I should start by saying that we LOVE veggie burgers! If as a family we could only choose one thing to eat for eternity, the answer would be – Veggie Burgers. Luckily, we all like the same thing! We eat what probably amounts to an unhealthy amount of veggie burgers over the course of the camping season. They are our go-to bbq meal. From Beyond Burgers to Dr. Praegers, homemade black bean to chickpea patties, we love them all. We make our own and freeze them. And we have our favorites from the frozen aisle when we’re heading out for the weekend and need to stock up in a hurry. What really makes the whole experience though, are the Vegan Multigrain Burger Buns.
I always eat my veggie burgers just plain on the plate with maybe a pickle and some mustard. That’s the price I pay for not tolerating gluten. But, the rest of my family couldn’t imagine life without bread! We make our own bread, buns, rolls, and bagels from scratch every chance we get. When we’re in a rush and have run out in the freezer, we always go for the baked fresh that day variety. No Wonder bread lovers around here! The sooner it expires, the better for us.
Can I freeze these buns?
Yes! The thing about bread and buns is that they generally freeze really well. As long as they are cooled completely first and haven’t been sitting in the freezer for so long they’re freezer burnt, they actually thaw beautifully and can be toasted right back to their (almost) original glory. I love to make these ahead in large batches so that whenever we’re ready for a burger night we can still keep it really quick and easy. After all, quick and easy is one of the main reasons we have veggie burger nights so often!
Sizing and shaping your burger buns
I also love that we can make these buns the right size for whatever burger patty or patties we eat most frequently. Store-bought burger buns hardly ever fit veggie burgers, that are commonly much smaller than typical beef burgers. Getting the right ratio of burger to bun is crucial to us veggie burger connoisseurs! Too much bun and it overwhelms the taste of the patty. Too little bun and the patty is stuck out without bun or condiments to bring it together. Can you tell we really love our veggie burgers yet?
We rarely ever eat straight white flour for any bread recipe, and we love to add whole grains whenever possible. These multigrain vegan burger buns taste just as fluffy and light as white buns, but with the richness of flavor whole grains provide. And we love the health benefits of adding whole grains, too.
Will any vegan butter work?
I’ve made these buns with Earth Balance and Melt vegan butter, and have had success with both. I haven’t tried them with straight coconut oil, but if you have it in your pantry, I would give it a go. If your coconut oil is refined it won’t add any coconut flavor. If your coconut oil is unrefined, you will likely get a hint of coconut flavor, but it might not even be noticeable if you’re adding a lot of condiments or have a strongly flavored patty. It might even be a nice addition if you’re a big-time coconut lover.
Adjusting rise times
Rise times for bread and these Vegan Multigrain Burger Buns vary depending on the heat and humidity of your kitchen. Using the “until doubled in size” rule of thumb works well. And if you’re not quite sure just go with your gut or stick to the specific times in the recipe. In general, a cooler kitchen can require a bit of a longer rise time while a warmer more humid kitchen will allow doughs to rise faster.
You don’t want to leave the dough to rise too long, or all of those delicious little air pockets will start to fall. But you would have to leave the dough quite a bit longer than necessary for that to happen, and even if it did, it’s no big deal. Breads don’t need to be perfect to be delicious. And the recipes can be more forgiving than you might think.
After you make it a time or two, you’ll start to notice the wetness of the dough and the size of the rise that corresponds to the perfect burger bun for your taste. So don’t think of bread and bun recipes as being set in stone. They’re flexible and fun to experiment with as you go.
Yeast 101
For a long time when I first began cooking, I was a bit intimidated by any recipe that called for yeast because I hadn’t used it before. I thought it was this overly complicated ingredient that seemed to have its own language that you had to understand before using it. I didn’t even understand what “proofing” was (or why I kept seeing that word in recipes), so how could I attempt to use this ingredient and have any chance at being successful?
As it turns out, yeast is simple. And delicious. Bread in general is such a staple comfort food that comes in so many shapes, sizes, and textures, that people tend to love any version of it that comes fresh from the oven. In a world where grocery store bread is filled with 20 ingredients we can’t pronounce, even an imperfect loaf fresh from our ovens will win that taste test – hands down.
The Basics of Yeast are these:
Proofing is basically just making sure the yeast is still alive.
As per the first point – yeast is a living thing.
If the yeast is alive it will feed on sugar and bloom.
Proofing Yeast
Warm water or milk and some kind of sugar (like white sugar, honey, etc.) are all you need to proof yeast.
Keep warm liquids cool enough that you can put your finger in them without burning. Liquids that are too hot will kill the yeast and it won’t rise. 110F is ideal, but for those of you without a kitchen thermometer, just use the finger test. Very warm but not burning your finger is the right temperature.
