Our Sourdough Burger Buns are soft and fluffy with a beautiful sourdough tang! If you fancy making your own buns for the burgers at your summer BBQ, this is a great recipe to use. Most work is done a day before you bake them, so you only need to shape, prove and bake them on the day of the BBQ itself! These Sourdough Burger buns are also easier to shape, as the dough is a lot less sticky than the brioche burger bun dough! Get creative by sprinkling some sesame or poppy seeds on top of the buns!
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Sourdough Hamburger Buns For Your Summer BBQ
The BBQ season is officially open here, at Somebody Feed Seb. As a matter of fact, we have been BBQing for over a month now, refining and photographing our favourite recipes. And we had a blast! Eating lovely food in our garden, with our Golden retriever running around hoping to get some of what we’re having.
However, the first recipe of the season is not something you can grill, skewer or cook on an open flame. It’s a Sourdough Burger Buns recipe to set you up for some ultimate burgers that we know you will be making over the summer months!

Why Use Sourdough To Make Soft Burger Buns?
Sourdough is a wonderful dough to use for burgers. Here’s why:
- The dough in this recipe is less sticky, therefore a lot easier to knead (especially if you are doing it by hand).
- These naturally-leavened burger buns are a lot easier to digest due to the slow fermentation process compared to buns made with commercial instant yeast.
- The final result is fluffy and soft buns that are perfect for any type of burger you may decide to make – meaty or vegetarian.
- Finally, who can resist a signature sourdough flavor?
A Few Things To Note
- This recipe makes 6-8 buns, depending on how big you want them. We opted for 6 large buns this time, but you can easily make 8 smaller ones or 14-16 sourdough slider buns.
- Make sure to use your sourdough starter at its peak, when the wild yeast colonies are at their strongest. Also, avoid using an acidic starter – your dough won’t rise as much, producing less fluffy sourdough buns and they will taste too sour.
- You may substitute up to ⅓ of white bread flour for strong whole wheat flour.
- Whilst these Sourdough Burger Buns take a while to make, the good news is that the majority of the work is done a day before you actually bake them. Remember to start making them the day before you want to serve them!
- These Sourdough Hamburger Buns are best served the same day, but also taste wonderful lightly toasted the next day.

Step-by-Step Sourdough Burger Bun Recipe
This is a 2-day recipe: on Day 1, we feed the starter, autolyse, prove the dough, and then leave it to finish proving in the fridge overnight. On Day 2, all you need to do is shape 6 buns, leave them for a couple of hours to double in size and bake!
DAY 1: Make The Dough & Proof
Feed your starter first thing in the morning to be used when it’s at its peak (at least double in size). Your starter should double within 4 hours at room temperature (22-24 C). If it doesn’t, unfortunately, your starter may be too weak in this highly enriched dough. You will need to feed your starter again before you make these soft hamburger buns.

To the bowl of a stand mixer (we love Kenwood), add the active sourdough starter, water and 70g of strong flour. Mix to a rough dough, cover the bowl with a tea towel or plastic wrap and let the dough rest (autolyse) for an hour.
Measure out 180ml of milk and leave it to come to room temperature. Leave the butter out of the fridge to soften as well.
After an hour. Add the milk, sugar, and the remaining 350g of flour, salt and egg to your dough. With a dough hook attachment, knead the dough for about 3 minutes. One bit at a time, start adding the butter to the dough with the mixer running. Mix until the butter is fully incorporated, for about 5 minutes.
Scoop the dough out onto a floured work surface and form a dough ball. Place it in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with clingfilm (we recommend Kirkland Signature Cling Film – it is strong and lasts forever) and leave in a warm spot.
After 30 minutes, with a wet hand, lift one side of the dough and fold it into the centre. Repeat with the other three sides. Then flip the dough over. Alternatively, perform coil folds. Cover and leave again for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, fold and stretch again using your preferred method. Do so two more times (4 times in total).
After the last stretch, cover with plastic wrap and leave in a warm spot to let the dough rise for another 1-2 hours. The dough should almost double in size. It will finish proving the fridge.



Cover the bowl and pop the dough in the fridge to prove overnight.
DAY 2: Shape, Proof & Bake Sourdough Burger Buns
The next morning, line a large baking tray with parchment paper. Carefully scoop the dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal portions. Shape each piece of dough into a tight ball, using a bench scraper and your hands and place each of them onto a baking parchment-lined baking sheet. TIP: Use a large roasting tip with high rims, so you can cover it without touching the tops of the buns.
Cover the tray and leave the buns to rise until almost doubled in size (it takes about 1.5-3 hours depending on the temperature).



When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C Fan. Beat an egg yolk with a teaspoon of water (or milk) in a small bowl. Brush the tops of the shaped buns with the egg wash and sprinkle each bun with nigella or sesame seeds, if using.
Bake the buns for about 14-16 minutes. Your buns should be golden brown. Transfer the baked buns onto a cooling rack to cool.
Recipe FAQs
These homemade buns are best had the same day when they are their lightest, fluffiest, softest selves! But if you have any leftovers, store them in an airtight container overnight. You can toast them the next day. What is more, these Sourdough Burger Buns freeze beautifully! Simply wrap each bun tightly in clingfilm and pop them in the freezer. When you want to use them, defrost them and toast them lightly!
We recommend using strong bread flour in most sourdough recipes. Strong flour has higher gluten content compared to all purpose flour which makes the structure of the buns better. What is more, they won’t spread out as much on their second proof and will rise better in the oven. For the fluffiest soft burger buns, use white flour in this recipe!

