It’s grilling season and that means burgers! In our house that means turkey burgers, but whatever they’re made of, grilled burgers demand buns. And I have a gluten-free recipe for them that is quite good!
This recipe was inspired by one from Bette Hagman’s The Gluten-Free Gourmet Bakes Bread. Bette Hagman, as you may know, was one of the first people to write recipes for gluten-free food that actually tasted good. And I (and all gluten-free people) owe a great debt to the work she did and included in her cookbooks.
Hamburger Buns, Gluten-Free
-makes 6 buns
Special equipment needed
-Hamburger bun pan (I got mine at King Arthur Flour), or large muffin top pan or English muffin rings).
-heavy duty mixer (or a hand mixer)
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups (220g) Jeanne’s Gluten-Free Flour Mix
1/2 tsp xanthan gum (in addition to the xanthan gum in the flour mix)
2 tsp aluminum-free, double-acting baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast (I use Red Star)
1 cup (235 ml) warm water
1 tsp vinegar (I use apple cider vinegar)
1 large or extra-large egg
2 tablespoon neutral-tasting oil (I use Rice Bran oil)
Extra oil and tapioca flour for pans/rings
Grease and flour your bun pan (or rings placed on a parchment paper-lined cookie sheet) with oil and tapioca flour.
In a medium bowl whisk together flour mix, xanthan gum, baking powder, and salt.
In a small bowl, dissolve sugar in warm water. Then dissolve yeast into this mixture. Set aside to proof (foam up).
In a bowl of a mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, briefly beat together vinegar, eggs, and vegetable oil. Add foamy yeast mixture, mix briefly. Add flour mixture–beat for 3 mins.
Spoon the batter into the prepared pan/rings. Let rise in a warm place for about 45 mins (until about double in bulk). I usually let it rise on top of the stove while it’s preheating
While the buns are rising, preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
When buns are double in bulk. . .
. . .Bake for 20 minutes–until tops are golden brown
Carefully remove from oven and let cool for 10 mins. before removing from pan/rings. Cool on wire rack.
They will be light and fluffy–just like wheat-containing buns. These smell heavenly–just like a bun should!
Enjoy!
Note: If you use a different gluten-free flour mix, alter the amount of or eliminate the xanthan gum or use a different gluten-replacer, use dairy-free or egg-free substitutes, or change any other ingredients in this recipe, your results may not match my results.
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Hi Jeanne. These are just wonderful. In the recipe in your Gluten Free Wish List book, you say to use a dough hook. Is there an advantage to using the hook versus the paddle?
Kathy: Not really. The dough hook will get through the thick dough a little more easily, though.
Hi Jeanne! After trying your soft sandwich bread recipe and having it fail for me (I’m blaming the glass loaf pan- a metal one is on the way for round two!) I was a little discouraged but wanted to try out another yeast bread. I made these yesterday and they turned out perfect! I’m excited to have homemade buns that taste so incredible. Thank you so much for developing and sharing such a great recipe! I didn’t have a bun pan or English muffin rings, and I didn’t want to have them in the shape of a muffin, so I actually ended up making my own rings for them by folding a piece of aluminum foil over several times til it was sturdy and a little over an inch high, and then wrapping that around a salt canister. It’s a little smaller than your standard bun size but it did the trick. I can’t wait to make these again
Cameron: Terrific hacks! I love it!
This recipe is absolutely brilliant! We can have hamburger buns again that taste and feel like regular fluffy gluten filled buns!!! Thank you so much for this recipe!!
R: Yay!! You’re welcome!
These are by far the best gluten free buns ever! They are always a huge crowd pleaser at barbecues! Thank you!
Emma: Yay! I’m so glad you like them!
I made these using Bob’s Red Mill 1 for 1 flour blend (I was out of sweet rice flour so I couldn’t use your flour blend), and I used a cast iron “muffin top” pan instead of a more modern version of a bun pan. But even with these substitutions, they turned out great! They were even good the next day (I left them on the table, loosely wrapped in foil). Be sure to let them rest a few minutes before eating, as that brief amount of cooling time vastly improves their texture.
Mattie: Yay! And good advice on letting them rest!
I am new to gluten free and I must say this recipe is the best so far. The directions were easy to follow and mine turned out delicious…just like regular bread…yum-yum! Thank you for sharing!
Jeannette: Yay! I’m so glad! You’re welcome!
I made your hamburger buns today and did not have a special pan or rings to use to shape them. I saw the comments about the center being hollow or gummy sometimes so I added a 1/2 cup of finely ground flaxseed. I used a large ice cream scoop and put them on sheet pans. After they were all scooped out I used wet fingers to flatten the dough, egg washed them and sprinkled with GF rolled oats. Delicious!
