Grill up those hot dogs and hamburgers this weekend because these gluten free hamburger and hot dog buns are the best you’ll ever have!!
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One of my favorite things to eat on Memorial Day Weekend are hamburgers and hot dogs. But for years I’ve eaten those either wrapped in lettuce (which is actually great) or on their own with a knife and fork. I’ve tried so many store bought buns over the years and they’re either too hard or too bread-y.
I like a bun, especially a hamburger bun, that I can squish down like a proper hamburger bun should. Know what I mean? And you’d think with all my gluten free bread recipes one of those would be the perfect bun for this task, right?
Well, I finally solved my own problem! Just the right combination of one of my longtime favorite recipes (hello, Hawaiian rolls!) and a new ingredient was the solution!! 🍔🌭
What is This Mystery Ingredient?
Some of my readers have asked if they can substitute the xanthan gum in my bread flour blend with psyllium husks. I told them I honestly didn’t know as I had never worked with psyllium husk before.
So I quickly got to work researching anything I could about this mystery ingredient and how it works in gluten free baking. I decided to order some online (here) to have on hand when I was ready to start experimenting.
Once I received my shipment, I began tinkering around with adding it to some of my recipes. I found out a few things in the process. It works well with enriched breads (breads with added fats and/or sugars). And it makes those enriched breads really, really soft and extensible. Much more so than xanthan gum alone.
I’ve tried it with my artisan bread, though, and I personally didn’t like the results. Artisan bread is considered a lean bread with little to no additional fats or sugars. But when I added it to my Hawaiian roll dough, as Sheldon would say, BAZINGA!!!! A new bread was formed and lemme tell ya, it’s outstanding!!
Shaping Gluten Free Hamburger Buns
First, cut the dough in half with a bench scraper to make both hamburger and hot dog buns. Put aside one half of the dough while you shape the other half.
Portion out the dough into about 3-ounce pieces. I use my scale to measure each so they’ll all be roughly the same size. Roll them into balls (see my video for Hawaiian rolls for how to do this). Place them about 2 inches apart on a parchment-lined baking sheet.
Take your hand and press down on them to flatten them to about 1/2-inch thick. This just ensures that they all rise up and not out. Cover the rolls while you work on shaping the hot dog buns.
Shaping Gluten Free Hot Dog Buns
Shaping hot dogs buns is just as easy. You can roll them into individual ropes, but I wanted a split top bun and I was lazy. So I found my method a little easier.
Begin by rolling out the second half of your dough into a rectangle that’s about 1/2-inch thick. I had enough of my dough left to make 7 3-ounce-sized hot dog buns. Begin cutting the dough into strips that are roughly equal in size. You could steal some of your hamburger bun dough to make an even 8, but that’s up to you.
Lay them on their side (cut side up) on the other half of your baking sheet. Press down lightly to make an evenly sized roll that’s about one inch high. Do this with the rest of the rolls, spacing about 1/2 inch apart. These will end up touching when they’re fully risen and baked, but that’s what we want for nice, soft sides.
Proofing the Buns
Cover the rolls with plastic wrap that’s been loosely placed on top so it doesn’t restrict the rolls from rising. I’ve found a tea towel to be too porous for gluten free baking and the rolls eventually develop a skin and don’t rise any further.
Allow the rolls to rise until doubled in size, which can take anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour or more. This depends on the temperature of your proofing area. I always turn my oven on to the “warm” function, which is about 170 degrees. I only let it heat up very briefly (like 10-20 seconds) and quickly turn it off. The temperature won’t have reached 170 in that short amount of time. But it will be nice and toasty for the perfect rising environment (about 80 degrees).
Baking Gluten Free Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
Once the rolls have almost doubled in size, take them out of the oven (if that’s where you’re proofing them). Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Make an egg wash, consisting of one egg beaten with a splash or two of water. Carefully brush this onto each roll.
Bake the rolls for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and they spring back when lightly touched. Remove them from the oven and brush them with a generous amount of melted butter. Allow them to cool on a wire rack (still on the baking sheet) before slicing open.
