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Prep time
2 hours 15 minutes
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Cook time
30 minutes
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makes
13 buns
Author Notes
This is a truly perfect bun in my book. It’s light and fluffy, pillowy soft, and beautifully golden brown. They are perfect for everything from burgers to egg sandwiches—for a fried chicken sandwich or your favorite deli sandwich. Honestly, these buns are even delicious all on their own, slathered with butter. The dreamy, soft texture of these buns comes from two important ingredient sources—plenty of hydration and enriched ingredients. A high hydration level in bread dough contributes to a soft, fluffy texture, helping ensure it rises to its best heights. More hydration does yield a fairly sticky dough, but don’t be intimidated! Just use flour as needed when handling and shaping it, and think of the super soft end result to come.
Doughs that contain ingredients like butter, milk, sugar, and eggs are considered “enriched” doughs—all of these ingredients contribute to getting that beautifully fluffy final bun. But enrichment comes with one caveat: It can slow down rise times. Try to put the rolls in a warm place to help them rise quickly and evenly, and let them rise until they are visibly double in size and puffy at each stage to ensure the lightest bun possible. —Erin Jeanne McDowell
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Soft Sandwich Buns
Ingredients
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1/2 cup
(115 grams) warm water (about 85°F/30°C)
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1 tablespoon
(10 grams) instant dry yeast
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1 cup
(230 grams) whole milk
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4 1/2 cups
(540 grams) bread flour
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1/2 cup
(56 grams) dry milk powder
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2 tablespoons
(25 grams) granulated sugar
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1 1/2 teaspoons
(6 grams) fine sea salt
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2
(113 grams) large eggs
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3 tablespoons
(42 grams) unsalted butter, melted
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2 tablespoons
(43 grams) honey
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Egg Wash (1 large egg (56 grams) + 1 tablespoon water (15 grams) + pinch salt)
Directions
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Pour the water into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the dough hook. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and mix with a small spatula to combine. Let sit for 5 minutes.
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In a small saucepan, heat the milk to about 110°F/45°C over medium-low heat (you can also do this in a liquid measuring cup in the microwave, if you prefer).
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Add the flour, dry milk, sugar, and salt to the mixer bowl, then add the warm milk, egg, butter, and honey, and mix on low speed for 2 to 4 minutes, or until a soft dough comes together around the dough hook.
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Scrape the bowl well, then mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes more, until the dough is sticky but smooth.
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Transfer the dough to a medium bowl lightly greased with neutral oil or nonstick spray. Use both hands to gently turn the dough around so it’s coated on all sides, then gently tuck the dough under itself a few times to slightly round it. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let the dough rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour, until visibly puffy and almost double in size.
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Generously flour a work surface, and turn the dough out onto it. Using your hand or a flexible dough scraper, slide under the dough and gently stretch it outward, before folding it over onto the center. Repeat this process a total of 6 times, gently folding the dough onto itself. After the final fold, return the dough to the bowl and let it rise for 30 to 45 minutes more, until it puffs up slightly.
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Turn the dough onto a generously floured surface. Divide the dough into 13 even pieces (about 95 grams each). Round each piece of dough into a ball—use flour as needed to prevent the dough from sticking. Round each piece into a round roll.
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Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. Divide between the baking sheets and arrange the rolls, placing the rolls in staggered rows. Cover the rolls loosely with greased plastic wrap or a clean kitchen towel, and let rise until nearly double in size, 1 hour to 1 hour 30 minutes (it’s ok if some of the rolls start to touch while rising, or when they bake in the oven).
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Towards the end of rise time, heat the oven to 350°F/175°C with the oven rack in the center. Uncover the rolls, and egg wash them all over.
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Transfer the rolls to the oven and bake, rotating the pans halfway through, until deeply golden brown, and until a thermometer inserted into the thickest portion of the center of a roll reads 200°F/95°C, 22 to 26 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely before using to build a sandwich.
I always have three kinds of hot sauce in my purse. I have a soft spot for making people their favorite dessert, especially if it's wrapped in a pastry crust. My newest cookbook, Savory Baking, came out in Fall of 2022 - is full of recipes to translate a love of baking into recipes for breakfast, dinner, and everything in between!
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