I doubled the recipe so for the right proportion it would be 1/4 of flaxseed that I added.
Jane: Yay!
I made these using large silicone cupcake cups from KAF and it works out well. I am getting ready to buy the hot dog pan. It seems to require doubling the recipe. What fun.
Rosemary: Ah, OK. Sounds good!
Since the Jeanne’s Flour blend already contains xanthan gum, should the additional xanthan gum listed in this recipe be omitted?
Bethany: No, it is in addition to that in the flour mix.
I have been trying a lot of your recepies and thank you for all of your work, gnat being said; how do you find is the best way to store your cooked breads, buns and loaves and the such?
Tristan: Yay, I’m so glad! I find that bread is best stored at room temp, in a paper bag. If it’s a sliced bread, I store it on the cutting board, cut side down. If I need to store bread for longer than a couple of days, I wrap it up well in plastic wrap (airtight) and then freeze it. Defrost for 24 hours in fridge before using.
Love these but have made some modifications. Mine were turning out a bit undercooked inside, a little gooey, so first I tried to cook them a bit longer. 27 minutes. Still a touch gooey. But yummy all the same. This last batch I reduced the water by two tablespoons per batch. I use egg replacer so heated the water for the yeast and took my egg replacer water from that and never replaced it prior to proofing yeast. Success. I need to thank you for all the work you do and I enjoy reading your blog.
Tracy: Thank your for your ideas! And you’re welcome!
Hi. This looks like a great gluten free recipe…can this be made into hot dog buns? I have a hot dog bun pan that I can use, but am thinking that the baking time will have to be increased?
Rebecca: I’m sure it would work fine. I don’t know how the baking time would work since I don’t have a hot dog bun pan. I would use the baking time on this recipe as a first try and see how it goes.
I’ve never made bread…Ever. This was the first time and they came out perfect! Soft, tasty and like regular bread. Now I feel like I’m not missing out…Yay! The only thing I did differently was using Jules gluten free flour. Your bread recipes are so easy to follow Thank You 🙂
Karina: Yay! I’m so glad!
This recipe looks wonderful. I have checked my GF flour blend and it does not have xantham gum. However, it does have guar gum. Do I still need to add the xantham gum? I am new to baking gf. I have three children that all have to go gluten free and I’m trying to make this as painless as possible. Thanks!
JoAnn: If your flour blend already has a “gluten replacer” (like guar gum or xanthan gum) then you do not need to add more.
Thank you!
JoAnn: You’re welcome!
I’m new to gluten free baking and so thankful for your blog. I made the burger buns today and they were amazing. I’m so exciting about trying many more of your recipes during the coming holidays.
Sue: Yay! I’m so glad!
Jeanna,
First off thank you for your recipes. They are wonderful, especially your buns! I have been using this particular one for over a year. I’ve become so good at it I don’t even need to look up the recipe anymore to get the ingredient ratios. They always come out high, golden, soft inside and delicious. I don’t even have a gluten intolerance, my BF does.
The last few times I’ve made a batch they have risen well and baked to a golden brown. However, after allowing them to cool I break one open to find is gummy inside and alarmingly HOLLOW! I figured my yeast was too old and needed to be replaced. I’ve made a new batch, with new yeast and had exactly the same problem again.
I’ve been reading through other comments hoping to see someone else with the same problem. Others have mentioned the gummy problem which you suggested buying an oven thermometer. I’ve always used one and I plan on replacing it tomorrow. You also mention using less water in the recipe. I will try that next time but I’ve always used the same ratio in the past…
Would you have any other suggestions on fixing my buns? I miss them…
Adrienne: I think I need to do some more experimenting with the buns to see what’s going on for folks. It seems to be a hit and miss thing and I can’t quite figure out what’s going on. So sorry I don’t have any answers right now. But I will work on this soon. 🙂
Would I be able to use a smaller pan like a whoopie pie pan for slider buns?
Dani: Sure–try it and see how it goes!
I made these buns tonight, followed the recipe but used my own flour mix, and added the xanthan gum. Mine rose out and over the circles in my muffin top pan! Did I let them rise too long? I went less than called for in the recipe. Was it a structure thing? We ate them, funny looking as they were, and they tasted wonderful.
Heather: They are fine. Next time I would let them rise not as high if the shape is bothersome. Otherwise, keep doing what you’re doing!
