High Altitude Brioche Buns for Hamburgers and Hot Dogs

The softest, fluffiest, homemade brioche buns, tested at high altitude. With one easy brioche bun recipe, you can make homemade hamburger buns and hot dog buns for your next barbecue, and they’re so much tastier than store bought buns. These buns are light and fluffy, soft for days, freeze beautifully, and hold up perfectly to anything you want to sandwich between them.

You might also like these high altitude recipes for soft and fluffy milk bread, white sandwich bread, and cheesy garlic herb bread rolls.

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Why You’ll Love This Recipe

Better than Store Bought. There’s really nothing as homey and delicious as freshly baked bread. And the scent of these brioche buns as they were baking was truly incredible. They’re made with simple, real ingredients and no preservatives, so you can feel good about serving them to your family.

Perfect for Summer Barbecues. With all the warm weather holidays like Memorial Day, 4th of July and Labor Day, not to mention summer birthday parties and swim parties, it’s the perfect time to make a big batch of homemade brioche buns. You can even freeze the leftover buns for later.

Make into Any Shape. In today’s recipe post, I’ve included step-by-step photos to guide you through the process of making the brioche dough, as well as shaping it into hamburger buns and hot dog buns. You could even shape it into several larger hoagie rolls, and bake as instructed.

High Altitude Tested. I develop all the recipes on my site for Denver’s altitude of 5,280 feet. If you’re at a lower or higher elevation, please see my FAQs for guidance on adjusting recipes for your altitude. That said, most of my yeast dough recipes for rolls, buns and bread can be made at any altitude without adjusting the ingredients. The main difference will simply be on how long it takes your dough to rise, since dough tends to rise faster at higher elevations.

See the recipe card at the end of the post for the full ingredients list and instructions.

Ingredients

Tangzhong

• The tangzhong starter is a simple mixture of water, milk and flour. Added to the dough, it keeps the buns soft and pillowy, and helps them rise higher and fluffier. The tangzhong also keeps the buns soft for days, so that they don’t go stale after just a day.

Dough

• Butter. Unsalted butter adds moisture, richness and flavor to the buns.
• Milk + Water. Be sure to use whole milk for the best flavor and texture.
• Yeast. The yeast is the leavening agent which makes the buns rise. You can use either active dry yeast or rapid rise/instant yeast. I absolutely love this Red Star Platinum Premium Yeast with dough enhancers. It truly makes exceptional yeast bread.
• Sugar. Adds sweetness and helps to activate the yeast.
• Bread Flour. Bread flour has a higher percentage of protein than all-purpose flour, giving yeast breads a chewier texture. For today’s high altitude brioche buns, I used High Altitude Hungarian Flour, which is a high protein bread flour. You can find it on the baking aisle at King Soopers throughout Colorado and a few other mid-western states.
• Salt. Flavor.
• Eggs. Gives the dough structure, moisture and a richer flavor.

Egg Wash

• An egg beaten with a little milk and brushed over the buns before baking makes them golden brown and shiny.
• Sesame Seeds. These are optional, but brown or black sesame seeds sprinkled over the hamburger buns is a pretty finishing touch.

Instructions

Make the Tangzhong

• In a small saucepan, whisk together the water, milk and flour. Cook over medium heat for several minutes, whisking constantly, until it thickens into a paste.
• Remove from the heat, scrape the tangzhong into a small bowl, and set aside until needed.

Make the Dough

• In the same saucepan you used to make the tangzhong (no need to wash the pan first), melt the butter over medium heat. Stir in the milk and water, and warm the mixture just until it reaches between 110-115 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Remove from the heat. Stir in the yeast and 1 tablespoon of sugar. Let sit for a few minutes until it starts to get bubbly.

• In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine all but 1/2 cup of the flour with the remainder of the sugar, the warm yeast mixture, the cooled tangzhong, salt and eggs.
• With the dough hook, knead the dough for 10 minutes, gradually adding the remaining 1/2 cup of flour, as needed. The dough should be soft and smooth, and will wrap around the dough hook, but may still stick to the bottom of the bowl. Don’t be tempted to add more flour, though, or the buns will be dense.

• Scrape the dough into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap, and set in a warm place to rise until doubled in size. This could take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on the freshness/brand of yeast, and how warm your kitchen is.
• If your oven has a bread proof setting, you can use that. Otherwise, preheat your oven to the lowest setting, turn it off, then set the dough inside to rise.

Shape the Buns

• Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top of the dough, too. Gently press the air out of the dough, then use a bench scraper to cut the dough into 12 equal portions.

• To shape hamburger buns, take a portion of dough, cup it in your hand, and pinch the dough together to form it into a bun, so that it’s smooth on top and pinched on the bottom.
• Place the buns, smooth side facing up, onto a large baking sheet (or two half-sheet pans) lined with parchment paper. Leave 3 inches of space between the buns so they have room to puff up without touching each other.

• To shape hot dog buns, take one of the shaped hamburger buns, and use a rolling pin to roll it out into an oval measuring about 4×5 inches.
• Then roll the dough up into a cylinder measuring 5 inches in length. Pinch the ends together to seal them, then place the shaped hot dog bun, seam side down, on the baking sheet.
• For the hot dog buns, only leave 1/2 inch of space between them. This way, they’ll touch each other as they puff up and spread, keeping the sides very soft when you pull them apart after baking.

• Cover the pan loosely with a clean kitchen towel, and set aside in a warm place until the buns are puffy, about 30-45 minutes.

Bake the Buns

• Preheat the oven to 375 F, and position a rack in the center of the oven.
• For the egg wash, whisk together the egg and milk, and brush the egg wash over the buns. This will give them a beautiful golden brown shine as they bake. If you like, sprinkle the buns with sesame seeds.

• Bake the buns for about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top, and a digital instant read thermometer inserted into the buns reads 190 F.
• Let cool for a few minutes on the pan, then transfer the buns to a cooling rack to cool.
• Use a knife to split the buns before assembling your hot dogs and hamburgers.

Be sure to read all of my BAKING FAQs where I discuss ingredients, substitutions and common baking questions, so that you can be successful in your own baking!

Frequently Asked Questions

What is tangzhong?

Tangzhong or tang zhong is a simple roux or paste made of water, milk and flour. The tangzhong method is quick and easy. Just cook the ingredients in a saucepan for a minute or two until the mixture thickens into a paste. When this paste is added to yeast dough, it plays a very important role in improving the texture of the dough and the baked bread.

• It helps the starches in the flour absorb more liquid, which in turn makes the dough less sticky and easier to knead and shape into buns.
• It can help the bread rise higher and fluffier as it bakes.
• The baked bread, rolls or buns will stay soft and fresh for longer.

How long do homemade brioche buns stay fresh?

These buns will stay soft and fresh for up to 2-3 days, stored in an airtight container.

Can the buns be frozen?

Yes, after the buns cool completely, store them in a freezer bag in the freezer for up to 3-6 months. They’ll be soft and fresh after thawing out. Brush them with a little butter and lightly toast or griddle them to warm them up.

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