This homemade bread and hamburger bun recipe is super simple and ultra tasty. Light fluffy bread and buns, perfect for a classic hamburger or lunchtime sandwich. Make your own bread and buns at home with this delicious recipe inspired by the bread from Stardew Valley.

This homemade bread is fluffy, soft and just plain tasty. It works perfectly for hamburger buns, for sandwiches, cheesy garlic bread, or even just as toast – or French toast!

You can also use this bread recipe to make the buns for the Stardew Valley survival burger, along with some carrot lentil burgers and roasted eggplant.

The best thing about this bread is that while it does take 3 hours to make, 2 of those 3 hours are just the dough rising, so you can spend your time elsewhere while it rises.

The bread doesn’t take long to bake either – only about 20-25 minutes at 375˚F. I love to eat it immediately out of the oven – do let it rest for 10 minutes before serving though. It will continue cooking a little inside, once out of the oven (plus you don’t want to burn your tongue).

Tips & Tricks for Great Bread

There are a few steps necessary for making really great bread at home, so here’s a few helpful tips to get you started:

• Use warm milk. Make sure the milk is heated to about 110˚F. I usually heat the milk in a small saucepan for 1-2 minutes on high heat while stirring, or the microwave for 30-40 seconds.
• Bloom the yeast for 20 minutes with warm milk and sugar. Sugar and warm liquid (milk in this case) are the ultimate secret to great bloomed yeast. Mix these three ingredients together in a bowl, then cover the bowl with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let it sit for 20-25 minutes to get nice and bubbly and bloomed.
• Knead the dough by hand for 5-10 minutes. Don’t be afraid to get messy, it’s fun! You can also use a strong spoon or spatula if you are very averse to getting the sticky dough on your hands, but kneading your dough by hand assures its perfection. Electric dough mixers can overwork the dough all too easily, and then you’ve wasted your perfectly bloomed yeast. Plus, it’s only for 5-10 minutes – that’s like… almost all of your arm workout done for the day. Just put some music or a quick video on while you knead and it’ll be over before you know it – or think about everything that’s stressing you out and take it out on the dough!
• Let the dough rise twice. Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 hours in a warm room, then cut the dough and shape it into 2 loaves (or 6-8 hamburger buns). Place the bread on an oiled baking tray, and let it rise for another 20-30 minutes.
• Always oil and cover your dough. Every time you let the dough sit and rise, make sure both the dough and the inside of the bowl are coated with olive oil, and that it is then covered with plastic wrap and a tea towel. You don’t want your precious dough to dry out.

• For bread loaves, roll up each of the dough portions like scrolls of paper. It’s really that simple – like rolling up a yoga mat! Once you’ve rolled up the rolled-out dough pieces, pinch the edges shut along the seam with your fingers and turn the loaves upside down.
• Score the loaves before the 2nd rise. Score your dough loaves before the second rise, so that they form more pronounced scoring marks after rising.
• Score your bread with a sharp serrated knife, held at a 45 degree angle. Use a sharp serrated knife to score the bread, and hold the knife at a 45 degree angle to the top of the bread loaf. You can even rub the knife with a little oil in between each cut, to make this process even easier. You could also use a razor blade for this, if preferred.
• Add An Egg Wash If Desired. To get that super golden exterior, you can use a pastry brush to paint beaten egg all over the outside of the bread or buns, right before baking.
• Bake the bread at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes. Being that this is basic bread but not a baguette, super high oven temperature isn’t necessary. In fact, this bread does better in a merely moderately hot oven.
• Store your baked bread in the fridge or freezer. This bread keeps well in a sealed bag in the fridge for 7-10 days, or in the freezer for 2-3 months.

Bread in Stardew Valley

You can make bread in Stardew Valley using a cookout kit or in the farmhouse kitchen, simply make sure you have some wheat flour. So… grow some wheat crops in Autumn, then collect a bunch of wood and have Robin build you a mill. You’ll have wheat flour for days.

