This brioche buns recipe has been a long time coming. My brioche loaf recipe is very popular on the blog, and a question I get asked often by my readers is can I make burger buns with this dough?
Why yes, YES you can! 🙂 And here I’m going to show you how.
A step by step recipe for soft, buttery brioche buns.

- Why this recipe works!
- The process of making the dough
- What’s the consistency of the brioche bun dough?
- Do I have to do an overnight cold proof?
- Shaping the dough
- Proofing the burger buns
- How to store brioche buns
- Can I halve this recipe?
- What if I don’t need that many brioche buns?
- What do the brioche burger buns taste like?
- Can I adapt this recipe to use less butter?
- Final notes
Why this recipe works!
- This brioche burger buns recipe is based on my tried and true, foolproof brioche loaf recipe.
- It uses 50% butter which makes this much richer than other brioche bun recipes.
- Other recipes you’ll find online are lean brioche buns, because they use less butter and/or eggs.
- You can adapt this recipe to use fewer eggs and less butter to make it easier to handle (i.e. a lean brioche dough), though I highly recommend following the recipe for best results.
- I’ll also show you how to make larger burger buns (10 cm) or smaller burger buns (8 or 9 cm) or even slider buns.
I always have so much fun making brioche! It’s the perfect base for so many baked goods like cinnamon rolls, babka etc. But it’s also the base for other goodies like French toast, bostock, bread pudding, sandwiches and burgers. Since brioche is a cross between bread and cake, the texture and taste are uniquely delicious. It’s in the same viennoiserie category as croissants.
If you’d like to learn more about brioche, you can read this post. Here I’m going straight into the nitty-gritty and step by step tutorial on making and baking these beautiful brioche buns.
Making the dough for brioche buns
Ingredients
Flour
I use all purpose flour for this recipe, but you can also use bread flour. Bread flour will give these brioche burger buns a chewier texture.
Yeast
I use active dry yeast for this recipe. The active dry yeast that I use has finer granules than other active dry yeast brands. But I still like to activate it in warm water/milk before making the dough.
You can also use instant yeast and I have had several readers who made my brioche bread recipe with it. The results are the same, except that proofing times will change because instant yeast is more active.

Milk
I activate the yeast in milk. You can use 2% or 3% milk. You can also use plant based milk (if that’s what you have at home). And if you have none of that, you can use 1% milk or water (which will yield similar results).
Sugar
You can use white sugar or brown sugar. Brown sugar will add a molassey taste as well.
Eggs
Very important ingredient! I use large eggs (2 oz each) for my recipe.
Good quality eggs are also the secret to beautiful yellow brioche dough. Some eggs have a very pale yellow yolk. These are perfectly acceptable for making brioche (and I use these more often).
However, sometimes I purchase eggs that are not only organic, but have been fed nutrient rich feed, which results in deep orange yolks. These give brioche buns or loaves a deep yellow color.
I use 4 whole eggs + 2 egg yolks. Compared to my brioche bread recipe, here I’ve removed 1 extra egg white to make the dough just a tad easier to handle.

Unsalted butter
This brioche bun dough is also a 50% butter brioche. For 500 g of flour, I use 250 g unsalted butter. Just like with croissants, a better quality butter is recommended, but you don’t need 82% fat butter. Use a brand that you like to use at home. The better the butter flavor, the better the brioche will taste.

Flavoring
To make sure all the flavors of brioche are balanced, I like to add salt and vanilla as well. The vanilla helps balance the flavor of eggs, and the salt brings out the sweet, buttery flavors.
The process of making the dough
Once the yeast is activated in lukewarm milk and a little honey, you’re ready to start making the dough.
Add the eggs, egg yolks, vanilla and sugar to the activated yeast mixture in any order you like. Break the egg with a fork.
Add the flour, and then salt on top. It’s important that the salt is placed on top of the flour so that it cannot make direct contact with the yeast. Otherwise the yeast is a goner.
Next, mix the dough to form a scraggly, rough dough ball. Now you’re ready to knead this baby.