But Wait! There’s a Whole Cup of Sugar in the Dough!! Are you serious?
First and foremost, my mission is to try to make gluten free recipes that are just as good (or better) than those things we remember eating before going gluten free. That rarely means healthier. This is not a blog for healthy gluten free recipes.
I know one cup of sugar sounds like a lot. But you have to remember we’re trying to make something the same texture that we remember it being back in our BC (before Celiac) days. I’ve found that sometimes it requires more drastic measures.
Take a look at the amount of yeast in this recipe. It’s more than double the amount that is usually in a bread recipe of any kind (regular OR gluten free). A cup of sugar does add a little sweetness to the dough, but more importantly it feeds the yeast. This is crucial in order to create the texture we really want–light, fluffy, soft–all those qualities of gluten-filled bread that we miss so much.
Also look at the amount of servings made from this one recipe. Using my 3-ounce starting point, we can make 15-16 gluten free hamburger and hot dog buns. In just ONE recipe!! That’s a whole lotta buns if you ask me! Are you gonna sit and eat all of those at once? Most likely you’ll have a bun with your burger or dog and then freeze the rest individually. They’ll be resting peacefully awaiting the next time you have a burger or dog.
I have tried numerous times to reduce the sugar in this dough and every single time the texture has been compromised. Sure, they might come out “okay” and we’ll have buns that are “decent.” I don’t know about you, but “decent” isn’t a word I want to describe something I’m eating. I want it to “heavenly” or “amazing” or “I can’t tell they’re gluten free.” My best test is to feed my gluten-eating family, especially my husband, with my gluten-free creations. If they pass the husband test and he can’t tell they’re gluten free, I know I’ve done well 🙂
Get your grill on this weekend and have that hamburger with a bun that squishes down just like we want. Or have a hot dog without needing a knife and fork. Or just eat one of each and call it a day!!
Gluten Free Hamburger and Hot Dog Buns
Ingredients
- 1 recipe IMPROVED °sweet roll dough (recipe follows)
- 1 large egg, for brushing
- 2-3 tbsp salted butter, melted, for brushing
DOUGH:
- 3½ cups (495 g) Kim's gluten free bread flour blend
- 2 tbsp whole psyllium husks or 1 tbsp plus 1 tsp psyllium husk powder
- 1 cup (200 g) granulated sugar*** (see notes)
- 1¾ tsp baking powder
- 2 tbsp plus 1½ tsp (24 g) instant, fast-acting yeast (not active dry yeast)
- 1 tsp kosher salt
- 1¼ cups (300 ml) whole milk (non-dairy milk can be substituted)
- ¾ cup (1½ sticks or 169 g) butter, melted or very soft
- 2 large eggs
Instructions
- Blend the dry ingredients in the bowl of a stand mixer using a whisk or the paddle attachment. With the mixer running on low, slowly add the milk, followed by the eggs and the butter.
- Turn the mixer up to high and beat for about 5 minutes. The dough should be smooth and somewhat stretchy, but still pretty fluid and not at all like bread dough should be. More like a slightly thinned out cookie batter.
- Remove the paddle attachment and scrape the dough together into a rough ball or mound using a bowl scraper or spatula. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and place it in a warm, draft-free area for about 2 hours, or until at least doubled or even tripled in volume. It should be fluffy and almost look like frosting.
- Chill for at least 4 hours, but preferably overnight.
SHAPING HAMBURGER BUNS:
- Divide the dough in half and put one half to the side while working with the other half. Divide the dough into approximately 3-ounce sized portions and roll each portion into a tight ball (see my video for shaping Hawaiian rolls here).
- Place on parchment-lined baking sheet, spaced about 2 inches apart. Flatten each to about 1/2-inch thick so they'll rise up and not out. Cover while making the hot dog buns.
SHAPING HOT DOG BUNS:
- With the second half of dough, roll it out to a rectangle that's about 1/2-inch thick. Cut into strips with a bench scraper or sharp knife. Place each strip on its side (cut side up) on the other half of the baking sheet and press down lightly until they are about one-inch thick.
