Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Buns

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The best 100% whole wheat sourdough hamburger buns that are actually light and fluffy! This is a great recipe for freshly milled hard white or hard red wheat berries (or whole wheat flour that you purchase).

These whole wheat sourdough hamburger buns have the perfect texture for burgers, pulled pork, or deli meat sandwiches!

There is some quick prep the night before to make these buns the next day.

This recipe is a variation on my regular sourdough hamburger buns recipe which contains less than half whole wheat flour. Both recipes are only simple pantry ingredients.

I love to top them with sesame seeds before baking and toast them before serving.

I’m continually pushing the bounds to see how light and fluffy my freshly-milled flour enriched sourdough breads can be.

I’m happy with the texture of these hamburger buns. You get all the fermented wholegrain goodness in a bun that’s soft and not overly filling.

You may also like to try my whole wheat sourdough pita bread, whole wheat sourdough tortillas, whole wheat sourdough English muffins.

Making Sourdough Hamburger Buns with Freshly Milled Flour

If you’ve been around here long, you know I mill my own wholegrain flours.

I love how the various grains I mill bring increased nutrition, variety, and flavor to my sourdough breads and other baked goods.

Visit my beginner’s guide to milling flour at home to learn more.

I milled hard white wheat berries for a lighter color and more mild “wheat” flavor. Hard red wheat would work great as well, if that’s what you have available.

I like to mill enough for the prepared starter, yundane, final dough, and some extra for dusting: 360g total.

Freshly milled flour is not necessary, though. You can likely find stone-ground white whole wheat flour right at your local grocery store.

Keys to Light and Fluffy Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Buns

A huge reason these buns have such a nice texture is that a portion of the flour is scalded (yundane).

The flour is simply stirred with some boiling water the night before and is left in the refrigerator overnight while the flour gelatinizes.

The yundane functions as a natural dough enhancer and allows the whole wheat dough to absorb more liquid.

It also increases the shelf life of the whole wheat sourdough hamburger buns.

The other enrichments in the dough (egg, sugar, milk, and butter) also improve the flavor and texture.

This dough is best made in a mixer to develop the gluten structure upfront before bulk fermentation. (I love my Bosch Universal Plus mixer fitted with a dough.) There are no stretch-and-folds required.

The buns go through an extended proof until they are nice and puffy.

Notes About the Sourdough Starter

The prepared starter (levain) is mixed the night before so it reaches its peak by morning.

You’ll notice that sugar is added to the prepared starter. This is to control the acidity for less sour hamburger buns later.

Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Buns Baking Schedule

*The temperature of your dough and kitchen will affect how long each step will take. I bulk fermented and proofed around 75°F with a final dough temp of 73°F after mixing. If your kitchen or dough are cooler, expect the rise times to be longer. Use the dough as your guide.

Approximate timing:

• Prepare yundane and starter (night before): 5 minutes
• Mix and knead dough (including 30 minute rest): 50 minutes
• Warm bulk rise: 2 hours
• Divide and shape: 15 minutes
• Proof: 3 hours, 50 minutes
• Bake: 18 minutes

Make your prepared starter and yundane before bed so you can start the dough the next morning. The process took me about 7.25 hours total on day 2.

Tips for Making Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Buns

• The yundane needs to sit overnight for the starch in the flour to gelatinize. It will not function the same way if you try to make it the same morning you mix the dough.
• Make sure the prepared starter has reached it peak before you start the dough (I’ll show you what to look for in the steps below.) Give it extra time in the morning if needed.
• Two keys to the perfect soft and light texture are kneading the high-hydration dough sufficiently and pushing the proof. Though the sourdough whole wheat buns will look quite small after shaping, they will proof to the proper size. When you apply the egg wash, the buns should feel very soft to the touch and somewhat wobbly. They should have a fairly open crumb after baking. (If buns start to deflate when proofing, they have overproofed. You’ll notice the outside skin will separate from the body of the over-proofed bun after the bun has cooled.)
• This makes 10 standard-size burger buns that work well for quarter-pound hamburgers. If you want even larger sourdough buns, make only 8 buns (93g each) out of the recipe. You can also make small sourdough whole wheat slider buns by forming 20 buns (37g each) with the same amount of dough. If you want to make a double batch but don’t have an extra oven, you can fit up to 12 buns on one half-sheet pan; they will just be touching slightly after baking.