After kneading the dough for about 5 minutes with the dough hook attachment, you can start to add the softened butter.
Once the butter is added, the dough becomes runny and soft. Almost like cake batter. This is NORMAL. DO NOT PANIC. I repeat, do NOT panic!
The butter interferes with gluten development, so the dough needs to be kneaded more to develop the gluten necessary for brioche. This is true of the brioche loaf as well as these brioche buns.
Knead the dough until it changes from a cake batter-like consistency to a smooth, shiny dough. This can take between 15 – 30 minutes.
What’s the consistency of the brioche bun dough?
Brioche dough is much softer than regular bread dough.
If you develop the gluten well, then you should be able to use the dough hook and pick up almost all of the dough cleanly off the bowl.
And when you take the dough into your hands, it might feel like a water balloon. Smooth, shiny, heavy and it’ll want to droop over the sides. This is good!
Let the dough rise at room temperature, until it proofs to 1.5 – 2 times the original size. The dough will be softer still after this proofing. The first proofing helps the gluten develop further too. You can skip it, and have a longer overnight proof, but I prefer not to skip the room temperature proof.
Do I have to do an overnight cold proof?
The overnight cold proof serves two purposes.
- This dough is really soft and hard to manage. Chilling the dough makes it much easier to portion and shape.
- A long cold proof also helps develop more flavor in your brioche.
If you want to skip the overnight proof, you can instead place the dough in the freezer for a few hours until the dough is chilled.
To do this, place the dough on a baking pan (flatten it with your hands), and cover with plastic wrap really well (do not use a hand towel or napkin for this). Then transfer it to the freezer. Since the dough is thinner, it should chill down faster. But make sure you don’t freeze the dough. If you do freeze it accidentally, simply let it thaw out until the dough is pliable but still cold.

Shaping the dough
Unlike the brioche loaves, the dough will be portioned into small pieces and shaped into smooth balls here.
The size of the dough portions will determine how big the final baked product will be. Here’s a simple chart for you to figure out how much each portion should weigh to make brioche burger buns.
Divide the dough into equal sized pieces with the weights below for the type of bun you want.
Weight of the dough (grams) | Size of the burger (diameter) | How many buns per batch |
85 g | 10 – 10.5 cm | 12 – 14 |
72 g | 9 – 9.5cm | 16 – 17 |
65 g | 8 cm | 17 – 18 |
50 g | 6 cm (sliders) | 23 – 24 |
To shape the portions into buns, flatten the dough slightly with the palm of your hand (smooth side down). Then fold in the edges towards the middle. Pinch all the edges together.
Dip the smooth side of the burger bun in a little flour. Place this on your work surface, with the seam side down (and the floured, smooth side up).
Place your cupped hand over the bun and roll it until it’s nice and smooth. Tighten the dough into a ball with a smooth, taut surface. This can be kept on the parchment paper-lined baking tray to proof.
Proofing the burger buns
The brioche buns require one last proofing before baking. You can simply place the buns on a parchment paper-lined baking tray (or silpat). However, if you want to have the classic ring look around the base of the burger buns, you can purchase burger baking mats or make foil rings.
I learned the foil ring trick from ChefSteps. It’s cheaper but time consuming to make the foil rings. It’s a little finicky, and you have to ensure that they are all the right diameter. Also remember to butter the inside of the foil rings to prevent the buns from sticking as they bake.
The burger mats with cavities are easier to use, but more expensive.
The easiest and cheapest option is to bake the buns on a tray with no mold. There’s nothing wrong with this method and it’s what I use 95% of the time. They still come out perfect and the taste is the same whichever method you use.
I like to place the buns on the baking tray, and then flatten them slightly with the palm of my hand.
How to tell the brioche buns are ready to bake
The dough should have doubled in size, maybe a little more. The rise times / proofing times depend on the size of your portions, temperature of the dough, and ambient temperature.
But here’s the best way to tell when the buns are proofed properly.
Use your fingertip (that is either floured or buttered to avoid sticking), and then press it into the dough gently. This should leave an indentation.
