How to make the best homemade bread machine buns. You only need a simple list of ingredients, and they’re so easy to make. A must-have on our holiday table. The most delicious soft dinner rolls to use for leftover turkey sandwiches.

Made-from-Scratch-Buns-Header

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“Tried this recipe for buns AND WOW WAS I PLEASED. JUST WHAT I HAVE BEEN LOOKING FOR. Things I have on hand, directions were absolutely perfect, Thank you so much for sharing. No more boughten buns!”

-Judy on Pinterest

This is a very special recipe. Our mom makes it all the time, passed down to her from my Grandmother, and now it’s been passed down to us sisters.

This past weekend, for Mother’s Day, we made this recipe together. In my opinion, the best recipes are the ones that bring back great memories and create traditions. This is one of them!

Homemade-Bread-Machine-Buns-Feature

We love this recipe because it is a sweeter roll, it’s easy to make (perfect for busy moms and families), and the buns freeze well, so you can make them ahead of time. Just pull them out of the freezer and thaw them out on the counter ahead of time.

You can use these buns for hamburger buns, sandwich buns, or form into hot dog buns. We love to serve these rolls for holiday dinners & then when it’s time to eat leftovers – we take a bun and spread it with butter, pile on leftover turkey, and sprinkle salt and pepper. Yum!

No doubt this is my favorite (and a fan favorite!) bread machine recipe. 

Ingredients

  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp butter (sliced)
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • ¼ cup granulated sugar
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 ½ teaspoons active dry yeast

We use Fleischmann’s Active Dry Yeast in this bread machine recipe, either in the packets (as linked in the ingredients list above) or in a jar.

Homemade Buns Ingredients

Supplies

  • Bread machine
  • Baking sheet
  • Aluminum foil
  • Shortening 

Our Cuisinart bread machine has been good to us if you’re looking for the best bread machine to purchase. 

From-Scratch-Bread-Machine-Buns-on-Cutting-Board

How to Make the Best Bread Machine Buns

This recipe makes 12 to 14 buns. It takes about 4 to 4 1/2 hours to make, including bread machine time, forming, rising, and baking.

You’ll need a bread machine. Here is the kind we use. If you don’t have one, add it to your wish list! They are awesome.

Bread Machine Prep & Dough Cycle

Make sure to add all of the ingredients in order to your bread machine pan.

Measure 1 cup of milk and add the egg. Warm both in the microwave until luke-warm (about 30 seconds). Add to your bread machine pan.

Pouring Milk and Egg Into Bread Machine Basket

Next, add the 2 tablespoons of butter—cutting it into pieces.

Adding Butter to Bread Machine

Then add all of the dry ingredients in order: 3 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 ½ teaspoons of active dry yeast (room temperature).

Adding Yeast to Bread Machine

Set the bread machine on the dough/pizza dough setting and press start. (This cycle is about 1 hour and 40 minutes.)

Once the bread machine is done, let the dough rise to the top of the bread machine pan.

Dough Rising in Bread Machine Pan

Forming & Rising

Prepare a baking sheet by greasing it with shortening.

Now, on to the fun part—forming the buns. Grease your hands with shortening.  Take a little more than a golf ball-sized piece of dough, pinching it off the rest of the dough.

Then, work the edges and push up in the middle at the same time to make a bump. The center should be smooth. Gather the outer edges in one hand. Squeeze the dough at the bottom with your opposite hand, pinching off the very end.

Put it on the pan and flatten it with your hand.

Buns Formed on Pan

Place about 5 or 6 to a pan, depending on the size of the pan.

For the remaining dough, prepare sheets of aluminum foil with shortening.  Form the rest of the buns.

Let the buns rise until they have almost doubled in size.

Buns Doubled in Size

Baking & Serving

Bake one pan at a time at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for about 12 minutes (time may vary depending on your oven).

The buns should be golden brown on the top and bottom. Once you remove it from the oven, rub butter on the top of each bun.

Bread machine buns

They are so delicious right out of the oven and smell so good you won’t be able to resist testing at least one.

We also love making leftover turkey sandwiches with these buns + salt and pepper. So good! They also make good hamburger buns.

Bread-Machine-Buns-in-Basket

Stop by in the comments and let me know how you fix them.Save

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Bread machine buns

Bread Machine Buns

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Super soft bread machine buns – a sweet dinner roll recipe that’s easy to make. The secret is in how you form them!