Burger Ideas
If you are looking for inspiration or simply want to try a new burger recipe that will take your summer bbq experience to the next level, we have a selection of burger recipes here. Some of our favourites include:
- Beetroot Burgers with Goat’s Cheese (Vegetarian)
- Vietnamese Burger Banh Mi Style
- Pulled Chicken Burger With Sweet Chilli
- Asian-Style Satay Jackfruit Burger with Sesame Wedges (Vegan)
- Ultimate Halloumi Burgers with Chimichurri Mayonnaise (Vegetarian)
What is more, you can turn this Sourdough Hamburger Bun Recipe into Hot Dog Buns recipe. Simply change the way to shape the buns to create long ovals instead of balls.
Other Sourdough Recipes
For other sourdough ideas, have a look at our recipes, here. Some of our favourite things to hill our homemade burger buns include:
And if you are now left with a lot of sourdough discard, have a look at some of our best sourdough discard recipes that will have you salivating!
Recipe Card

Soft Sourdough Burger Buns
Ingredients
- 225 g active sourdough starter 100% hydration
- 55 ml water lukewarm
- 420 g strong bread flour
- 180 ml milk room temperature
- 40 g butter softened
- 1½ teaspoon caster sugar
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium egg
To Top:
- 1 egg yolk + 1 teaspoon water or milk
- 1 teaspoon sesasme or nigela seeds or a mixture
Instructions
Day 1:
- Feed your starter first thing in the morning to be used when it's at its peak (at least doubled in size).
- To the bowl of your stand mixer, add the starter, water and 70g of strong flour. Mix to a rough dough, cover the bowl with a tea towel and leave to autolyse for an hour.
- Measure out 180ml of milk and leave it to come to room temperature. Leave the butter out of the fridge to soften as well.
- After an hour. Add the milk, sugar, the remaining 350g of flour, salt and egg to your dough. With a dough hook attachment, knead the dough for about 3 minutes. One bit at a time, start adding the butter to the dough with the mixer running. Mix until the butter is fully incorporated, for about 5 minutes.
- Scoop the dough out onto a floured surface and form a ball. Place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover with clingfilm and leave in a warm spot.
- After 30 minutes, lift one side of the dough and fold it into the centre. Repeat with the other three sides. Then flip the dough over. Alternatively, perform coil folds. Cover and leave again for 30 minutes. After 30 minutes, fold and stretch again using your prefered method. Do so two more times (4 times in total). Cover and leave in a warm spot to prove for another 1-2 hours. The dough should almost, but not quite double in size.
- Cover the bowl and pop the dough in the fridge to finish proving overnight.
Day 2:
- In the morning, carefully scoop the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Divide the dough into 6 equal pieces. Shape each into a tight smooth ball and place onto a baking parchment-lined baking tray. TIP: Use a large roasting tip with high rims, so you can cover it without toughing the tops of the buns.
- Cover the tray and leave the rolls to rise until almost doubled in size (it takes about 1.5-3 hours depending on the temperature).
- When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 200°C. Beat an egg yolk with a teaspoon of water. Brush the tops of the buns with the egg wash and sprinkle each bun with nigella or sesame seeds, if using.
- Bake the buns for about 14-16 minutes. Your buns should be golden brown. Transfer them onto a wire rack to cool.
Notes
Nutrition

Chef Mireille
Easy and straightfroward—–i mixed up the buns and had some plain and sprinkled black sesame seeds on some—-They all turned out great.
Ieva
Thanks, Chef Mireille! 😍
Ryan
Made these for dinner tonight, and they came out great! One thing I’d change for next time would be to use the egg white instead of the yolk, or at at the very least paint less of the mixture on the buns. Some of it dribbled around the edges and I essentially ended up with chunks of egg stuck around the bottom of my buns. Other than that though, great recipe. They’re fluffier than the other sourdough brioche buns I’ve made in the past. Hello from California!
Ieva
Thanks for the feedback, Ryan! All the way from California too 🙂 I’ve never had this issue with the egg, but using egg whites will definitely work – the buns may be slightly lighter in colour when baked though! Maybe using just a small amount of the eggwash would be better too. Glad they came out fluffy – that’s how we like our buns! 🙂
Danielle
I was drooling looking at these photos – I LOVE fresh bread. Can’t wait to try these!
Ieva
Absolutely! Fresh bread is the most delicious thing, especially homemade! Hope you like these buns!
Claudia Lamascolo
my husband is a huge fan of sour dough I need to make this recipe those buns look better than anything I ever seen before nicely done!
Ieva
Thanks so much, Claudia! 🙂
Cyndy
Loved the flavor of these buns! We used them for pulled pork and they were so light, fluffy, and flavorful. Thanks for all the tips and tricks too!
Ieva
Thanks for the lovely feedback, Cyndy! Glad they turned out wonderful 🙂 And what a better way to use them… LOVE pulled pork!
Michelle
Far superior to your average bun! These turned out amazing
Ieva
Thanks for giving them a try! Glad you enjoyed them 😍
Sisley
They are so worth taking the time to make. They were delicious.
Dina Miller
Wow! We had been in the search for soft hamburger sourdough buns! Made these! I put everything but the bagel on half. Had grilled chicken sandwiches made with these! So good! Also love the tips!
Ieva
Thanks, Dina! Lovely feedback! Must be lovely with everything but the bagel!
Kate
So much more flavor than regular burger buns!
Dannii
These buns were incredible. Much easier to make than I thought they would be. Will definitely be making them again.
Ieva
Yay! Thanks, Dannii! Glad you liked them 🙂