If the indentation springs back up to almost its original state, then the dough is under-proofed. Leave it to proof a little longer.
If the indentation only comes back up a little, then it’s proofed well and can be baked.

However, if the indentation stays with no discernible movement, then the brioche burger buns need to be baked immediately, because they maybe almost or slightly over-proofed.
If the dough deflates when you leave an indentation, the dough has already over-proofed unfortunately. You could bake them, but they might be dense or dry and might have a flat shape. They could also have a very obvious yeasty / beer-like smell and taste.
Baking the brioche dough
Brioche burger buns bake much faster than brioche loaves, but it’s just as important to preheat the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 F / 180 C.
To make sure the brioche burger buns have a beautiful, shiny crust, brush the tops of the buns with an egg wash (a beaten egg).
If you like sesame seed topped buns, then you can sprinkle white sesame seeds or black sesame seeds on top. For added flavor, you can go with everything bagel seasoning; not traditional, but delicious!
Bake the buns until they are a deep golden brown on top. The internal temperature should be about 190 F. This can take about 10 – 12 minutes for regular burger buns. And about 12 – 15 minutes for slider buns (since they are baking while in contact with each other).
Allow the buns to cool slightly, and then transfer them to a wire rack to cool to room temperature. If you use foil rings, remember to remove them.
How to store brioche buns
Just like other breads, brioche becomes stale the longer you keep them outside.
I store mine in an air-tight container and they’re pretty good for 2 days at room temperature. On the third day, I’d usually toast the brioche and it’s still delicious for sandwiches. After that, the brioche can be pretty stale.

So if you want these burger buns to last longer, I recommend you freeze them. This way they will last for at least 2 – 3 months!
When you’re ready, let them thaw out at room temperature, or in the fridge. Alternatively, you can reheat them in the oven as well.

Can I halve this recipe?
You can. But I find that the dough is harder to knead in a stand mixer when I make half the quantity. The dough hook isn’t able to catch the dough in the bowl, so the kneading process can be longer. I use a 5 qt bowl, so if your mixer is smaller then you might be able to make half a batch more easily.
What if I don’t need that many brioche buns?
How dare you?? How dare you want less brioche buns? Is that even possible?
Fine, I’ll bite.
If you don’t need as many brioche buns as this recipe makes, then you can halve the dough, and then make buns with half of that dough, and use the other half to make a brioche loaf or cinnamon rolls.
Or you can simply freeze the extra buns or loaves for later (after baking).
What do the brioche burger buns taste like?
Heaven?
But really though, these buns are super soft in texture and rich in flavor! The color of the crumb will depend on the eggs that you use, but it can range from a light yellow to a deep yellow color. Gorgeous in other words.
Brioche buns will make any burger or chicken sandwich a work of art. It’s the perfect bun for your favorite fillings! Stick some slices of tomato and cheese between these babies, and your taste buds will be forever in debt to you.
Can I adapt this recipe to use less butter?
You can. You can add anywhere between 125 – 250 g of butter to get a 25% – 50 % brioche dough (lean brioche with 125 g).
This will have an impact on the final yield, so be mindful that the sizes and yield will be different if you omit some of the butter.

Final notes
If you want to know more about brioche dough, you can check out the FAQ here.
Making these buns is easy. The process of kneading the dough is the most challenging because it takes longer than with regular bread. But the results are so worth your while! You can read all the comments from my brioche loaf recipe to find out how much my readers love it!
Now you can ALSO make BRIOCHE CINNAMON BUNS with the same dough recipe.
With this step by step, foolproof and reader-approved recipe, you’ll be tasting the BEST brioche buns ever! And you’ll NEVER want to buy store-bought buns again!

Looking for more recipes?Sign up for my free recipe newsletter to get new recipes in your inbox each week! Find me sharing more inspiration on Pinterest and Instagram.