How to Make Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Buns (Step-by-Step Instructions)

Step 1 (Night Before)– Prepare Starter and Yundane

Before bedtime, prepare the starter and yundane.

I list the ingredients in gram weights for accuracy. My go-to scale is this digital kitchen scale to weigh the ingredients, but any scale will work.

For the starter, mix some seed sourdough starter (from a white or whole wheat starter) with water, granulated sugar, and whole wheat flour in preparation for the recipe. Cover and leave at room temperature.

Mix the yundane in a separate container. Stir boiling water into the flour to essentially make a paste. Cover and refrigerate the yundane until the next morning.

By morning (after about 12 hours), the starter should have risen. It should have bubbles even in the top surface (as pictured below) and have a “yeasty” smell instead of a “raw flour” smell.

Make sure to give the starter extra time if you don’t feel like it’s at its peak.

When both of these elements are ready, you can mix the final dough.

Step 2 (Next Morning) – Mix and Knead Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Bun Dough

In a mixer fitted with a dough hook (and also the dough hook extender for the Bosch), add the starter, yundane, whole wheat flour, egg, sugar, and whole milk. Reserve the salt and butter cubes for now.

Mix for a couple of minutes on low speed until those ingredients are combined.

Cover the dough and allow it to sit and rest for 30 minutes. This time will kickstart gluten development.

After the rest, add in the salt and butter cubes and mix for a few minutes until the butter is thoroughly incorporated.

At this point the dough will be quite sticky and cling to the mixing bowl.

Continue to knead on low for 12-15 additional minutes until the dough changes to show the following signs of strength:

The dough should hold tightly to itself and the dough hook. It should have a shiny and smooth appearance, and after resting for a minute, you should be able to pull it into a dramatic, stretchy windowpane.

You’ll notice that the dough has a noticeably “taught” feeling at this point compared to what it was like after mixing the ingredients in.

Keep mixing if it hasn’t yet reached this point of development.

Step 3 – Bulk Ferment

I turn out my dough onto a clean countertop to form it into a tidy ball. Then I place it in a Cambro container so I can mark the starting line with a dry-erase marker.

Cover the dough and allow it to sit in a warm place until it has doubled in volume.

Step 4 – Divide and Shape

When it’s time to shape the dough, turn it out onto a clean surface and divide it into ten 75g pieces.

Notice how my whole wheat dough looks when I slice through it. You can see how it holds its shape because the gluten is well-developed.

Degass the first piece of dough with your palm to remove any air bubbles.

Form the dough into a ball and then scoot the ball in a circular motion against the counter with your hand cupped around the dough to make a tight, round ball.

Repeat to shape the remaining buns.

Step 5 – Final Proof

Arrange the whole wheat sourdough hamburger buns on two half-sheet pans lined with parchment paper. Cover with plastic wrap and set them in a warm place to proof.

When done, they should be more-than-double in size, be very puffy and soft to the touch, and slightly wobble when the pan is bumped.

Don’t proof so long that the buns start to deflate, however.

Meanwhile, preheat your oven to 425°F with two racks set in the center.

Step 6 – Egg Wash, Toppings, and Bake

When the buns are fully proofed, whisk together the egg and milk to make the egg wash.

Gently brush this over the entire surface of each bun, but be careful that you don’t press down and deflate the delicate buns.

Sprinkle on sesame seeds, if you desire.

Stagger the pans on the two racks and bake for 10 minutes. Then rotate the pans and bake for an additional 6-8 minutes or until the buns are golden-brown in color.

Transfer the buns to a cooling rack and allow them to cool completely before slicing or storing.

To toast them, I lay the sliced buns face up on a sheet pan, butter or oil them, and broil them in the oven for 2-3 minutes.

How to Store Whole Wheat Sourdough Hamburger Buns

The hamburger buns store well in an airtight container at room temperature for 3-4 days.

For longer storage, freeze in a freezer storage bag in a single layer for up to three months. Leave at room temperate to thaw before warming/toasting and serving.

If you make this recipe and love it, I would be so grateful if you would come back to leave a star rating and a comment. Your feedback is very appreciated!

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