The Queen of Sauce will announce the recipe for bread on the 28th Day of Summer in Year 1, so make sure to tune in that morning. Bread is a great item to have, since it’s very easy to stack in your inventory when adventuring into the mines.

If you’re looking for great mining food, pumpkin soup and triple espresso are two other fantastic options – very easy to make and easy to stack in your inventory.

Bread in Stardew Valley: Wheat Flour

My other favourite place to find bread in Pelican Town (and the easiest place early in the game) is in the trash cans. I don’t know why but the two main things I always find in the trash are bread and cookies. Who is throwing this stuff out?! Is Lewis on a diet?

In terms of gifting bread, it’s a somewhat unusual item – even Krobus, Willy and Leo are okay with getting some bread. The only two villagers who don’t like bread, even a little bit, are Leah (she hates it) and Harvey (he dislikes it).

If you visit Emily’s sewing machine, you can use bread to make an orange shirt, or as an orange dye in the dye pots.

Bread is also an essential ingredient for a few different recipes, including the survival burger – recipe coming soon!

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Homemade Bread & Hamburger Buns

Instructions

1. In a heat-proof cup or bowl, combine the warm milk, sugar, and yeast. Stir, then cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let the mixture sit for 20 minutes until expanded and bubbly.

2. Add 1 cup of flour and the salt to a large mixing bowl. Stir to combine. 
3. Add the yeast mixture to the bowl of flour and salt, then mix well to combine.
4. Add the egg and 3 tbsp of olive oil, then mix.
5. Gradually add the rest of the flour while kneading the dough over the course of about 10 minutes. Dust your fingers and the dough with extra flour if the dough is too sticky to handle.

6. Smooth out the dough into a ball, then coat the dough ball and inner sides of the bowl with oil. 
7. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, then wrap in a tea towel. Let rise in a warm room for 1 ½ hours.

8. Turn the dough out of the bowl onto a lightly floured surface. 

For Bread Loaves:

• Divide the dough in half.
• Roll out one half of the dough into a rectangle shape.
• Roll up the longer side of the dough, the way you would roll up a scroll of paper.
• Pinch the edges shut along the seam to seal the opening.
• Repeat this process with the 2nd loaf.
• Place the loaves on an oiled baking sheet, with the seams facing downwards.
• Score the tops of the loaves with diagonal 45 degree angle cuts (use a serrated knife or razor blade).

For Buns:

• Divide the dough into 6-8 equal pieces – about 60 grams (⅓ cup) dough per bun.
• Roll each portion into a ball, and flatten them just slightly.
• Place the buns on a lightly oiled baking sheet, leaving room for them to expand. 

9. Brush the bread with oil, then cover with plastic wrap and a tea towel. Let rise for 20-30 minutes.

10. Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Position the oven rack in the centre of the oven before preheating.
11. Brush the bread with a little more oil. Sprinkle with sesame seeds if desired.

12. Bake the loaves or buns at 375˚F for 20-25 minutes , or until a cake tester pulls out clean. 
13. Once baked, remove the bread from the oven. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before serving, or allow to cool completely before storing. Store the bread in the fridge or freezer in a sealed bag or container. It keeps well in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or in the freezer for up to 2 months. 

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Homemade Croutons & Freezing Bread

I really love this bread, since it keeps so well in the fridge or freezer, even pre-sliced. Eventually any bread will dry out of course, but at that point it’s perfect for making homemade croutons.

How To Make Croutons

1. Simply cut the bread into cubes, toss with oil and herbs or other seasonings.
2. Bake the seasoned cubes of bread on a baking tray at 375˚F for 10-15 minutes.
3. Make sure to toss the croutons half way through the cooking time, and watch that they don’t burn.

Reheating Frozen Bread

Frozen bread lasts for 2-3 months, which is very handy when you want fresh baked bread at a moment’s notice.

You can pre-slice a loaf before freezing it, or freeze it whole. Reheat an unsliced frozen bread on a baking tray in a 350˚F oven for 10-15 minutes.

So, did you make this homemade bread, or some hamburger buns? Let me know!