Perfect Brioche Buns
Ingredients:
- ½ cup warm milk around 110 F
- 2 ½ tsp active dry yeast about
9 g - 2 tsp honey
- 4 large eggs
- 2 yolks from large eggs
- 2 tsp vanilla
- 2.1 oz granulated white sugar
5 tbsp - 17.6 oz AP flour
4 cups + 2 tbsp, measured by spoon and level method - 1 ½ tsp sea salt fine grind
- 8.8 oz unsalted butter (very soft) roughly divided into four portions (1 cup + 2 tbsp)
To brush / sprinkle on top
- 1 egg whisked, for the egg wash
- Sesame seeds (optional)
- Everything bagel seasoning (optional)
Instructions:
DAY ONE
Making the dough
- Measure all the ingredients.
- Add the milk, yeast and honey into the mixing bowl and whisk gently to combine. Set aside for 10 minutes to allow the yeast to activate.
- Add the eggs and yolks, vanilla, and sugar, and whisk gently to break the egg yolks.
- Add the flour and sea salt, and mix with a spatula or dough whisk to form a scraggly dough.
- With the dough hook attachment, knead the dough on speed 2 or 3 for about 3 - 5 minutes.
- Add the first portion of butter, in increments, after the first minute of kneading. Allow the butter to be mixed well into the dough. This should take about 1 - 2 minutes.
- Repeat with the other 3 portions of butter, kneading the dough for about 2 minutes after each addition.
- Make sure to stop the mixer to scrape down the sides of the bowl (and the bottom) between adding butter and kneading. You will have incorporated all the butter in about 9 - 10 minutes of kneading time.
- Once all the butter is incorporated, scrape down the sides and bottom of the bowl, and knead the dough for a further 5 - 15 minutes on speed 5 or 6.
- The dough will have been kneaded enough when it can be lifted fairly cleanly off the bottom of the bowl when picked up with the dough hook. It will be very soft and tacky to the touch, but shouldn’t stick to your fingertips. Rather than strictly going by time, knead the dough until you have reached this consistency.
- Flour your work surface, and turn the dough out onto the floured surface. Lightly flour your hands and the surface of the dough to prevent the dough from sticking to your palms. Then flatten the dough with your hands to deflate.
- Fold in the edges of the dough towards the middle and gently press them into the dough (see pictures in my brioche bread loaf post for more information). Carefully flip the dough over, and then with the heel of your palms, shape the dough to form a tight ball.
- Carefully pick up the dough ball and place it back in the mixer bowl (or another large bowl).
- Let it rise until it has doubled in size, in a warm place (72°F), for about 1 hour.
- Turn the proofed dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and fold in the edges again as before towards the middle and press them in. Carefully flip the dough over (seam side down now). Tighten the dough into a ball with a smooth, taut surface (using the edges of your palms). Transfer the dough into the mixer bowl again.
- Cover and let it chill in the fridge for at least 8 hours, or up to 24 hours.
DAY TWO
Portioning the dough
- Remove the chilled dough from the fridge. The dough will be much easier to work with now.
- Line a few baking trays with parchment paper. Keep a bowl of flour, a scale, and a dough cutter ready.
- Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Deflate the dough by flattening it lightly.
- Measure the weight of the dough, and then divide it into 16 pieces (about 75 g per portion).
- Each portion will bake into a burger bun that is 9 - 9.5 cm in diameter. Please see the table in the post for different sizes and yields.
Shaping the dough
- Place each dough portion on your work surface, with the smooth side down. Fold in the edges towards the middle. Pinch the seams together.
- Dip the smooth side of the dough in a little flour. Carefully flip the dough over, and then using a cupped palm, and with the seam side down, roll the dough portion on your work surface until you get a smooth dough ball.
- Place the smooth, rolled dough on the parchment paper-lined baking tray; 6 buns on a baking tray plus 2 more on another tray.
- Repeat with the other dough portions to get 16 smooth dough balls.
- After arranging the dough balls on your baking trays, flatten them slightly. Cover the buns loosely with plastic wrap. This is important to prevent a skin from forming on the dough as it proofs.
