These squishy, generous-sized hamburger potato buns are the best of all worlds. Just the right amount of wholegrain goodness gives them a hearty flavor and enough structure, but mashed potatoes keep them gloriously soft with a light and tender crumb.
I always find it fun to make these whole-wheat hamburger buns. Watching them puff up into golden domes in the oven is so rewarding. I think once you try the recipe, you will never want to go back to store-bought burger buns again.
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🏆 Top tip
Place unbaked buns on a large, parchment-lined cookie sheet. Then, cover them with a second inverted cookie sheet to keep them from drying out while rising.
⭐ Why it works
- Healthier than white hamburger buns.
- Squeezable with a fluffy interior.
- Vegan and free of refined sugar.
- Ideal for summer barbecue sandwiches.
📋 Ingredients
Stone-ground whole wheat flour lends a full, hearty flavor and lovely color. It also ensures the buns stand up to your favorite patty with all its juicy toppings. All-purpose flour provides an impressive round rise and makes a thin, crisp crust when toasted. Finally, mashed potato and a touch of coconut sugar do their part to keep the buns soft, moist, and irresistibly delicious.
- All-purpose flour -creates more tender rolls than bread flour. Organic is recommended.
- Stone-ground whole wheat flour - I get excellent results with Bob's Red Mill brand.
- Mashed potatoes - reduce salt in the recipe if using seasoned leftover mashed potatoes.
- Active dry yeast - can be substituted with instant yeast.
- Coconut sugar - is healthier than refined sugar and lends a caramel taste.
- Flaxseed meal - a key ingredient along with mashed potatoes.
- Vegan butter - both soft spread and block-style are fine.
- Salt - adjust to taste if desired.
- Sesame seed - is optional for topping buns before baking.
🔪 Steps
Make potato bread dough
- Whisk flaxseed meal with water and let thicken.
- Dissolve yeast in water with sugar. Mix in potatoes, flax egg, vegan butter, and salt.
- Knead in flour to make a supple dough.
- Let rise twice until doubled.
Shape, rise, and bake buns
- Divide the dough by shaping a disc and cutting it into 6 equal portions.
- Rise the shaped buns on a covered baking sheet.
- Bake until puffed and golden brown.
- Cool on a rack before serving or storing.
🥔 Potato bun vs. regular bun
Like my recipe for Pull Apart Vegan Dinner Rolls, adding mashed potatoes to this hamburger bun recipe results in fluffy, squishy rolls. The starch, enzymes, and natural sugar in potatoes react with the yeast and gluten in the flour to provide these unique differences:
- Moisture and softness: The mashed potatoes in the dough help to retain water, resulting in a softer and moister texture.
- Tender crumb: Adding mashed potatoes creates a tender crumb in potato buns. That's because they regulate the gluten in wheat, which makes bread chewy.
- Slightly sweeter flavor: Potato buns tend to have a subtly sweeter taste compared to regular buns.
- Longer shelf-life: The moister texture of potato buns makes them last longer before drying out, whether they are stored at room temperature or in the freezer.
- Versatility: Hamburger potato buns can be used for a variety of sandwiches and absorb sauces well. They're perfect for sloppy joes and vegan burgers like Tofu Steak smothered in barbecue sauce.
👩🏻🍳 Expert tips
- Make flax egg first to give it time to thicken.
- Mashed potatoes should be cold or at room temperature before adding.
- Measure flour accurately with a kitchen scale for best results since flour brands vary.
- Alternatively, use the spoon and level technique to measure your flour.
- Assess dough while kneading and follow recipe instructions to add very small amounts of water or flour if necessary.
- Press down on shaped buns so they are about ½ an inch high before being left to rise on the baking sheet.
- Cool completely before storing, and wrap the buns individually if freezing.
💭 FAQ
You can use instant yeast and regular active dry yeast interchangeably in this recipe. Instant yeast can be mixed right in with flour and does not need to be dissolved like active dry yeast. It also acts more quickly than active dry yeast, which is helpful in cooler climates. However, if you live in a very warm climate, you may find your dough easier to work with and your bread more flavorful from a longer rise time with regular active dry yeast.
