I’d promised to share this one for ages but never found the time to film it. Finally, here it is: brioche burger buns!
The short answer
A rich dough of bread flour, milk, egg and butter that makes 7 buns of 100 g. Two things make brioche brioche: butter and egg. With instant yeast it’s ready in about 3 hours and bakes in 15 minutes at 190 °C, no fan.
Recipe
Brioche Burger Buns
- Prep3 hr
- Cook15 min · 190°C, no fan
- Makes7 buns, 100 g each
Ingredients
- 333 g bread flour
- 150 g milk, at 30°C
- 24 g water, at 30°C
- 1 + 1 yolk egg, at room temperature
- 40 g sugar
- 10 g salt
- 5 g instant yeast
- 66 g unsalted butter, soft, at room temperature
Egg wash
- 1 egg
- 1 tsp water
Method
- Put the flour, yeast, salt and sugar in the stand mixer bowl and mix.
- Add the milk and water at 30°C, then the eggs (1 whole, 1 yolk).
- Run the mixer slowly for 5 minutes, then fast for 12 minutes.
- Add the butter a little at a time and keep kneading on low speed until it’s fully absorbed.
- Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling film and let it rise until doubled (about 1 hour in summer, up to 2 in winter).
- Turn it out onto an unfloured counter, knock it back and divide into 7 pieces of 100 g.
- Gather the ends and roll each piece on the counter, pulling from the edges, into balls with a taut top; place on a tray lined with baking paper.
- Cover with a damp towel and let them rise until doubled (about 90 minutes).
- Beat the egg with 1 tsp water and brush it over the buns; wait 10 minutes and brush again.
- Heat the oven to 190°C (no fan), put a dish of hot water inside or spray it with water, and bake the buns for 15 minutes.
Notes
- Moisture in the oven helps the buns rise better.
- The same dough makes a sandwich loaf or a babka.
Building a strong brioche dough
I use a stand mixer here. First the dry ingredients go in and get mixed: flour, yeast, salt and sugar. Then the milk and water, just above room temperature at about 30 °C, followed by the eggs.
Part of what makes brioche brioche is a dough strong enough to carry all those heavy ingredients. So the mixer runs for 5 minutes on low, then 12 minutes on high. The table shakes, I’ll tell you that.
Working in the butter
Almost every stand mixer has a head that tilts up. Lift it, scrape the dough down off the hook and work soft, spreadable, room-temperature butter into it. Then mix on low until the butter is completely absorbed. You’ll end up with a strong, tight dough.
Rising and shaping
- Put the dough in a greased bowl, cover with cling film and let it double: about 60 minutes in summer, up to 2 hours in winter.
- Knock it back on an unfloured counter and divide into 7 pieces of 100 g.
- Gather each piece with your fingertips, pinch the ends together, then roll it on a flat surface, pulling from the edges, until the top is taut.
- Set them on a lined tray and cover with a damp towel. The card says 90 minutes, but what you want is doubled: if that takes 45 minutes, wait 45.
Egg wash and steam
The egg wash is 1 whole egg and 1 teaspoon of water. Brush once, wait 10 minutes, brush again.
A trick professional kitchens use too: always put a dish of hot water in the oven, and if you can, spray some water inside as well. The steam helps the buns rise better.
Using a different yeast
The recipe calls for 5 g of instant yeast. Going by my yeast conversion table, you can use about 6.5 g of active dry yeast or 13.5 g of fresh yeast instead.
The crumb, and what else the dough can do
People who watched my Japanese milk bread video asked about its texture; the press test at the end of this video shows you the brioche crumb. Pull it apart and it tears into soft strands.
You can also skip the bun shape and bake this dough as a sandwich loaf, or use it for a chocolate babka.
Keep reading and listening
- Potato butter burger buns, with a comparison of all six burger buns on the site
- Japanese milk bread and tangzhong
- Fresh, active dry and instant yeast: conversion table
- The Burger Handbook
- How to make a burger patty
- Burgers on our podcast YBYK (in Turkish): episode 9, Burger 101