Proofing and baking
- Proof the bread in the covered loaf pans for about 2 hours at room temperature, or until doubled in size. Preheat the oven to 350°F / 180°C before baking the buns. You can check if the buns are proofed by doing the indentation test (see recipe notes).
- Once proofed, brush the tops with an egg wash. Optional - sprinkle sesame seeds on top. For more flavor, you can sprinkle everything bagel seasoning as well.
- Bake in preheated oven until golden brown on top, and the internal temperature registers 190°F / 88°C. This can take about 10 - 12 minutes.
- Remove from the oven and let the buns cool slightly.
- Transfer the buns to a wire rack and let them cool down to room temperature. They’re ready to be served now.
- I prefer to bake one tray at a time. But you can bake two at a time as well, just make sure to switch the tray positions halfway through the baking time. To prevent over-proofing, refrigerate the remaining baking trays with the proofed buns (still covered in plastic wrap) until they're ready to be baked.
Tips & Tricks
- If you make a small indentation in the dough with your fingertip, and it bounces back 90 - 100% of the way, then the dough is still under-proofed.
- If the indentation bounces back only slightly, then it's proofed and ready to be baked. If the indentation stays, it's starting to over-proof, so bake it as soon as possible.
- If the bread deflates when poked with a finger, then it has over-proofed.
Nutrition Information:
“This website provides approximate nutrition information for convenience and as a courtesy only. Nutrition data is gathered primarily from the USDA Food Composition Database, whenever available, or otherwise other online calculators.”
Julie says
Can these be filled with cream, chocolate, dolce de leche as well? I saw the reply to colaches. Since I am looking for a “sweet bread” to add fillings to, this seems better than the Concha bread recipe I have been using. I am looking for a softer bread that I can shape accordingly
Dini says
Hi Julie
These can’t be filled with cream prior to baking as it will be completely absorbed by the bread.
You could put chocolate pieces and it will be molten while still warm, but they will harden again as the bread cools down.
Dulce de leche should be ok as well, but make sure to chill the dulce de leche so that it will hold it’s shape better inside the bun while shaping.
Brioche buns are exceptionally soft when handling the dough, so you have to make sure the dough is chilled when you are shaping them. Otherwise it will be difficult as it will get sticky.
I hope that helps.
Carmiña G.Gamboa Acereto says
Me gustaron muchísimo sus recetas de panes Brioche!
Karen says
Love love this recipe! They come out great everytime I make them. Would live to know the calorie count of each.
Dori says
Hello there, i’ve tried your recipe. I live in a tropical place and right now it’s kinda hot. How do I handle the dough properly? It’s like it’s melting when I shape it into balls. Thank you!
Dini says
Hi Dori
Brioche is harder to handle in a tropical climate because of the heat and how quickly butter can melt.
You have two options that you can follow. The first is to use the fridge more often. The dough is easier to manage if it’s cold, and I would keep the dough in the fridge at each step, or whenever the dough becomes too soft. For example – if you’re shaping the dough into balls, keep the rest of the dough portions in the fridge until you’re done with the previous portions.
Once all the balls have been shaped, you will need to let it proof in a room that is not too hot – ideally no more than 85 F / 29 C. Anything higher can cause the butter in the dough to melt out and make the buns greasy.
The proofing will be faster as well, so keep an eye on the dough.
I hope that helps!
Simone says
Dini…I’m so sorry to waste your time. I just read the entire post and I see that I can skip the overnight refrigeration by putting the dough in the freezer. Problem now is , how thick should I flatten it and can you give me an estimate on time before it freezes! I know, I know…freezer temps vary. But HELP!
Dini says
Hi Simone!
Happy to help 🙂 you’re definitely not wasting my time!
So I just flatten it so that it presses into a quarter sheet pan, or jelly roll pan, so that it can go into the freezer. This is what fits in my freezer. It doesn’t have to be exact measurements. The flattening is only so that the dough fits in the pan and can be covered, and placed in the freezer.
I don’t have an estimate on time unfortunately because the time even varies depending on where I keep it in my freezer and how thick the dough is too. I usually check on the dough every 30 minutes until it’s chilled enough to handle.