  • Total Time: 4 hours
  • Yield: 12 rolls 1x

Ingredients

Units Scale
  • 1 c milk
  • 1 egg
  • 2 tbsp. butter (sliced)
  • 3 c all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 c granulated sugar
  • 1 tsp. salt
  • 1 1/2 tsp. active dry yeast

Instructions

  1. Make sure to add all of the ingredients in order to your bread machine pan.
  2. Measure 1 cup of milk and add the egg. Warm both in the microwave until luke-warm (about 30 seconds). Add to your bread machine pan.
  3. Next add the 2 tablespoons of butter – cutting it into pieces.
  4. Then add all of the dry ingredients in order: 3 cups flour, ¼ cup sugar, 1 tsp salt and 1 ½ teaspoons of active dry yeast (room temperature).
  5. Set the bread machine on the dough/pizza dough setting and press start. (This cycle is about 1 hour and 40 minutes.)
  6. Once the bread machine is done, let the dough rise to the top of the bread machine pan.
  7. Prepare a baking sheet by greasing it with shortening.
  8. Now on to the fun part – forming the buns. Grease your hands with shortening. Take a little more than a golf ball size piece of dough, pinching it off the rest of the dough. Then work the edges and push up in the middle at the same time to make a bump. The center should be smooth. Gather the outer edges in one hand. Squeeze the dough at the bottom with your opposite hand, pinching off the very end.
  9. Put it on the pan and flatten it with your hand.
  10. Place about 5 or 6 to a pan, depending on the size of the pan.
  11. For the remaining dough, prepare sheets of aluminum foil with shortening. Form the rest of the buns.
  12. Let the buns rise until they have almost doubled in size.
  13. Bake one pan at a time at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes (time may vary depending on your oven). The buns should be golden brown on the top and bottom.
  14. Once you remove it from the oven, rub butter on the top of each bun. Enjoy!

Notes

Watch the video on how to form these buns.

  • Author: Kelsey Restemayer
  • Cook Time: 12 minutes
  • Category: Breads
  • Method: Baking
  • Cuisine: American

Nutrition

  • Serving Size: 1 bun
  • Calories: 165
  • Sugar: 5.3 g
  • Sodium: 210.5 mg
  • Fat: 3.1 g
  • Carbohydrates: 29.2 g
  • Protein: 4.7 g
  • Cholesterol: 22.2 mg
Recipe Card powered byTasty Recipes

Frequently Asked Questions

Here are answers to commonly asked questions about making buns in the bread machine.

In what order do I put the ingredients into the bread machine?

Follow the order we have the ingredients listed in the recipe. First, the milk and egg, then sliced butter, flour, sugar, salt, and yeast.

What happens if I use all-purpose flour instead of bread flour?

We use all-purpose flour every time, and these rolls turn out delicious—one less item to stock in your pantry.

Can I use this recipe for more than buns?

Yes! Our family uses this recipe for tea ring which is a large cinnamon roll shaped in a ring topped with icing. We’ve also used this dough recipe for chicken sandwich bakes and pizza bakes.

Can you freeze these buns?

Yes! You can freeze these rolls in an airtight ziplock bag or container. I have not tried freezing the dough before baking, but it will essentially work the same as frozen dough you find at the grocery store. Just be sure to thaw out fully and let rise before baking.

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How to Make the Best Bread Machine Buns

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30 Comments

  1. Made these for the first time today, and I envision making them regularly. They were everything advertised and more- soft, yeasty, slightly sweet. Looking forward to using them for sandwiches. Many many thanks for a totally delicious and easy to make yeast roll.






  2. Since finding this recipe I’ve made these probably a dozen times. My husband, daughter and gr-daughter all go nuts for them. Very similar to the buns my mother in law used to make. Thanks for posting this!






    1. Northern Yum says:

      We love to hear this, Kris! Thank you!

  3. OK so we have been friends with our carpet cleaning guy for years now, and he usually brings over baked goods when he comes to clean our carpet and they are always so good! I finally asked him where he has been getting these ideas/ recipes. He recommended your blog! Let’s just say I can’t stop baking now that I’ve found your blog!! I can’t wait to now give him all the yummy baked treats!






  4. Karen Ross says:

    I want to make sour cream onion rolls for hamburger buns in my bread machine. If I add sour cream do you have suggestions for altering the wet ingredients. Also when would I add freeze dried onions or sautéed onions to the mix. If none of this would work I will add onion powder with the dry ingredients. Thanks for such a great recipe.

  5. Made these today and they’re wonderful. Thanks so much for the great recipe – I will be trying more from Northern Yum.






