9 equal pieces. I weigh mine out to 90-95 grams each and end up with 9 buns. Shape each piece like a ball as if you were making dinner rolls and then smoosh them down
- Next, cover with plastic wrap or a clean towel and let the buns rise until doubled and puffy.
- Preheat your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit for 15 minutes.
- Before putting your buns in the oven do an egg wash made with 1 egg and 1 tablespoon of water.
- Bake for 14-16 minutes until they are a nice, deep golden brown. (time may vary with different ovens)
- Remove from oven and brush with softened/melted butter and let cool on cooling rack.
If you try this recipe and love it, I would love if you gave it 5 stars! Thank you! Tag me on Instagram @freshmilledmama and please leave a review below on the blog!
For More Recipes Made with Fresh Milled Flour Try:
Jessica
These were so good! I couldn’t get my dough to come together and thought I ruined them. But I decided to let them rise and see what happened. Perfection! The texture is so light and moist. We used them as dinner rolls and the recipe made 15 of them perfectly in a 9×13 pan. They would make killer hot dog buns and sandwich bread, too.
Fresh Milled Mama
I’m so glad you liked them!
Kayla Smith
Hands down THE BEST buns ever! 😍
Fresh Milled Mama
Thank you! I agree. 😉
Nicole
When you say shape like a dinner roll do you add tension?
Fresh Milled Mama
You want a nice round top, but tension in the way you might be thinking isn’t necessary. I just tuck the dough under to create a smooth ball and roll gently under my palm on my table to finish shaping it and then flatten it some to achieve the bun shape. Hope that makes sense?!?
brigitte blair
I have a question. Is there a way to make the dough ahead of time and then when you are ready to cook the buns you just put them in the oven?
Fresh Milled Mama
I’m not 100% sure, but maybe try freezing them after you shape them after the 1st rise and then take out of the freezer and thaw and rise to bake?
Kgmom
Can this recipe be adapted to sourdough?
Fresh Milled Mama
I’m sure it could, I’m just not familiar enough with sourdough to swap out they yeast with sourdough starter. Sorry!
sandi
Can I use King Arthur unbleached flour with the tanghonz (probably spelled it wrong) method? I don’t have a mill to grind wheat berries..
Fresh Milled Mama
You can, but just know the amount of flour won’t be the same as if you were following the recipe as stated.
Amy
The ingredients list two eggs but the instructions say to add the egg and egg yolk. Do you use two whole eggs in the dough or just one egg and one egg yolk?
Fresh Milled Mama
Add both whole eggs. Sorry about that! Thanks for letting me know so I can update that.
Jen
Have you ever done this using a yundane instead?
Fresh Milled Mama
I haven’t. Doing the tangzhong method is pretty quick as well. It barely adds 5 minutes to your overall process.
Erica
LOVE this recipe! This was the first recipe i’ve made after switching to fresh milled wheat! It’s so easy. I have made it three times already!
Fresh Milled Mama
Thank you for sharing and the emphasis on easy! It may seem extra to some to do the Tangzhong, but it’s so easy and worth the extra couple of minutes. Glad you enjoyed these!
Lisa Malinowski
Two questions, need to freeze the rolls after your meat will it dry out? And
I noticed there’s not an autolyse periodin the recipe. Does that affect the dough at all?
Thanks so much
Fresh Milled Mama
I’ve personally never frozen my bread so I’m not sure, but a lot of people freeze their bread instead of refrigerating and I’ve heard good things. I didn’t Autolyse in this recipe. You can and just leave the yeast and salt out until you knead it like the brioche bread recipe.
Tammy
I tried this recipe today and made dinner rolls and a blueberry cream cheese challah. I am so impressed. The instructions were easy, and the dough came together beautifully. It will be my go to recipe for many things!
Fresh Milled Mama
Those looked amazing over in the group! Thank you for the feedback!
Elizabeth
I am out of hard white. Can I use soft white with similar results? Thank you!
Fresh Milled Mama
Soft white doesn’t have the same gluten content so it wouldn’t be a good substitute.
Barb
These were delicious! This is my go to recipe for rolls! I make for hamburger rolls! I freeze them & they are great to take out when I need! Can this be made into a bread? Thank you!
Debbie
I love the tangzhong method. I’m wondering about how many hot dog buns would this make?
Fresh Milled Mama
It makes the best bread! If you go with the average of 90-105 grams of dough per bun you’ll get somewhere between 8-10 buns per batch.