PROOFING AND BAKING THE BUNS:
- Cover the buns with plastic wrap loosely and allow to rise until about doubled in size, which can take anywhere from a half an hour to an hour and a half, depending on the temperature of your proofing area. When buns are just about finished rising, preheat oven to 375° F.
- Make an egg wash by whisking one egg with a splash of water. Brush this onto each roll.
- Bake rolls for about 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown and they spring back when lightly touched.
- Remove from the oven and brush with melted butter. Allow to cool before slicing and toasting or grilling for your hamburgers and/or hot dogs.
Notes
Wait, what? 1cup of granulated sugar?!
Yep, a whole cup of sugar! I know it sounds like a lot, but if you look at the amount of yeast in the recipe, a lot of that sugar is fuel for the yeast. I’ve tried and tried (and tried some more) to reduce the sugar, but as soon as I do that the texture of the bread is compromised. When you look at the recipe as a whole, it makes a lot of buns so you’re not really getting that much sugar per bun. These are something like Hawaiian sweet roll-style hamburger and hot dog buns.
Kim, you are absolutely fabulous!
Your flour blends are by far the best all over the internet.
Thank you so much for everything! I am your No. 1 follower!
Awe, you are too kind and I thank you from the bottom of my heart 😍😍😍
I have to say that these were the best g/f rolls I’ve made. I made the hd buns a little smaller (2.5 oz) and the hb buns bigger (3oz). It allowed me to squeak out an extra hb bun, and the hd buns were about the same size as the store bought ones my family brought. My husband has celiacs he declared these the best g/f buns he’s had. They were even better toasted with butter this morning as a pork roll, egg, and cheese breakfast sandwich. Thanks for helping rock my bbq and thank you even more for helping my husband be able to enjoy hotdogs and hamburgers again.
Thanks so much, Danae!! I’m so glad your husband was able to enjoy hotdogs and hamburgers again 🙂
Kim, these were fabulous! I made the error of putting the butter, too hot, first and must have killed some of the yeast, so it didn’t rise completely, but all was not lost, they were still super delicious, just not as big as planned. Next time I will completely follow directions.
Yum! These are so tasty. We were planning to grill burgers and dogs tonight, but the weather had other ideas, so we ate these as giant dinner rolls. I’m excited to try them with our delayed burger meal. 🙂 They’re definitely on the sweeter side but I think I’ll really like that. I like your other soft burger and dog buns, too!
Thanks so much, Bet! We’ve had some crazy weather here, too (way too much rain for my liking). I can’t wait for you to try them as a burger bun 🙂
Kim, I have a tendency to make large burgers…Have you had any luck making larger burger buns?
I do too, Leslie! That’s why I purposely made these smaller. But yes, you can definitely make them larger. You’ll probably need to add a few more minutes to the baking time (I’d start with 5 more and then check them at that point). The best determination for when they’re done fully is when you pick one up and they feel light. If they feel heavy at all, put them back in the oven for a few more minutes. And if they’re getting too brown, you can always cover them loosely with foil.
Kim; unfortunately I’m dairy free and egg free. Have you tried with any substitutes? Flax eggs, Almond milk, coconut oil (for the butter)?
Hi, Dori! I haven’t tried any substitutions. I think it would work with a milk and dairy substitute, but I’m really not sure about the eggs. All I could suggest is to try it and see 🙂
On the hot dog and hamburger bun recipe with 1 cup sugar and lots of rapid rise yeast…after the 2 hour rise do i punch the dough down b4 putting it in the fridge? That is common with yeast breads but you don’t say to do that. I’m putting it in without punching down til I hear back from you. Gayle
Hi, Gayle! No, this dough doesn’t get punched down. It’d stick right to your fist if you even tried. That’s part of the reason why I refrigerate it overnight and then “knead” it the next day. The kneading is similar to punching down the dough, but more so just to release air bubbles and make the dough smooth, definitely not for gluten development like regular bread.
