This Whole Wheat Bun Recipe is extremely soft and fluffy! Made with 100% whole wheat flour, these whole wheat buns are compatible with the grocery store hamburger buns and dipped in crushed oats to replicate the Chick Fil A Multigrain bun!
We love a good bread recipe! Try our most-loved bread recipes including this Subway Bread Recipe (Italian Herb and Cheese Copycat), Feather-Light Hamburger Buns, and French Bread! Also, did you know you can make Whole Wheat hot dog buns from this recipe?
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns
Soft and fluffy whole wheat burger buns exist! This recipe is a favorite because you use 100% whole wheat flour to create a light hamburger bun recipe (that means no white flour needed!) Once you try this buns recipe you can turn these into slider buns, hot dogs, or a loaf of sandwich bread! It is the best and compatible with Nature’s Own or Arnold Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns!
This kind of bread is super healthy and thanks to the whole grains you can feel good about the calories! It’s so quick and easy to throw together and because it calls for a hefty amount of yeast, you can have these ready by the time you grill some burgers!
Multigrain Bun
So, when I took my Favorite Whole Wheat Buns recipe and decided to spray it with water so it could adhere to the crushed oats–I cloned the Chick Fil A Multigrain Bun! If you are a Chick Fil A, fan you will realize they serve their Grilled Chicken Sandwich with multigrain hamburger buns, that you can now make at home!
Furthermore, if you are not a multigrain bun person, you can skip the oatmeal topping and make a classic Whole Wheat Hamburger Bun Recipe. I’ve made these plain and with the oats topping and must say scoring and having the oats stuck to the buns make for a bakery-style roll!
Secret To Fluffy Whole Wheat Buns:
First and foremost I want to thank my Mennonite friend Monica for sharing this recipe with me. She actually had brought me a loaf of bread from this whole wheat bread recipe almost 2 years ago and gave me the idea to make hamburger buns from it!
The secret to fluffy wheat buns is using a premium 100% whole wheat flour and lots of yeast (that’s 4 Tablespoons but I ensure you it works!) Despite that, I haven’t had successful results using all FRESHLY ground white wheat berries (read more below), but Monica has said “adding a cup or 2 of white flour has helped” so you could do that instead.
Whole Wheat Flour vs Freshly Ground Wheat Berries:
If you’re new to baking you may be confused about what wheat flour to use. Let me say there is a difference between freshly milled wheat flour and already packaged whole wheat flour.
Freshly milled flour is not sifted therefore your flour will be coarser. However, whole wheat flour is already ground and sifted making bread much easier to absorb any ingredients.
You could try using all freshly ground flour if you soak the ground flour with water overnight. This will make the dough stretchy and workable without the need for additional gluten (as seen in my Sourdough Whole Wheat Bread.)
Nevertheless, you do not need to go through the soaking or milling process if you buy a quality bag of whole wheat flour. The flour I’ve had the best results from is this Wheat Montana Prairie Gold 100% Whole Wheat Flour. I’ve also mixed this whole wheat flour with Spelt flour and have had fantastic results! So it’s a pretty flexible recipe.
Q&A
Does Chick Fil A Have Whole Wheat Bun?
The Chick Fil A Menu has one kind of Whole Wheat Bun called the multigrain brioche bun. This light-sweet bread roll is served with their Grilled Chicken Club Sandwich and Grilled Chicken Sandwich.
Whole Wheat Bun Ingredients?
The ingredients for these whole wheat hamburger buns are pretty basic. Mashed potato flakes can be found in most grocery stores and work as a natural bread enhancer.
- Warm Water- is important to activate the yeast properly. You want pleasantly warm water to the touch, nothing too cold or too hot as that will kill the yeast.
- Dry Active Yeast- is the yeast I typically buy in bulk and store for many other bread recipes.
- Salt- I currently use a coarse sea salt that I mill in my coffee grinder.
- Instant Mashed Potato Flakes- I usually use Idahoan brand instant potatoes.
- Honey- has been what I used every time I made this bread, let me know if other sweeteners work well.
- Oil- any mildly-flavored oils will work.
- Apple cider vinegar- use raw and unfiltered apple cider vinegar.
- Egg- enriches the dough and acts as a natural leavening agent.
- Whole Wheat Flour- I love using Wheat Montana Brand!
- Flax Seeds- ground flax seeds are best when freshly milled. Leave them out if you don’t have any and replace them with wheat flour instead.
Bakers Tip: store-bought whole wheat flour works best for this recipe.
