Personally, when I am buying burger buns I like to go for either potato burger buns or brioche. Brioche feels fancy and the potato buns are always just so soft and yum. A burger is great but on a good bun can make or break it, at least for me. It needs to be soft but sturdy, and can’t disintegrate if the burger is too juice or has sauces on it. There are some great buns out there commercially made but, as always I’m going to at least try making my own to see how they stack up.
If you’ve never made or had bread with potato you’ll have to trust me that it’s fantastic. Potato is naturally gluten free, so it’s not contributing to your bread’s texture there. Potatoes, as you may know, are a very starchy vegetable. Increasing starch in your bake helps it retain more moisture, which helps with that soft crumb. I kept this potato burger buns dough lower on the hydration because I didn’t want it to become so sticky it was unworkable. Additionally, like I said I wanted a bun that could withstand some juices and sauce that will inevitably be part of the equation when they are used.
While these buns are super delicious, if you’re looking for just a really good potato dinner roll, I’d recommend my Sweet Potato Rolls which are super soft and a real beautiful orange color as well.
Baking Tips
Despite being a lower hydration dough, it can be a little sticky. When working with it, instead of adding more flour I add a little baking spray on my hands to prevent the dough from sticking too much and allowing me to work faster. You could also use water and have lightly wet/damp hands.
I topped mine with sesame seeds for a more traditional burger bun, however poppy seeds, everything bagel seasoning, or dried garlic and onion would all be great.
Potato Burger Buns Key Ingredients
- Instant Mashed Potatoes – There is such a thing as potato flour/starch. However, when I was at local grocery stores, it wasn’t always as widely available as instant mashed potatoes. Every store has these. I used these ones however any brand is fine. Make sure they aren’t flavored, you want just original or plain.
- Bread Flour – Bread flour has a higher protein content then AP, and tends to help bread have a little more structure. I wanted to ensure the buns weren’t too soft so bread flour was the clear choice.
This page contains affiliate links for products I use and love. If you choose to purchase directly from clicking a link, I may earn a small commission, however I am not being paid to link to these items.
Ingredients
- 360 g Bread flour 3 cups
- 44 g Instant mashed potato flakes ⅔ cup
- 6 g Sea salt 1 tsp
- 7 g Instant yeast 2 tsp
- 12 g Granulated sugar 1 tbsp
- 1 large Egg room temperature
- 240 g Water 1 cup, warm
- 28 g Unsalted butter 2 tbsp, soft
Topping (optional)
- 1 large Egg beaten
- Sesame seeds for topping
Instructions
- In the bowl of your stand mixer with dough hook attached, add flour, potato flakes, salt, yeast, sugar, egg and water and mix on low until a rough dough forms.
- Add your soft butter, and mix until fully incorporated.
- Allow the dough to knead until smooth and elastic (10-20 minutes). Dough will be sticky but stretchy.
- Remove dough from bowl, lightly grease bowl, shape dough into a ball and place back into the bowl. Cover and allow the dough to rise in a warm spot for 1-2 hours or until doubled in size.
- Line a baking sheet (preferably a half sheet – 13×18 inch but at least a 9×13) with parchment paper. Set aside.
- When dough is ready, punch down the dough and remove from bowl onto workspace. Divide the dough into 8 equal portions. My dough ended up with portions weighing about 90g each, however weighing is not a requirement.
- Take a portion of dough and stretch and fold the sides into the center creating a rough ball shape. Flip the dough ball over onto your work space with the seam side down and cup your hand over the dough. Using a circular motion, gently move the dough, to help create a more uniformly round ball with tension in it.
- Place the dough ball onto your bake sheet and repeat the process with all the remaining dough portions.
- Once all the dough has been shaped, gently use your hand to very lightly pat down the dough balls. You aren't completely flattening them, but just removing a little bit of height so they are less spherical.
- Cover your baking sheet and allow your buns to proof for 30-45 minutes or until dough has puffed up a bit.
- While your dough is proofing, preheat your oven to 350°F.
- Optional When dough is ready, brush all the buns with egg wash and sprinkle with sesame seeds (poppyseeds could also be used).
- Bake your buns on the center rack of your oven for 20-22 minutes or until buns are golden brown and sound hollow when the bottoms are tapped.
- Remove from oven, and transfer buns to wire cooling rack. Allow buns to come to room temperature before slicing and enjoying!
Pingback:Sweet Potato Rolls › Bread Baking Babe