I hope that helps!
Simone says
This recipe is indeed foolproof. Buns come out perfect, EVERYTIME! One issue though, I am not always able to do an overnight refrigeration, how an I adapt it to make buns on the same day?
Liz Calabro says
I know it’s sacrilege but can I use a different fat that is dairy free? I need these to be parve for a kosher dinner
Dini says
Hi Liz!
Absolutely you can!
You can use a vegan butter or even something like olive oil too.
However, just bear in mind that this is a REALLY soft dough, so adding oil or a soft vegan butter will make the dough even softer. To make it easier, you can reduce the oil a little. Maybe about 175 – 200 g instead of 250 g?
Good luck! Let me know how they turned out!
Gina says
i have instant yeast and don’t have milk, what can i substitute with milk
thanks
Dini says
Hi Gina
Yo ucan use instant yeast. But instant yeast is more active, and the proof times may be short. So keep an eye on the dough.
You can also use water instead of the milk as well. Hope that helps.
Ashleigh says
So delicious!! I used the doubled version (from your loaves recipe) to make one loaf of bread and one batch of buns when we needed them for spontaneous pulled pork. I used instant yeast and let the whole dough rise in my oven (off) for 1 hour. I then separated the dough into two halves and gently spread half on a baking sheet and let it chill at the top of my fridge for 1 hour while I left the remainder in the bowl, also in the fridge. After an hour the dough on the sheet was cold and pliable and was ready to be formed. I rolled them into 8-80 gram buns and let them rise for 1 hour until doubled. Using instant yeast really sped this recipe up and they baked in 12 minutes perfectly! We got to enjoy our pulled pork on delicious buns and have our remaining dough for tomorrow’s loaf. So perfect, thank you!
Jo says
First time I’ve ever made bread and thought this would be fun to try out with my new stand mixer. I found the recipe so easy to follow and turned out some perfect buns! They’re so soft and light inside, but have good structure to hold a burger and are also not too sweet. I’ll definitely return to this recipe for when we can have people over for bbqs, I may need to work on getting a uniform shape though 🙂
Pam says
This recipe was easy to make and turned out wonderful for our holiday dinner rolls and slider buns! Making a second batch today to keep on hand in the freezer for everything!
Donna says
Just found your blog and am excited to try these brioche buns. I live in TX and sausage stuffed kolaches are very popular. I like the jalapeño, cheddar and sausage ones. Can I use this dough to make kolache? It is typically a soft bread. Have made them with another dough recipe and had issues with cheese oozing out. Would an egg wash on edges prior to sealing help?
Dini says
Hi Donna
I do make brioche burger buns and brioche fruit tarts with this recipe, so Kolaches are definitely do-able. But please note that this dough is MUCH MUCH MORE SOFT than kolache dough, and can be difficult to work with. Chilling the dough help with shaping the dough.
Because the dough is soft, it should seal easily by pinching the seams. But a little water brushed on the edges can help seal the dough if needed. If you do get any fat on the dough, it will be harder to seal it.
Good luck, and let me know if it did work for you! 🙂
Noelle says
Dini would you kindly share what brand of active yeast you use and where you purchase your burger mats from? Thank you
Dini says
Hi Noelle
I use Bob’s red mill active dry yeast. The burger mats were purchased through Amazon.
I hope that helps!
Kim Nunn says
Instead of making fiddley foil rings or buying (yet another) specialty pan, could you use wide mouth mason jar lids? Brush the insides with butter and toss them in a bag with half a cup of flour, shake to coat and arrange on a silpat? Or would they be too deep?
I love how you’ve explained brioche so clearly. The only thing I wish you had included was the weight or volume of the eggs. Not only do I live somewhere hot and humid, but I have fresh double yolk and/or extra large eggs. I have a better idea of how to adapt next time, but this time my dough stayed really soft even with nearly an hour of kneading.
Thank you so much for explaining things so clearly!
Merilla Isaacs says
Unable to get all the stuff – because of the current situation.
Am very keen to give it a try.
Thank you.
Be safe and have a good day