Gluten-Free Hamburger Sweet Brioche Bun, for an Amazing Burger

This gluten-free burger bun recipe is made with a sweet brioche dough, topped with optional sesame seeds, and yields a delightfully soft and fluffy texture. That's right! My sweet brioche bun recipe is the only one you'll need for all your gluten-free hamburger bun needs!

I cannot wait for this summer, because I'm going to be whipping up these sweet gluten-free brioche buns every single Friday for family BBQ night! I designed them to pair well with traditional beef burgers, but I've also used this gluten-free hamburger bun recipe for fried chicken sandwiches (with spicy mayo!) and regular cold cuts sandwiches for the kiddos' lunches.

If this is your first time working with gluten-free bread dough, you can check out my quick chemistry lesson about gluten's role in baking. It's going to help you understand why this sweet gluten-free brioche dough feels like a batter, just like in my whole grain sandwich bread recipe.

Ingredients

Brioche dough contains eggs, milk, sugar and butter; these enrichments are what makes brioche so rich and fluffy. When I created this recipe, I wanted to be able to use all those enrichments which add a lot of moisture, but WITHOUT adding psyllium husks to absorb it. Psyllium husks is a type of hydrocolloid that gives structure to gluten-free baked goods (which is amazing!) but as a licensed cottage food baker in California, I am not allowed to use it.

And so is born this gluten-free sweet brioche hamburger bun recipe, without psyllium husks. Instead, I use my own DIY gluten-free bread flour, which is formulated to absorb a lot of water and encourage a strong oven spring.

Yes, greatness in this gluten-free burger bun recipe comes at the cost of sourcing a lot ingredients. However, in the instruction section below, I'll give you time saving tips for successfully making this recipe. You won't regret it!

See recipe card for quantities.

Instructions

Most of the active time spent prepping for this recipe are going to be measuring and weighing all 12 dry ingredients. I know... I wish I could make it simpler for you, but I promise you that every ingredient has a purpose, and it is going to be worth your time!

Time Saving Tips

Here are a few suggestions to streamline the weighing process:

• Use two scales! A regular kitchen scale for your gluten-free flours, and a coffee scale for small amounts like yeast and pectin. I give recommendations on scale use in my Why You Need to Weigh Ingredients In Gluten-Free Baking article.
• Commit to making the recipe once, and if you like it (who am I kidding, you will like it!) you can then mix several batches of just the dry ingredients (minus the yeast, since that's best kept refrigerated). It takes the same amount of time to weigh 50 grams of potato starch as 200 grams of potato starch!
• If you live in California, my cottage food license allows me to sell/ship the dry mix. You can purchase the gluten-free sweet brioche bun DRY mix from me, and all you have to do is add eggs, butter, yeast and water.

I hope these time saving tips are helpful, I promise this recipe is worth your time!

Recipe Run Down

Once all the dry ingredients are weighed, here is the recipe run down.

• Everything goes in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. It all gets mixed until it forms a creamy whipped batter. Yep, your dough is not going to look or feel like bread dough. Embrace it!
• The dough is transferred to a lidded container and rests in the fridge 24 hours. This lets the butter harden, and the gluten-free flours (especially oat), to absorb moisture.
• On a well gluten-free floured surface (you can use an inexpensive 1:1 mix here, or tapioca/potato starch), we split the dough into 8 equal parts and start shaping buns.
  • Use the LEAST amount of gluten-free flour possible to shape the bun. Yes the dough is wet. No it's not pleasant. The extra moisture is there to help the hydrocolloids xanthan gum and pectin give structure to the gluten-free bread as it bakes. You'll see, it rises BEAUTIFULLY with a super airy crumb that does not fall apart.
• We cover the gluten-free buns and let them rise about 50%. I usually do this in a warm ~85F oven (turn it on a minute and turn it off). It takes roughly 45 minutes, all depending on your environment. (You can check this quick lesson I created to understand the thermodynamics of yeast rising).
• Bake and let fully cool!

Please watch the video below so that you can see the correct dough consistency. Yes it's wet! Trust the process!

Substitutions

This dough in this gluten-free burger bun recipe is an enriched brioche. You really cannot substitute eggs out of it, sorry. Please know that I am working on a vegan bun, so do not attempt this one egg-free, I am afraid it will lead to disappointment! However, I think we can tweak a few things for a dairy-free option.

• Dairy-Free - the dairy in this recipe comes from two places: buttermilk powder, and butter. You can use vegan butter, I would suggest Miyoko's as it is rich in saturated fats. The swap for buttermilk powder is as follows: omit buttermilk powder altogether, but replace the water with a vegan milk (like almond) slightly curdled with a teaspoon of apple cider vinegar or lemon juice.
• Oat-Free - I realize many people who are gluten-free can also be sensitive to oats. I chose a certified gluten-free oat flour here because it is a flour that absorbs a lot of water, which is essential for this recipe. You can replace oat with another high water absorption flour, like quinoa flour.
• Other - For other flour subs, you can refer to my gluten-free flour guide, and don't be shy, drop a comment and ask!

