High Altitude Brioche Buns for Hamburgers and Hot Dogs

The softest, fluffiest, homemade brioche buns that can be shaped for both hamburgers and hot dogs.

All recipes on Curly Girl Kitchen are developed for high altitude at 5,280 feet. See FAQs for adjusting to higher or lower elevations.

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time 30

Cook Time 20

Rising Time 1 30

Total Time 2 20

Course Side Dish

Cuisine American, Japanese

Servings12 buns

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.

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.

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 4x5 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.

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.

Keyword Brioche, Hamburgers, High Altitude, Hot Dogs, Tangzhong, Yeast Rolls

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