Gayle again…I am not successfully finding the VIDEO where u showed how to form the hamburger and hot dog buns. Where did it go? I did not punch down my dough…YAY!!!
Sorry, Gayle! It should be fixed now. Please let me know if you don’t see it.
I’m still unable to c the video…ARRRGGG!
Hmmm. I’m not very techy, but I checked on 3 different devices in my house and could see it just fine so it might be something on your end. Maybe clear your cache???
Been a serious gluten free baker for 3 years now and these hamburger buns are life changing! They smell and taste like a yeasted role. Only change I made was Ghee instead of butter. Truly amazing.
Thanks, Hilary!! I’m so glad you like them 🙂
Thank you so much for developing and posting this recipe. The buns are wonderful! I make the recipe, ate some, and froze the rest just like you said. When I take them out of the freezer, I thaw them for 30 seconds in the microwave and then pop them into my toaster. They turn out wonderful. A sandwich with Duke’s mayonnaise a home grown tomato, and a slice of fried bologna and I think I’ve gone to heaven. Thanks again!! I will definitely keep making these.
I’ve just made these burgers buns this evening to have them with home made bbq burgers, they are so delicious that my daughter had one before the actual burger and one afterward. Made the dough two days ago and kept it in the fridge.
Now, your bread flour mix is a must in my pantry. Thank you so much for this recipe.
I’m looking forward to try other recipes on your website.
Thanks so much, Shang! I’m thrilled that you love the burgers and the flour blend 🙂
Hi Kim,
Thank you so much for all the gluten free recipes. I can’t thank you enough 😊 I tried your pizza crust recipe last week and it turned out delicious 😋 today I tried hawaain bun recipe and did some variation. I used a vegan ( chia ) egg since I do t eat eggs, they were super yummy , soft and fluffy just like the real ones 😍 it’s my go to blog for GF recipes. Virtual hugs 🤗
Awe, thanks so much Harmeet!!! I’m so glad you’re liking everything so far, and I’m going to put your chia egg substitution on the post. My daughter is vegan and I’m not knowledgeable enough about vegan baking, so I appreciate the feedback and can’t wait to try it myself 🙂
Hi! First of all, let me thank you for your amazing recipes. My son and I have celiac disease and they have made our meal times amazing, your bread flour is a major game changer! Now on to my question, for the buns, is there any way to skip the chilling process? I have a hamburger bun and hotdog bun pan for them to shape in, but when we impromptu grill, it would be nice to have them in two hours if I need. Thank you 😊
Sure, you could skip the long chilling time. They’ll just be harder to shape. BUT, a new trick I learned (and I’ll put this in the post) is to freeze the dough for about 20 minutes, which will firm it up significantly to be able to shape it easier!
Thanks so much for your kind words 🙂
These were fantastic! I love hamburgers and I haven’t liked any GF buns I’ve tried and while a lettuce wrap is fine. . .THIS IS SO MUCH BETTER!
The only issue I had was the bottom cooked much faster than the top and almost burned. The 3 (I did all hamburger buns) that were on a different tray cooked faster and the bottoms were black. I was surprised when my golden brown ones on top were dark brown on the bottom. It is certainly the sugar, any thoughts on that? I used the middle rack and my oven is really true. I bake lots and lots of cakes and cookies and usually don’t have this issue.
Hmmm, I’m not sure. Mine never burn on the bottom. But if you’re having that issue, what I would say to do is put them on top of another baking sheet to insulate the bottoms. I think that will help.
Thanks, Jerrific 🙂
can you halve this recipe effectively? or do the proportions only work with a full recipe
Yes, you can! But I always like to make the full dough recipe and then only use half the dough for these hamburger/hot dog buns and use the other half for something else (donuts, cinnamon rolls, etc).
We’ve had a weird week here in Oregon. High winds fueled wildfires which led to a county-wide evacuation orders and a lot of smoke. And I had guests who eat gluten free arriving. So my timing was off.