    1. Northern Yum says:

      Jane, so glad you liked them! Just checked out your Etsy shop, beautiful work! Thanks for the message. -Kelsey

  6. Wow, so awesome! I can barely make toast without burning it, but, low and behold, I was able to pull this recipe off with my new bread maker. I’m a 54 yr old male that usually only ventures into the kitchen to get a coffee refill. They were fantastic. As mentioned, I’m a total disaster in the kitchen… can someone help with a question? My goal is to make this recipe slightly more bread like, and less roll like (kind of a 50/50 blend between this recipe and bread). Which ingredients should I modify? Or should I just keep trying new recipes until I find the one? Again, thx for this recipe, it’s a keeper for sure! Thanks!

    1. Northern Yum says:

      Hi Mike, so glad you loved the recipe! I don’t have an answer to your question about making them more bread-like. But you may look into a book like ‘Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking’ to find the perfect ratios for different foods. Good luck!

      -Kelsey

  7. Can I make a small loaf of bread instead of buns?

    1. Northern Yum says:

      Hi Darlene! Yes you can, I’ve made this recipe as a loaf and it makes a full loaf in my Cuisinart. -Kelsey

  8. Best buns ever.
    My go to recipe






    1. Northern Yum says:

      So glad, Patricia! Thanks for the review! – Kelsey

  9. sharon brown says:

    why regular yeast instead of bread machine yeast?

    1. Northern Yum says:

      Hi Sharon, thanks for visiting! It’s the family recipe we’ve used for multiple generations – likely what my grandmother always had on hand. I’m sure bread machine yeast will be a bit quicker and work just as well. Happy holidays! -Kelsey

  10. This recipe is my go too for buns!!! My special needs son loves them so much I’ve taught him and he can do it himself
    Just shared the recipe with my mom and she is trying them herself today
    Excellent recipe!






    1. Northern Yum says:

      Annette-this makes my heart happy! ❤️ So glad you enjoy the recipe. -Kelsey

  11. Cindy Mulcahy says:

    Can this be used to make pepperoni rolls?

    1. Northern Yum says:

      Hi Cindy! Absolutely, this recipe is so versatile. We use it for tea ring – which is a big cinnamon roll in a ring topped with icing. I’ve also made a bbq chicken sandwich bake with it as well. Let me know how it goes if you try it! I suggest rolling it out into at least the size of a 9×13 pan – adding your fillings and then rolling it up. -Kelsey

  12. Ella Jones says:

    Wonderful recipe to make bread machine buns. I will definitely go to try this, it seems so delicious.






    1. Northern Yum says:

      Thank you, Ella! Definitely let us know how it goes. 🙂 Keep them in mind for Thanksgiving/Christmas dinner. Love them with leftover turkey.

  13. Hello Kelsey!
    I love this recipe! Today I am making them for my 34 year olds birthday BBQ. At his request, by the way.
    Do you ever find that baking can be emotional? It is for me! Finding something I can make with total confidence, and it will turn out just as yummy this time as it did last time is a life changer.
    I am so grateful you decided to have a blog, share your recipes and tips. It makes a difference.






    1. Northern Yum says:

      Thank you, Geri! So happy to hear – this made my day. 🙂

  14. These are so good! I made them a little larger for hamburger buns and they were delicious. I then put butter on the cut side and pan fried them for breakfast. So easy and so delicious!!






    1. Northern Yum says:

      So glad to hear this! Great idea to pan fry them for breakfast. Thanks, Sydney!

  15. Lisa Mongiovi says:

    I don’t see the video on how to form them. I’m such a visual person.

    1. Northern Yum says:

      Hi Lisa! I hear you, me too. When I rebranded this site, the video was removed. I’m looking for a copy and will post here as soon as I find it (or remake it!).

    2. Northern Yum says:

      I’m happy to say, the video is now available again!

  16. Once the dough is formed into balls, can this be frozen? How would you suggest defrosting/baking if sO?

    1. Northern Yum says:

      Hi Brittany, we’ve never frozen the dough after forming into balls, but I’m sure it would be no problem. We’ve frozen the buns after baking and that works great. But we do use store bought frozen rolls when making our cheesy onion rolls. I’ve found the best way to defrost them is to set the frozen rolls on a plate in the refrigerator for several hours. (You can defrost in the microwave if you’re in a hurry, but this can cause them to dry out bit more.) And then of course letting them rise in a warm place prior to baking. Hope this helps. And thank you for stopping! 🙂

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