There are some recipes that become instant favorites—these burger buns definitely fall into that category. I'll never again want anything else!
Made from 100% wholewheat flour and baked with sourdough, they're not only flavorful and wholesome, but also surprisingly soft and fluffy. The mix of sunflower seeds, sesame, poppy seeds, and flax seeds gives them a wonderfully nutty bite and makes each burger special. After many attempts, I've finally found the perfect recipe—and I'm finally sharing my secret today.
Are you familiar with Golden Toast's Grain Harmony Toast? I always thought this supermarket toast had something special thanks to the grains and seeds it contained. Of course, it doesn't taste as good as my homemade bread anymore, but I always loved this grainy version. And not just for toast, but also for burger buns! Bread made with whole-wheat flour is naturally healthier and more nutritious, so I soon set myself the goal of baking a grainy 100% whole-wheat toast that still has a soft and fluffy texture. Set goals? I can... And in this case, I succeeded!
I developed this recipe by combining two recipes I found online. First, I have to tell you about the 100% Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Bread with Maple and Oats recipe by Ruth Mar Tam. It was only because I stumbled across her recipes on Instagram in 2021 that I started baking with sourdough!
I was particularly impressed by the above-mentioned 100% whole wheat toast bread recipe because it looks incredibly soft and fluffy in the pictures, which isn't easy to achieve with 100% whole wheat. I tried baking the toast bread using your recipe so many times, but the first five or so attempts were nowhere near as soft and fluffy as it looked in your pictures, and I was very disappointed... However, I made some changes and learned something new with each attempt!
At some point I dared to take a "step back" and baked a "only" 50% wholemeal toast bread after the 50% Whole Wheat Sourdough Sandwich Breadrecipe from Bread By Elise. That actually worked reasonably well, but my goal was still to get this result with 100 % wholewheat flour.
So my next idea was to combine these two recipes! I wrote them down, side by side, compared them, and quickly came up with a hybrid version. For example, I kept the tangzhong from Bread By Elise, but followed Ruth Mar Tam's recipe more closely in terms of preparation and instructions. This approach wasn't immediately successful either, and after a bit more research on flours and further experimentation, I finally achieved my goal! A 100 % wholewheat sandwich bread with seeds, baked with sourdough! And today I'm sharing this wealth of experience with you!
And who would have guessed? You can use the same dough for sandwich bread and burger buns! So it wasn't a big stretch from 100 % wholewheat sandwich bread to this burger bun recipe! And I'm guessing it should even work for bagels! Should I try it? Would you also like a recipe for bagels? Then just leave me a message in the comments!
As already mentioned, the flour makes a huge difference if you want a soft and fluffy result! I highly recommend using this exact flour combination if you want to achieve the same baking results!
In this recipe, I use two different flours, each with a 50% ratio. One is the extra-fine, strong wholewheat flour* (see remarks) from the organic mill Eiling. I'm always delighted when I receive a package from them; so far, every order included a small handwritten note, which feels very special and not like mass production!
The other flour I used is Aurora's light whole wheat flour** (see notes), which I discovered at my local supermarket. Unfortunately, the packaging doesn't reveal exactly which grain the whole wheat flour is made from, and the website doesn't provide any more information either... My guess would be Kamut flour, although I didn't ask for more details. But: it works wonderfully in this recipe, so I'm happy to use it and share this tip with you!
Compared to recipes with yeast, sourdough recipes often require significantly more time. Extending the dough rise time makes the dough more flavorful, and the fermentation during the rising process also makes the baked goods easier on the digestion. Another advantage is that baking with a longer proofing time also keeps the bread fresh and moist for longer, meaning it doesn't dry out as quickly.
This isn't the first sourdough recipe I've shared with you here on "brutzel, brat & knusper." You can find all my sourdough recipes in the category sourdough.
There you will find my Favorite Bread Recipe (also with 100 % wholewheat flour) and my recipe for Sourdough Pizza (Neapolitan style).
In terms of timing, I prefer to follow the following baking schedule for this recipe:
Moist and soft burger buns made from 100% wholewheat flour, refined with sunflower seeds, sesame, poppy seeds, and flax seeds. The use of sourdough and a long fermentation give them an intense flavor and exceptionally good digestibility. Ideal for hearty burgers where flavor and stability matter.
"Feed" your sourdough starter as you normally would. Let it rise until it peaks by the evening to prepare the levain.
Add the salt and let the stand mixer knead it in on low to medium speed for 3-4 minutes. Then gradually add the room-temperature butter on low speed and let it knead into the dough.
Then add the entire soaker and knead it in on the lowest speed until it is well distributed throughout the dough.
Now remove the bowl from the stand mixer and cover it. Let the dough rise at room temperature (24 - 25°C / 75 - 77 °F) for 2-3 hours, until it has increased in volume by 60-75%. Stretching and folding the dough is not necessary. It should appear airy and puffy after the bulk fermentation, but still strong. Don't over-prove it, as the wholewheat flour can cause the dough to quickly overferment.
Weigh your dough and calculate the weight for a single burger bun, 1/6 of it (in my case, about 177g). Measure out each burger bun, then let the dough rise again on a floured surface for 10 minutes.
While the dough is briefly rising, you can line your baking sheet with parchment paper. This recipe works best when using burger bun rings*** (see remarks). Place 6 of these rings on the baking sheet and grease the inside with a little butter or coconut oil.
Now, for each portion of dough, pull the dough from the outside toward the center to create surface tension on the underside. Then turn the burger bun over and use the work surface to shape them roundly (see video for the hand motion). Place the shaped burger buns on the prepared baking sheet (inside the burger bun rings***, see remarks). Cover them with cling film.
Now let the burger buns rise again for approximately 3.5 - 4.5 hours at warm room temperature (23.5 - 24.5 °C / 74 - 76 °F). They should have significantly more volume afterwards and, if using burger bun rings, should extend well over the edge in the middle.
Preheat your oven to 180 °C (350 °F), top / bottom heat, for about 45 minutes. Please note that the burger buns should be baked immediately after preheating, so preheat the oven while the burger buns are still rising.
Separate an egg and add a teaspoon of milk to the yolk. Mix well and brush the mixture onto the burger buns. Finally, you can sprinkle them with more of the seeds we used for the soaker (i.e., sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, poppy seeds, and flax seeds).
Now place the tray of burger buns in the oven to bake for 25-30 minutes. Once they're golden brown, remove them from the oven and let them cool for about 10 minutes. If you used burger bun rings, you should now remove them from the burger buns by running a knife along the edges to loosen them. Let the burger buns cool completely before using them.
servings 6
** The daily percentages are based on a 2000 kcal diet. Your daily figures might be higher or lower according to your caloric need.
Tip: If 6 burger buns at once are too many for you, they freeze wonderfully. You can keep them in the freezer for up to 3 months, but I bet you'll have to restock before then!
*Advertisement: You can order the extra-fine, strong wholewheat flour from the Eiling organic mill here . This is my recommendation (advertisement). However, I am not sponsored or financially supported by the organic mill Eiling . I paid for all ingredients myself.
**Advertisement: The second flour that I can recommend for this recipe is called "light wholewheat flour". I found it in my local Edeka supermarket. This is my recommendation (advertisement). However, I am not sponsored or financially supported by Aurora or Edeka. I paid for all the ingredients myself.
***Advertisement (Affiliate): For this recipe, I highly recommend baking the burger buns in burger bun rings. The rings I use have a 10 cm diameter. You can find and order them here .