How To Make Hamburger Buns:
- To make whole wheat burger buns add the first 9 ingredients into the bowl of a stand mixer.
- Allow the mixture to, proof for about 10 minutes.
- Add 2 Tablespoons of ground flax seeds and 6 3/4 cups of whole wheat flour.
- Knead for 3-4 minutes. If the dough is too sticky knead in 1/4 cup of flour by hand until a soft dough forms.
- Allow dough to rise until doubled.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and evenly divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Cut each piece into 8 pieces and roll it into balls.
- Place balls on silicone-lined baking sheets and slightly flatten.
- Allow buns to rise until tripled in size.
- Bake at 345°F for 10-15 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Do not overbake.
Can You Freeze Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns?
Yes, you can freeze these buns like any other kind of bread! I like to bake all my hamburger buns first then cool completely before stashing them into a gallon-sized freezer bag.
How To Freeze Hamburger Buns: cool and divide 4 rolls into each gallon-sized freezer bag. Keep frozen for up to 3 months. Avoid re-opening to prevent frost.
What Are Brioche Hamburger Buns?
Brioche is a sweet yeast bread typically made into a roll or braid. They are light and can be from whole wheat or white flour.
How To Toast Hamburger Buns?
- In order to get charred-looking Hamburger buns you first want to preheat your griddle or pan over high heat.
- Place the buns face down directly to the hot surface (without any oil.)
- Keep on the pan for 30 seconds or until the edges charr and the flesh looks toasted.
Note: watch me toast Brioche buns for these Popeyes Chicken Sandwiches.
Storing Homemade Hamburger Buns:
Homemade Hamburger Buns are best served within a day of baking. To prevent the bread from getting stale it’s best to freeze any leftover rolls to retain freshness.
Store as many rolls you think you will be using within the next day in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Keep the bag sealed shut and avoid bread from sitting out too long, otherwise, it will dry out.
Best Bread Tips:
- Add the last quarter cup of flour with your hands to form a ball since this dough can stick to the sides of the bowl easily.
- Use a spray bottle to mist the bread so the toppings stick easily.
- Divide the dough with a bench scraper, this is a helpful bread tool when working with dough.
- Invest in silicone mats, the bread doesn’t sweat!
- This recipe makes enough to fit about 3-4 large 18×13 sheet pans of buns.
Handy Equipment:
- 18x13 Sheet Pan– these are the same pans I use for my baked goods.
- Silicone Baking Mats– this is a great investment if you bake a lot! You can save on so much parchment paper as these are reusable!
- Kitchen Aid Professional Mixer– a great tool to knead the dough.
- Bench Scraper– makes cutting dough too easy!
- Spray Bottle- makes the bread topping stick.
- Wheat Montana Prairie Gold 100% Whole Wheat Flour– is the best whole wheat flour for this recipe.
How To Make Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns:
Whole Wheat Hamburger Buns (Copycat Chick Fil A Multigrain Bun)
Equipment
Ingredients
Ingredients:
- 4 1/2 cups warm water
- 4 Tbsp dry active yeast
- 1 Tbsp salt
- 1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes (flakes)
- 3/4 cup honey
- 3/4 cup oil
- 1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 egg
- 10 1/2 cups whole wheat flour (Wheat Montana Prairie Gold Brand)
- 2 Tbsp flax seeds (ground)
Multigrain Oat Topping:
- 1/2 cup old-fashioned oats (coarsely pulsed or use quick-oats)
- 1/2 cup water (poured into a spray bottle)
Instructions
Directions:
- In the bowl of the stand mixer whisk together the water and yeast. Add the salt, potato flakes, honey, oil, vinegar, egg, and 4 cups of flour. Whisk together and allow the mixture to sit for 10 minutes.
- Then add the flax seeds and the remaining 6 1/2 cups of flour.
- Knead for 3-4 minutes. If the dough is too sticky knead an additional 1/4 cup of flour by hand until a soft dough forms. Allow dough to rise until doubled.
- Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and evenly divide the dough into 4 equal pieces. Cut each piece into 8 pieces and roll it into balls.
- Spray the top of each ball and dip it into the crushed oats. Place balls on silicone-lined baking sheets and slightly flatten. Score the tops with two slits.
- Allow buns to rise until tripled in size. Bake at 345°F for 10-15 minutes or until bottoms are golden brown. Do not overbake.
Notes
- To make regular whole wheat hamburger buns: skip step 5 (the oats topping and slits.)