Sprinkle the yeast on top of the sugar/liquid mixture and let it sit for 5-10 minutes.
If it’s alive and well, it will bloom right before your eyes. You will see it turn foamy, and bubbles will appear. It will also gain significantly in volume, so make sure you have lots of room left in your bowl or container when proofing yeast. Sprinkling yeast on a cup full of warm sugar water will overflow into a yeast-y mess in your kitchen. Which isn’t the end of the world, unless that was your last teaspoon of yeast. *sobs*
Which kind of yeast needs to proof?
Active dry yeast needs to be proofed. Instant yeast can just be mixed in with the dry ingredients.
If you’re using Instant Yeast and you’re not sure whether or not it’s alive though, you can proof it the same as Active Dry yeast to find out, and use it in the recipe accordingly.
There are a ton of different types of yeast out there now. There’s pizza yeast, live yeast, active dry, instant, quick rise, and more. There are different brands, packaging, and fancy labels just to keep us extra confused. If you’re kitchen savvy and like to experiment, try them all! If you’re like me where time always seems to be in short supply (plus I hate wasting even one batch), do yourself a favor and get to know one type of yeast. Pick a favorite. Use it in everything. Keep it simple. It will be your friend 🙂
So here it is.. our favorite Vegan Multigrain Burger Buns! We live on these things all summer long, so we hope you love them as much as we do! If you make these buns, let us know how it went! Leave a comment, a rating, or show us your buns on Instagram #plantednoshery. Enjoy!
📖 Recipe
Vegan Multigrain Burger Buns
Ingredients
- 1 cup Warm water (110°F – 120°F) 230g
- 2½ tbsp Granulated or cane sugar 38g
- 2¼ tsp Active dry yeast 10g
- 2 Flax eggs see notes
- 3 tbsp Plant based milk 52g
- 3 cups Multigrain bread flour 480g (scooped and leveled method – see notes)
- ¾ cup All purpose flour 120g (plus more for kneading)
- ¼ cup Vegan butter, melted 50g
- 2 tsp Sea salt 15g
Instructions
- Proof your yeast. Add the warm water to a bowl and stir in the granulated or cane sugar. Once the sugar is dissolved, sprinkle the yeast on top and let it sit for 5-10 minutes until it foams and substantially increases in volume. If you don't have a thermometer, the water should feel quite warm when you put your finger in it, but tolerable. If the water is too hot, it will kill the yeast. If that happens, simply discard the water/yeast mixture and start again.
- Prepare the flax eggs (see notes below) and set aside.
- In a small pot, melt the vegan butter with the plant based milk. Stir in the prepared flax eggs to warm everything up. Remove from the heat once the butter has JUST melted and everything is well combined.
- In a large mixing bowl or in the bowl or a stand mixer, add your flours and salt. Stir them together. Create a well in the middle, and pour in your butter and yeast mixtures. Use the dough hook or a stand mixer or a wooden spoon or spatula to stir and combine the wet ingredients with the flour mixture until a sticky dough forms. Continue kneading this wet dough for 5 minutes.
- Lightly sprinkle a clean, flat countertop or work surface with flour and turn out your dough mixture onto it. Have a scraper handy if you have one, in case the dough sticks to your work surface. Have your extra flour in a bowl nearby, so that you can sprinkle the dough and your work surface as you knead. Only add as much flour as you need to keep the dough from sticking. You still want it to be tacky to the touch when you're done. Knead the dough for 10 minutes until it's stretchy, smooth and still slightly sticky to the touch.
- Place the dough in an oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in a warm place or on your countertop (in the oven works if the oven is OFF) and let the dough double in size (roughly 1 hour).
- When the dough has doubled in size, turn it out onto your floured work surface again. Knead it for 2-3 minutes into a ball. Then, cut the ball into 8 equal pieces with your scraper or a knife. Roll each piece into a ball by cupping your hand over the dough and making a quick circular motion with your hand over the dough. Repeat for each piece of dough, and place the balls onto a lined baking sheet. Cover with plastic wrap again, and let the buns double in size again (about 45minutes).
- Preheat your oven to 400°F and remove the plastic wrap from your buns. Brush each bun with olive oil or melted butter (optional). Bake them for 15-18 minutes, or until the tops are medium brown. The internal temperature of each bun should be 200°F if you have a kitchen thermometer. When you tap on the bottom of a bun, it should sound hollow when it has finished baking. Let the buns cool to the touch and enjoy!
Hello Samantha,
I’m eager to try these buns — they look delicious. But can you recommend a brand of multigrain flour? I”ve never used that before.
Thanks!
Hello!
Thanks for the question. I have tried many different “specialty” flours, however, just the Robinhood Multigrade flour you can get at any grocery store is my daily go-to.
Happy baking!