Free From Homemade Burger Buns

YAY! It’s free from gluten, dairy, soy, peanuts, fish, shellfish and sesame! This recipe contains eggs and almonds. Note: This post contains affiliate links, so any purchases made on Amazon through the links will help support Yay, It’s Free From This!

These gluten and dairy-free burger buns are so pillowy soft and flavorful! They are great for burgers, pulled pork or sloppy joes. I based this recipe off of the dinner rolls recipe from the How Can It Be Gluten Free Cookbook by America’s Test Kitchen. I bought this book back in 2015, when Cee when just a toddler and I was desperate for a bread recipe for him. It didn’t quite work for us at the time. Although the recipes were gluten-free and great, they were far from dairy and egg-free. I set this aside for years until Cee was able to have baked eggs and both him and Em grew out of their almond allergy. I revisited the book and was able to develop and adjust the dinner roll recipe to be dairy-free. Because they turned out to be such great free from dinner rolls, I thought I’d shape them into round buns and proof them apart to see if they would work as burger buns too. My hunch was right because they turned out amazing! So dinner rolls or burger buns, it’s a two for one recipe!

How I Substituted Milk and Butter

When a recipe calls for melted butter, I like to use palm shortening. You could use a vegan butter, but we’ve always avoided it because of nut allergies and also legume allergies. Most vegan butters are cashew based and if they happen to be nut-free, then it usually contains a legume of some kind, like pea or chickpea protein. So I highly recommend palm shortening as a butter substitute.

The original recipe calls for two eggs, but I only use one here. My son still has a reaction if the egg isn’t baked properly, so I always err on the side of caution and feel it reduces risks. During testing, there didn’t seem to be a difference between one or two eggs, so it made sense to keep it to one. The book’s recipe also calls for milk powder to add richness, and I decided to use almond flour instead (See Notes for substitutes).

Make the Dough

Now it’s time to make the dough. It may seem super involved, but I think it’s not so bad when you think about dry ingredients versus wet. First prep your wet ingredients. Lightly beat the egg in a bowl while heating up some water. Measure the shortening using a scale and melt this in the microwave. Juice half of a lemon into a small bowl. Fill a measuring cup with the correct amount of warm (not hot) water.

Next, add all the dry ingredients go into the bowl of an electric mixer. When you use a scale, it goes even faster. The only thing to note here is that you should add the salt last and place it on the opposite side of the bowl from the instant yeast. This is because salt can kill the yeast. So add it right before adding your liquid.

Turn the mixer on low and slowly add the wet ingredients one at a time. Start with the water, then the lemon juice, then the egg. Last, add the melted shortening. Increase the speed to medium and mix for about 5 minutes. The dough will be thick and sticky, almost like a paste.

Proof the Buns

Use an ice cream scoop to measure leveled spoonfuls of batter and place on a lightly greased cookie sheet. Try to space them evenly, (not like what I did, lol) and use water and hands to shape each mound to be round and somewhat flattened. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for about an hour. You’ll know they’re ready when they’ve doubled in size and look puffy.

Dinner Rolls Instead

If making dinner rolls, scoop into a greased or parchment lined pan instead. I’ve used a 9″ round, an 8″X8″ square and an 7″x11″ rectangle. The dinners rolls will rise and press into each other. Use water to shape each into round balls before placing into the pan.

Bake the Bread!

Whether you’re making burger buns or dinner rolls, bake in the oven at 375ºF for about 20-25 minutes. Oven temperatures vary, so make sure you check it at 15 minutes to see how they are baking. You know they’re done when they have a nice brown color over the tops.

As soon as I pull them out of the oven, I butter them immediately and generously with vegan butter. For burger buns, once they’ve completely cooled, I slice them across horizontally. For dinner rolls, we eat them hot out of the oven. Whatever we don’t finish, I throw in the freezer and use for the next meal. We love the buns with burgers and pulled pork! 💕