I planned to make the dough a day in advance, chill overnight leaving the forming and proving of the dough for the next afternoon. Except I forgot to do it a day ahead, put the dough in the refrigerator instead of proving first, began the proving after two hours chilling, returned it the refrigerator for only three hours AND the recipe still worked.
After forming, proving and baking, I had lovely, soft hamburger buns.
That’s wonderful, Patty! I’m so glad they still turned out!! This dough is pretty forgiving.
My husband is currently in San Diego working and he said the air quality has been horrible there. I hope you are staying safe!
These are absolutely THE best gluten free rolls I have ever eaten and better than any I have purchased at the store. They looked just like your pictures but I made the mistake of cooking two pans at once in my oven and switched them around half way through. They burned slightly on the bottom so I won’t do that again. Also think my oven’s lower burner has a problem. Otherwise, they tasted wonderful and similar to Hawaian rolls. Thanks for all the time I’m sure you took to develop such a great recipe!
Awe, thanks so much, Carol!! So glad you liked them 🙂
Hai kim. It was great inspiration.
But I have a question. In GF bread flour there are some xanthan gum. And than in the recipe there is psyllium husk. Do we have to use both of them? Or we can skip the xanthan gum?
Thank you for your kindness
Yes, you can. It’s such a minimal amount in the bread flour blend that it won’t make a huge difference, but in this recipe the psyllium husk powder is what is truly needed. The reason I leave the xanthan gum in the bread flour blend is because I make mine in large quantities and I didn’t want to have to make a special batch up just for this recipe.
Thank you for your generosity sharing these recipes. My question is the rising process of the dough.
It is cold in MN and I put the bowl in a warm spot to rise but I don’t feel I have been successful.
Yesterday it took over 8 hours just for the dough to double.
I have fresh yeast so I’m don’t think that is the problem. The finished product tastes great, I just can’t get them to rise like yours…
Any ideas?
Thank you for your kindness.
Try turning your oven on to its lowest setting. Then turn it off and put your dough in to rise.
Once the dough is made how long can it sit in the fridge before it has to be used?
I would say no more than 3-4 days because of the eggs in the dough.
This is the best roll recipe I have found so far.
So glad you like it, Brenda! Thanks so much 🙂
Just made this recipe. It made 6 hamburger buns and 7 hot dog buns + 3 donuts (stole from the hotdog buns)! I wanted to try the donuts and was willing to see if the psyllium husk had any ill effect. All turned out delicious. I had to put foil over the buns after 10 minutes in the oven. I put my cookie sheet on top of another for that first 10 minutes and then took it off for the rest of the time – so my bottoms didn’t burn like others have mentioned. At 15 minutes, the rolls still felt “heavy”. I used a thermometer and the rolls were at 195-197 degrees F. I decided to keep them in the oven for another 5 minutes and took them out of the oven when they were 200 degrees (Julia Child’s bread recipes suggest that temp), and they definitely felt lighter. I am so happy you shared about them feeling “light”. I noticed that after they were cooled, they were “squishier” than when I first brought them out. Very happy with the end results! Thank you for this recipe!! I believe your flour it is better than the American Test Kitchen GF flour recipe. My son will be having a special Christmas with all these baked GF options!
My daughter who isn’t GF said, “no one will be disappointed if you serve THESE donuts!” regarding using this dough for donuts. Your oil temp instructions were spot on!
Yay!!!! I’m so happy you had success, Joyce! And I’m even happier for your son 🙂
Merry Christmas 🎄
I just found your web site, and I can’t wait to try your recipes. I was looking for a bread and hamburger bun that is soft. Thanks’ for sharing! God Bless you!
