These burger buns, adapted from Ankarsrum’s Japanese Milk Bread recipe, are soft and springy. The milk, butter, and sugar work as a team to hydrate the buns remarkably well, preserving the buns’ initial texture for longer than standard-issue buns. Elongate the dough when shaping if you’d like to make hot dog buns or longer sandwich rolls; or a bit smaller for dinner rolls. Throwing a barbecue party? Feel free to double, or even triple, the recipe for a larger yield; the Ankarsrum is built to hold 5kg of dough, after all.

Makes 16 burger buns or sandwich rolls

Ingredients

500ml lukewarm milk (at 37°C)
4 tsp sugar
4 tsp dry yeast (14g)
780g strong white bread flour
90g sugar
2 tsp salt
2 eggs + 1 egg yolk, plus another egg for egg wash
150g soft room temperature butter
Neutral oil for proofing

Method

  1. Mix lukewarm milk with 2 tsp sugar and all the dry yeast in a small bowl. Leave for 10 minutes for the yeast to bloom. Meanwhile, assemble the Ankarsrum stand mixer with the stainless steel bowl, roller attachment, and dough knife
  2. Add the yeast mixture into the stainless steel bowl and add all the remaining ingredients, except for the egg wash and neutral oil. Let it run on low speed for about 4 minutes. Increase to medium speed and knead the dough for another 4 minutes, then increase it to high speed and mix for another 4 minutes, until you have a shiny and smooth dough. This may take longer in some cases, but keep going until your dough is shiny, smooth, and elastic enough to pass the windowpane test (see ‘BK Tips’ below)
  3. Coat a large bowl with 1 to 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, and put the dough into the bowl to proof. Wrap with clingfilm, or cover with a paper towel, and leave to proof for 60 minutes
  4. Set aside a baking sheet lined with baking parchment. Prepare your work surface by sprinkling it with flour. In the bowl, press the inflated dough down with a tight fist, then transfer it to your work surface. Use a dough scraper to divide the dough into eight equal pieces. (We measured ours to be around 80g each.) Work with one ball at a time, keeping the others covered as you do. To form burger buns: Gather a few ends of a dough ball and pinch them together in the middle. Flip the dough ball to the other side and roll it against the surface; keep rolling and turning until you have a neat ball with the seams barely visible. To form sandwich buns: Gather a few ends of a dough ball and pinch them together in the middle. Flip the dough ball to the other side and roll it against the surface, pressing down to make a long roll. Keep rolling and turning until the seams are barely visible. Place finished rolls on the parchment-lined sheet and let it rise until doubled in size, covered with a kitchen towel, for 45 to 60 minutes. Set the oven to 200°C/180°C fan to pre-heat as the bread proofs
  5. Make the egg wash by beating an egg and a tablespoon of water together. Brush egg wash onto the surface of the burger or sandwich buns. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until the surfaces are shiny. Let cool before cutting to assemble sandwiches. Enjoy!

BK Tips

  • For the windowpane test, take a small amount of dough in your hands and stretch it into a small rectangle. If the dough stays in one piece, and can be stretched thin enough until it’s nearly translucent, it’s done mixing and ready to proof

  • Resist the urge to add too much flour to your work surface or hands if the dough is sticky. If needed, dip your hands in water or rub them with a bit of oil, which will help the dough stick less

  • If you’re short on time, stick the dough in the refrigerator for the first rise. Let it proof for 24 hours before shaping

  • You can use milk instead of an egg for the egg wash, if you prefer