Buns made with potato rise more easily and have a lighter and moister texture, with a slightly sweet taste. They stay fresh longer and are ideal for saucy hamburgers.
Yes! Orange and purple sweet potatoes work to make hamburger potato buns and lend subtle colors as well as a sweeter taste than regular mashed potatoes.
🥯 More sandwich bread
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📖 Recipe
Whole Wheat Hamburger Potato Buns
Ingredients
Bread dough
Make flax egg
- 1 TB flaxseed meal
- 3 TB water
Dissolve yeast
- ½ cup lukewarm water
- 2 TB coconut palm sugar
- 2 tsp. active dry bread yeast
Mix dough
- ¾ cup cold leftover mashed potatoes 145 grams
- 1 tsp. sea salt
- 2 TB softened plant-based butter
- 1 cup organic stone-ground whole wheat flour 125 grams
- 1 ¼ cups organic all-purpose flour 162 grams
Optional topping
- 1 tsp. coconut palm sugar
- 2 tsp. water
- 2 tsp. sesame seeds
- 1 tsp. wheat bran
Instructions
Make flax egg
- Whisk 1 TB flaxseed meal and 3 TB water together in a small bowl. Let sit while preparing other ingredients.
Dissolve yeast
- Add ½ cup lukewarm water to the stand mixer bowl and stir in 2 TB coconut palm sugar. Sprinkle 2 tsp. active dry bread yeast on top and let bloom for several minutes.
Mix dough
- Add the thickened flax egg to the yeast and water mixture once it's bloomed. bowl. Add ¾ cup cold leftover mashed potatoes, 1 tsp. sea salt, and 2 TB softened plant-based butter Beat briefly with a whisk attachment to blend.
- Stir 1 cup organic stone-ground whole wheat flour, (125 grams) and 1 ¼ cups organic all-purpose flour, (162 grams) together in a separate bowl.
- Remove whisk attachment from mixer. Add all the flour. Stir flour in with a spoon until mostly absorbed. Attach a dough hook to mixer. Begin kneading dough on medium speed. If you have a Kitchen Aide mixer use the "4" setting.
- If flour remains at bottom of bowl after the first minute or two of mixing, add 1 to 2 teaspoons of water. Press hook into center of dough if necessary.
- On the other hand, if dough is too wet and doesn't form a ball, add 1 tablespoon of flour at a time. Avoid adding too much flour.
- Knead a total of 6-7 minutes. After kneading, dough will be moist, sticky and formed a soft ball.
First Rise
- Oil a large bowl or rising bucket and scrape the kneaded dough into it. Cover and let rise until more than doubled. This can take anywhere from 45-90 minutes, depending on your climate.
Second Rise
- Flip and press the dough down inside the bowl with a spatula. Let rise again until almost double.
Preheat Oven and Shape Buns
- Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
- Oil your hands and a countertop. Turn the dough out onto the counter and shape gently into a disc. Divide into 6 equal pie-shaped wedges. Shape each piece into a round ball, tucking tightly and pinching dough under at the bottom. Place on a large cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Oil fingers and press each bun down to flatten about ½ - ¾ an inch tall.
Add optional topping
- Mix 1 tsp. coconut palm sugar with 2 tsp. water and brush tops of buns. Mix 2 tsp. sesame seeds with 1 tsp. wheat bran. Sprinkle tops of moistened buns. Cover buns with an inverted cookie sheet.
Final Rise and Baking
- Let the buns rise until puffed and not quite doubled in size, about 20 minutes. Place the baking sheet on the middle rack in the oven. Bake for 23 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from the baking sheet and cool on a rack.
Notes
- Make flax egg first to give it time to thicken.
- Mashed potatoes should be cold or at room temperature before adding.
- Measure flour accurately with a kitchen scale for best results since flour brands vary.
- Alternatively, use the spoon and level technique to measure your flour.
- Assess dough while kneading and follow recipe instructions to add very small amounts of water or flour if necessary.
- Press down on shaped buns so they are about ½ an inch high before being left to rise on the baking sheet.
- Cool completely before freezing, and wrap the buns individually.
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