Variations

You can certainly customize the toppings for this gluten-free hamburger bun recipe any way you'd like! Here are a few ideas:

• Black Sesame Seeds
• Poppy Seeds
• Everything but the Bagel Seasoning

I also have a gluten-free hot dog bun recipe you can check out!

Equipment

For this recipe, you will need:

• A kitchen scale (non-negotiable, I do not give volume measurements for flour in bread recipes BECAUSE I want to set you up for success!)
• A stand mixer with the paddle attachment
• A bowl with a lid
• A baking tray
• Optional but helpful to get perfect 4 inch buns: a bun baking mesh pan (I don't have affiliate marketing set up, but I'm linking the one I use)

Storage

The dough can be kept in the refrigerator up to 48 hours.

The baked gluten-free sweet brioche burger buns are best eaten the same day. I keep mine in a bread bag at room temperature. On day two and three, they still taste amazing, but you may want to toast them for a better experience.

Freeze any buns that you don't plan on eating within 3 days: wrap tightly in plastic wrap and store in an airtight container in the freezer. Thaw to room temperature when ready to use, and toast them!

FAQ

Gluten-Free Hamburger Sweet Brioche Buns

These gluten-free buns are sweet, fluffy, airy, and best of all, they won't crumble when you use them to eat a burger!

5 from 13 votes

Print Pin Rate

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American

Keyword: bread, burger, gluten-free

Prep Time: 20 minutes minutes

Cook Time: 23 minutes minutes

Resting Time: 1 day day

Total Time: 1 day day 43 minutes minutes

Servings: 8

Calories: 342.5kcal

Author: Naelle @ GlutenFreeDIYers

Cost: 8.50

Equipment

• 1 kitchen scale I use two: one for large quantities, and a small coffee scale for small amounts (yeast, salt etc)
• 1 Stand Mixer with the paddle attachment
• 1 bun baking mesh optional

Ingredients

  

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Dry Flour Mix (Purchasable in the state of CA)

• 350 grams Naëlle's gluten-free bread flour please click through, this blend MUST be used
• 3 grams baking soda ~½ teaspoon
• 1.5 grams cream of tartar ~ ½ teaspoon
• 7 grams salt ~ 1 teaspoon
• 32 grams buttermilk powder
• 80 grams sugar

Ad-Ins

• 6 grams instant yeast ~ 2 teaspoons
• 112 grams butter room temperature
• 4 eggs room temperature
• 160 grams water room temperature
• gluten-free flour, or tapioca/potato starch for dusting and shaping
• 1 egg wash
• 1 pinch sesame seeds optional

Instructions

Preparing the Dough

• Weigh all the dry flour mix ingredients.
• Add them to the bowl of the stand mixer, and whisk to combine well.
• Add the yeast, butter and eggs.
• Start the stand mixer on low speed to combine. Meanwhile, slowly add the water.
• Increase to medium speed, and mix 3-4 minutes, until the dough looks whipped, almost like frosting (please see video in the instruction section of this post for a visual on the texture).
• Scrape the dough into a bowl fitted with a lid. Refrigerate overnight, and up to 48 hours.

Shaping the Dough

• The next day, dust a work area with gluten-free flour and put the dough from the fridge on it.
• Divide the dough equally (or roughly) into 8 portions. They should weigh ~115 grams each.
• Using as little gluten-free flour as needed, shape the dough into buns and flatten. Aim for a diameter of 4 inches. Your hands and dough will be sticky (sticky is good, it means the dough has enough moisture for the pectin and xanthan gum to do their work in the oven).
• You can set the shaped buns on a baking tray lined with parchment paper, or in a bun baking mesh inside a baking tray.
• Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm environment. The dough will roughly puff up 50%. Towards the end of the rise (roughly around 45 minutes, depending on your environment), preheat the oven to 350 °F (177 °C)
• Brush an egg wash (beaten egg) on the buns, and top with optional sesame seeds.

Baking the Buns

• Set the baking tray in the center of the preheated oven, and bake 23 minutes. I always recommend the use of an oven thermometer to ensure your oven actually runs at 350 °F (177 °C) and additionally, you can check with an instant read thermometer that the buns have an internal temperature of 210 °F (99 °C)
• Let fully cool on a rack and enjoy!

Nutrition

Calories: 342.5kcal | Carbohydrates: 46g | Protein: 7.9g | Fat: 14.6g | Saturated Fat: 8.1g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 1.1g | Monounsaturated Fat: 4g | Trans Fat: 0.5g | Cholesterol: 114.7mg | Sodium: 634.3mg | Potassium: 305.1mg | Fiber: 3.7g | Sugar: 12.7g | Vitamin A: 475.7IU | Vitamin C: 0.7mg | Calcium: 79.4mg | Iron: 1.4mg