I came upon this recipe while browsing The Fresh Loaf website looking for tips on how to make hamburger buns. There I found a great article, complete with comments, that had lots of information plus a recipe for Moomie’s Famous Burger Buns.
The recipe was first posted many years ago by Ellen Dorsey on the King Arthur Baking Circle. Since then it has become sort of an Internet sensation. If you google “Moomie’s famous buns” you will find it is a very popular recipe with all sorts of variations. Ellen has posted the recipe on her own website, which is the one I used – with my own modifications, of course! I decided to make ours using half whole wheat flour and half unbleached flour. After all that research, I was ready to get cooking.
First, I got out the bread machine, which hadn’t been used much lately (I even had to have my wife help find it). I used it to mix and proof the dough, which made that part of the process pretty much painless. I put the ingredients in the machine, pressed the start button, and 90 minutes later I had hamburger dough ready for shaping.
I took the dough out of the machine, and measured it into 12 equal size pieces (in this case they weighed 75g each). I shaped them into balls, much like I would for making dinner rolls, then I put them on a greased half baking sheet. I covered them and let them rest for about 20 minutes. Then I flattened them down into bun shapes. The resting step made it much easier to work with the dough.
Next I covered them and let them rise for 45 minutes. After rising, I uncovered them and brushed half the buns with an egg white/water mixture, then sprinkled on sesame seeds. I baked them in a preheated 375F oven for about 15 minutes, until golden brown.
Moomie’s Famous Burger Buns
The buns turned out wonderful. The texture was nice and light, with a great whole wheat taste. We used them for hamburgers, then put the leftovers in the freezer. We won’t have to make buns again for a while, but next time I do, I will definitely use this recipe again.
whole wheat bun topped with sesame seeds
Here’s my version of Moomie’s Famous Hamburger Buns. Feel free to experiment with other flours and ingredients – this recipe is pretty versatile.
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Print This RecipeAdapted from a recipe at Ellen’s Kitchen
1 cup water
2 Tbs butter or vegetable oil
1 egg
1-1/2 cups whole wheat flour (6 oz)
2 cups unbleached white flour (8.5 oz)
1/4 cup sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp instant yeast
1. Place all ingredients in the bucket of your bread machine. Select dough cycle. Press start. Allow machine to complete its cycle.
2. Dump risen dough onto a lightly floured surface. Divide into 12 pieces.
3. Take each piece and roll into balls. Place on greased cookie sheets, equally spaced apart. Cover and let rest for 20 minutes, until dough is relaxed and puffy.
4. Flatten each ball into a bun shape. Pieces of dough should be touching each other.
5. Cover, let rise 40 to 45 minutes. If using seeds for a topping, add now before baking.
6. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Bake buns for 12 to 15 minutes until golden.
7. Remove to wire racks to cool.
Servings: 12
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 169 calories, 26 calories from fat, 2.9g total fat, 19.7mg cholesterol, 223.7mg sodium, 136.7mg potassium, 30.8g carbohydrates, 3.1g fiber, 4.3g sugar, 5.1g protein, 18.1mg calcium, <1g saturated fat.
I snagged that faster than you could blink an eye 😉
I have to get to the kitchen store for some new pans. The last batch of rolls I made burned on the sides, because my large pan is too large. Others scorched on the bottoms and didn’t brown well on top, in a new, dark colored pan. Only the buns in an aluminum pan and those in a glass pan turned out perfect. I rather miss my Arizona gas range, that always seems to bake everything perfectly.
That was one of the things we had to have when we moved to HA – a gas stove! I’m not sure I could cook without one, I’m so accustomed to the way it works.
It’s amazing how many baking sheets and pans we have, yet they all get used for something. I cherish the older ones, because I don’t think many of the new ones are made as well. I hope you find the one you need, because it’s not good to scorch your buns! 😉
Those buns are amazing! I will have to print this recipe for sure. Thanks for sharing.
Made these yesterday and they were great. Used spelt flour and olive oil. I will definitely make these again.
Dave, Thanks for taking the time to write all of this up and calling attention to that recipe. Isn’t Fresh Loaf a killer site?!
I had planned to BBQ pork roast for next weekend — for pulled pork. Doncha know where I’m going with this recipe! I’ll split the flour as you did — love my WWFlour. And thanks for the gram weight for individual rolls, too. I like to make sure homemade rolls are always matchey-matchey. Must be an OCD thang or something. 😉
Oooh, pulled bbq pork does sound good on the buns! Hope they turn out well for you. Yep, I get a ton of good info at Fresh Loaf.
I weigh a lot of my portions to make sure they come out the same, like hamburgers for instance. I always have a hard time eye-balling the portions, and the scale makes it easier. But I have been accused of some OCD tendencies myself!
Wonderful recipe. I tried it yesterday and it was delicious! Thanks for sharing.
Katie
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Dave, I’m confused which size pan to use to make these buns. In your narrative you indicate a half sheet pan but in the recipe you say cookie sheet which may be a different size than a half sheet pan. Please share the dimensions of the pan you used to bake these buns. Thanks in advance.
Karen, I used the 13×18 inch half sheet pan in the photo. Sorry for the confusing instructions! These days I am more like to use the hamburger/mini pie pan made by USA Pan. I have two of them, and often use them for buns and rolls. https://shop.kingarthurbaking.com/items/hamburger-bun-and-mini-pie-pan