Hey there,
I am going to try adding psyllium husk to your buns recipe next time and see if that doesn’t help them rise up instead of up and out. I use the husks in a bread recipe and it makes the bread kneadable, so it’s my thinking that it will help with structure and maybe they will rise better. I use 1/4 c of the husks for my bread recipe, so I will cut that in half for the buns and see if that works. I will let you know how it turns out. I need to make more veggie burgers that will need buns this week.
Heather: sounds good!
Hi,
I have made these buns several times now. I do have an oven thermometer and I am getting gummy insides. It even sticks to the serrated knife. I bought the pan you suggested and let them rise to the top and not over before putting them in the oven. I read other posts about reducing the liquid. How much should I reduce it by? I also have trouble with the soft sandwich bread being a little gummy. Both things rise very fast and I don’t use fast rising yeast.
Michele: Is your oven heating to the correct temperature? If you don’t have an oven thermometer in there, I would recommend getting on. Also, there is such a huge range of experiences that folks are having to this recipe that I am going to do some more testing on it when I get a change.
What would you recommend to replace the egg? This looks great but I can’t tolerate eggs 🙁
Evie: Check out my Substitutions post.
When making these, can I make several batches ahead of time and freeze them? Do you think they will dry out?
Rhonda: Freezing them is fine. Be sure to cool them completely and then put into an air-tight container (I use ziploc bags). Don’t put them into the fridge, though–that’s what will dry them out. Happy baking!
I switched some gf flour for sorghum to give less fluffy texture and less sweetness. They are fantastic! Problem is that after storing in fridge they are crumbly like cornbread on the reheat the next day. Also baking it in 1″ rings on parchment. Any suggestions on making them taste the same on reheat?
Phyllis: Don’t store them in the fridge. Oddly enough, storing bread in the fridge accelerates the staling process. Store them in a paper bag at room temperature. The paper bag will help them to breathe and keep the crust non-gummy.
Finally got around to making these (got side tracked by all your other recipes!). Turned out perfect once again. I used a Nordicware mini pie pan and it worked perfectly.
Tracy: Excellent–thanks for the info!
Can’t wait to try these! Would I be able to freeze the dough in portions, then allow them to thaw, rise and bake as needed? Or is it better to bake them, then freeze?
Thanks so much!
Tracy: I would recommend baking them, letting them cool completely, then freezing them. Then defrost in the fridge for 24 hours. You can re-fresh them by baking them for about 10 minutes in a 350 degree oven.
Hi Jeanne! First and foremost thank you for the recipe. It is the first time my gluten free (breadish product) turned out soft. I was so excited to see them soft and not brick like!
I mixed them as you said and left them to rise, all good there, and baked them in a muffin top pan. However, I did have gummy insides though and wondered if you had any advice for that. I was thinking to bake them longer at a lower temperature- what do you think?
Otherwise I will try again and hope they cook a little more on the inside.
Thanks again, you are a real help for gluten free baking!
Erika
Erika: Hm, you might want to reduce the liquid a little bit and see how that goes. Also, make sure that your oven is actually heating to the temperature you think it is (if you don’t have one, get an oven thermometer–they are relatively inexpensive!). Let me know how it goes.
Hi again,
So I took your advice and bought an oven thermometer and my oven is doing some kooky things! It preheats correctly but then when I put buns or cakes in the oven the temperature rises about 25 degrees F. So with this knowledge I tired again and monitored the temperature while the buns were baking, opening the door to vent excess heat, turning the temp down to 350 to account for the crazy oven etc. it was a true labor of love, but at the end of it all it was worth it because I have great buns now!
Thanks again for posting this recipe. I will have to get the repair man over to fix the oven and then I can bake these again worry free.
Erika: Yay–I’m glad you figured out the oven thing. Oven thermometers are something I tell everyone to get. So important to know what your oven is doing when you’re baking!
Will buns are done and look really good. Still puzzled why dough was so thin? Cut into one and will soft and fluffy. Ok I use small pie tins to bake buns in, or the aluminum (throw away that I reuse I round the bottom a bit) or I also have a couple of big tuna cans, they bake just fine and buns come right out, hope this helps some. Thanks for the recipe. Easy to make. Hubby will let me know how good they are.
Sally: The dough may be not what you’re expecting–it will be much thinner than a wheat yeasted bread dough. I made these yesterday from the recipe to check to make sure things were OK–and they turned out fine.
Ok just mixed these up and they were like thick milk? I had to add another cup of flour to make them like thick batter. Now in oven they don’t appear to be raising. After reading and rereading the recipe, is the water amount right? Surprise they are raising a bit. Will let you know how they come out. Yours look so good.