I hope you like them, Carol! Thanks so much, and God bless you, too 🙂
Hello Kim! What a blessing you are to my family! We are all gluten free & dairy free and have never tasted breads as great as you have made possible here! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart! Have you ever considered making some kind of bran/fiber muffin? I’m always trying to get fiber into the family diet and since they love your recipes so much, well….. I was just wondering. Thank you again! 🙂
Thank you so much, Joy!! I’m so glad you and your family enjoy the breads 🙂
I know we can’t have bran so I hadn’t really thought about making something similar to a bran muffin. I’ll have to put it on my ever growing list of things to work on 🙂
WOW! These buns came out absolutely wonderful. I used your bread flour blend and weighed all the ingredients. The dough is pretty sticky but not nearly as bad as other GF doughs I’ve tried. I did over bake them by a few minutes because I got distracted, so they were just shy of “too done”, but they were still soft and lovely. They are definitely sweet so if you don’t want a sweeter roll obviously don’t use this recipe! But they strongly reminded me of the brioche-type buns I used to buy before we went GF, and they were a huge hit with the whole family. I made the whole batch of dough but decided I didn’t need so many rolls, so I made half into burger buns and used the rest of the dough to make cinnamon rolls using the cinnamon roll directions (which also came out AMAZING!). Next time I’ll definitely make the full batch of rolls. In fact, I’d say these are the first burger buns I’d be proud to serve to non-GF eaters. I’m already envisioning stashing some in the freezer for summer cookouts. Thank you for an amazing recipe!
Awe, that’s awesome, Jen! I’m so glad you liked them 🙂
I could use some troubleshooting help! I made the rolls twice and they came out perfect both times. Today I made them again and things went awry. First, in the oven they rose all misshapen and burst out in irregular ways. Not the end of the world but they definitely aren’t as pretty as the last two times! Then, they looked fine when they came out of the oven but they sunk as they cooled, so now they’re lumpy and wrinkly too, haha. It occurred to me maybe they weren’t quite done although they aren’t doughy inside, but I had taken them out because the bottoms were totally burning. None of this happened previously so I don’t know what I did differently this time. Any ideas?
Hmmm, that is a conundrum. So you didn’t change anything in the flour blend itself then, like using a different brand of a component? It’s possible they were either over proofed or under proofed.
If you haven’t changed anything within the flour blend, I might just chalk it up to the proofing time and try again. I wish I could be more helpful!
Nope, I had mixed up a big batch of the flour blend so it was the same batch from last time, and I weighed everything. Rise time is a good guess. I thought I had proofed them the correct amount but maybe not. Thanks for your ideas!
Can you make the dough and freeze uncooked?
Yep, you sure can! Wrap it well in plastic wrap and then in foil as an extra precaution. Freeze for no more than 2 months. Thaw in the fridge overnight, still well wrapped.
Could i form these into buns right after the mixing process, let them rise to 2x-3x, then bake? I just made the recipe according to instructions, chilling dough overnight. The risen dough before refrigeration looked perfectly big and airy. But then after refrigeration and rolling/flattening, they barely rose. So the baked buns were like hockey pucks. They tasted great though, just too flat and dense. Thank you!
I’m not sure how you would form them because the dough is so sticky. The dough always rises high for the initial rise and then falls after refrigeration, but if you shape them and then give them plenty of time to rise in a warm place, they will rise up again. Here’s what I do: I turn my oven on to the lowest temp it goes (mine is 170 F), then turn it off and place the rolls in the warm oven to rise. Sometimes it can take 2 hours or more, and if my house is super cold I will turn the oven back on (to that low temp) one more time before the rolls are at their proper rise level.
I would try this first before attempting to shape them right after mixing 🙂
Thank you for replying! I will try warming the oven. This is the best tasting recipe I’ve tried so i really want to get the rise right!
Your instructions say to add the milk, eggs and then butter, which I did, but the video shows adding wet ingredients, so should I have whisked the eggs in the milk? I added the eggs unbeaten, will that make a difference? I currently have it in the fridge rising.
Nope, not at all. This dough is really forgiving and adding the eggs unbeaten won’t make a difference at all 🙂
They came out beautiful!! I am a bread maker and now that I have celiac disease, I have to re-teach myself everything. Thank you for your recipes, italian bread next!!
Yay!!! I can’t WAIT for you to try the Italian bread. It’s my favorite 😍😍😍