From Yeasted Bestseller to Soft Sourdough

A Burger Bun With A Backstory

Back in our microbakery era, our Grainwright Burger Bun was a tasty, little marketing Trojan. We hand-shaped more than a thousand a week, and that bun appeared, by name, on menus at twenty-odd different Louisville restaurants. Plenty of people found their way to us because of that bun.

Now while it was a really good bun (never went soggy, super flavorful), it was something of an outlier for us because it was yeasted not sourdough. It took me years of chasing before I finally landed on a true sourdough version I was happy with - and that's the recipe you have here.

The Thing That Changed

From Brioche to Burger Buns

Ian Lowe's sweet stiff starter method has been a game-changer in my baking life. I'd used it many times before. It's what is 'new and improved' about the updated Sourdough Brioche Cinnamon Rolls recipe. But a highly enriched brioche and a burger bun are different animals, and when I tried that same stiff approach to a burger bun dough, it didn't translate the way I'd hoped.

The Sweet Liquid Breakthrough

Switching to a sweet liquid starter made all the difference. Because the bun dough is only lightly enriched, the liquid version fits better than the stiff - and it comes with a practical bonus: it doesn't demand as long a prep window. Build the leaven overnight, mix and shape the next morning, and you'll have baked buns by the afternoon.

One Dough, Two Jobs

This recipe creates a bun that's even softer than the original yeasted version, with no real sweetness and no assertive sour note - just the faintest hint of tang. What's more, shaped differently, it makes a perfect hot dog bun. Especially, if like me, you like a. New England Split Top bun, with buttery, toasted sides!  

Find the full burger/hot-dog bun backstory, here on the blog. 

Baking and Enjoying This Recipe

What Makes This Bun Special?

This recipe stands out for replicating a yeasted bakery bestseller in true sourdough form. Here's what makes it unique:

• Sweet Liquid Starter: Most of our enriched sourdough bakes, our cinnamon rolls among them, lean on a sweet stiff starter. This doesn't - the liquid version is what gets the texture and timing right.
• Ridiculously Soft: And yet still holds its structure. 
• Does Double Duty: Split a batch in two to make both burger buns and hot dog buns. Once baked, these buns freeze really well, so burgers today, hot dogs next week. Your chili-dogs deserve this bun upgrade!

Tips for Success

• Your Starter Must Be In Good Shape: Your continuation starter needs to be 100% hydration, made entirely of refined white flour, and healthy and active - fed twice daily for at least two days before you build the sweet liquid levain.
• Push the Fermentation a Little Further: One of our Bakers Club members found that letting the dough ferment right to the edge, to the point where the gluten is teetering on the edge of 'over', actually produces great results.
• Full Levain Build: The complete sweet liquid starter build, with exact timings and weights, is in the Notes section of the recipe card below.

Pairing Ideas

This bun pairs wonderfully with:

• Classic Burgers: A juicy smash burger or a backyard grill classic.
• Hot Dogs: Just as happy holding a hot dog as it is a burger patty.
• Sliders: Scaled down, it also makes a great slider bun.

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