Sally: The dough should look like cake batter–not like dough. That’s one of the characteristics of gluten-free bread dough–you can’t knead it (and don’t need to because there is not gluten to develop). I make the recipe again and trust the process and see how it goes. 🙂
Can this recipe be used for hot dog buns? ANy reccomendations for hot dog buns or what pan to use?
Might i just say I love uor site your recipes (and mother necessity) have caused me to try my hand at gluten free baking again and yeast baking. I love how they turn oiut and am sooo confident about using yeast recipes now. Thank you !!
Kendra: Yes, I use this recipe for hot dog buns. I use a pan I got from King Arthur Flour called the New England Hot Dog Bun pan. It’s a bit different from what I think of as a hot dog bun, but it does the trick. Check it out and see what you think.
Hi,
I’m so glad I found your site! I made these buns & they are SUPER!! I used grapeseed oil & guar gum (cause I’d used the rest of my xanthan gum in the flour mix). They freeze great too!! I used my muffin top pan, but I’m wondering how can I get the buns to be ‘THICKER’??
When I split them the halves are a lil thin & break apart when filled. Should I just add more dough to each? Can I double the recipe? Sorry for all the ????’s but THANKS!!!
Regee: Yes, you can double the recipe and then make the same amount–that will give you bigger buns!
You are a godsend! First the white bread, then the multigrain bread, next up hamburger buns. I have always loved to bake, but was never brave enough to try anything that involved yeast. It took learning of my husband’s gluten intolerance to force my hand. I have to say, you have made it so easy I’m kicking myself for not trying it before now.
We haven’t had a decent hamburger since going GF because the buns availble in stores are like cardboard. My muffin top pan is on order from Amazon and I’m certain these buns will be as fabulous as the breads!
Kelly: Oh, I’m so glad!! Yay! Also, try the Parker House Roll recipe, too. You will love it!!
Jeanne, Thank you so much for this hamburger bun recipe. It is so nice to have a gf bun that is so soft and tasty. My whole family enjoyed them. Definately a keeper! I can’t wait to try ALL your recipes.
Jeannine 🙂
Jeannine: Oh, I’m so glad! Yay!
Dear Jeanne, Thank you – thank you – thank you!!!! These rolls smelled wonderful while they were baking and then tasted just as wonderful as they smelled. I was out of white rice flour so I subbed in sorghum (and used a little less sugar because of this). I also had to bake about 7 minutes longer as they were a tad “wet” inside at the 20 minute mark – otherwise I followed your recipe to the T. This was the first gf bread product I’ve made that came close to its whole wheat counterpart – I was literally dancing around the kitchen after first taste. I can’t wait to try your pasta and pie crust recipes – if they are even close to turning out like the rolls I will be on cloud 9!
Kathy: Yay! Try my dinner rolls recipe, too. Same base recipe. Makes rolls like Parker House rolls. Those get raves every time! So glad to help!
Jeanne thanks for the info. I tried another batch and watched closely the amount of time I let them rise. I put them into a warmed over 170 degree and they rose in 10 minutes…just a touch over the top and they came out much better. The gumminess I think was not cooking them quite long enough. I took them out 2 minutes earlier than the 2nd batch. The 2nd came out wonderful. THANKS….
Oh, De, I’m so glad! That’s terrific news! Thanks so much for letting me know!
–Jeanne
Hi I love the taste of these buns, however, when I took them out of the oven they all went flat…how do prevent that??? I have tried the bread as well and the same thing happened that and both the rolls and bread is a little gummy, maybe need baked a little longer? Thanks for the recipes and the help they are the best I have found in 2 years of diagnosis….
Denise: Greetings! For the falling problem, it sounds like they over-proofed. This means they rose too high for the structure of the bread to maintain. I would recommend letting them rise for a shorter time. As for the gumminess problem, there might be too much liquid in the recipe for your location–some locations have a lot of water in the air. You might want to reduce the liquid in the recipe by a bit and see what happens. Also–where are you located? Are you at high altitude? What you describe could also be a symptom of high-altitude baking.
All that said, I will make those recipes again soon to check my results again! And thank you so much for visiting!
–Jeanne
Hi I also tried the recipe with falling and gooey insides. I live on the coast, so the high humidity is probable. What are some ways to prevent over-rising? Would the temperature in the room/ on top of oven being (too) warm cause this? We made a roast chicken prior to trying the buns so it was warm. Also I used dark finish mini-quiche pans- that couldn’t have to do with the over rise, could it?
They smelled heavenly though!
Thank you!
Erin: I’m not sure. These buns are more soft in the inside than loaf bread. And the tops will fall a bit. But they shouldn’t be gooey. I think that the dark finish pans probably aren’t the best to bake these in. Dark finish pans tend to absorb the heat versus reflecting it.