Homemade Buns in 2 Hours

There is nothing like fresh baked bread right out of the oven. A house never smells more like a home than when you open the door and the aroma of baking bread hits your nose. It is such a warm, inviting scent that brings you right back to childhood. Baking 2 hour buns will bring that smell into your home.

Many people have never tried baking their own bread because it seems like a lot of work and time investment for something that can be purchased fairly inexpensively at the store. I usually buy from the store too, to be honest. But I have such warm memories from my childhood of when my mom made fresh bread or buns. That first bite of fresh from the oven, still warm bread with the butter melting perfectly on it. I really want my kids to have those same fond memories to look back on when they are grown. Not to mention knowing what exactly is in the food we are eating and being able to avoid the extra preservatives in the store bought version.

I have tried many different recipes and most of them were delicious, to be honest. I really love bread! But I do have a picky eater in my house who isn’t always a fan. This recipe for baking 2 hour buns is loved by everyone in our house. And as a bonus, it is a simple recipe with simple pantry items and not a lot of kneading or hands-on work involved.

Before I begin I always try to gather everything that I need. Nothing like getting halfway through a recipe to discover your husband used up a much needed ingredient on you! So I get together my giant bread mixing bowl (I love this thing!) if you would like one, you can find it HERE. My measuring utensils, and whatever pans I will be baking with. I decided to make all buns today so I used glass baking dishes. You can find similar ones HERE. Then I gather my ingredients.

2 Hour Bun Recipe

3 cups of warm water
½ cup of sugar
1 tsp of salt
6 Tbsp oil
2 Tbsp fast rising yeast
2 eggs
6-8 cups of flour

First I measure out the water into my bowl, making sure it is warm but not hot. Then I add sugar, salt and oil, mixing until the sugar and salt have dissolved. I add the yeast, mixing just until moistened and then I let it rest until the yeast looks nice and foamy. After that I add the eggs, beaten, and stir until well combined. Next I add the last ingredient, flour. The amount really will depend on what brand of flour you are using, I usually add most of what the recipe calls for and then I mix it up with a fork and add until it starts to come together as a dough and stops looking sticky and wet. That is when I use my hands to finish mixing, adding more flour as needed until I have a nice dough that doesn’t stick to my hands. I knead until smooth, for just a few minutes, and then shape into a ball. I leave in my mixing bowl and cover with a towel to rise for 15 minutes.

Now, bread dough will rise on the counter just fine all by itself. In a warm place is best but not too hot. A trick I learned is to preheat my oven, just for 2 minutes (I set a timer), and then turn the oven off. It will be warm enough to rise very well but not hot enough to bake it yet. It also keeps my dough out of the way and off the counter so I can tidy up. In my house flour always ends up everywhere when I’m baking.

When the 15 minutes rising time is up, I punch down my risen dough and reshape into a ball. If it seems sticky at all I sometimes sprinkle some more flour over it to keep my towel from sticking. Cover again and repeat this same process again, letting rise for 15 minutes and then punching down and reshaping. After that I let rise for a final 15 minutes.

When the third 15 minute rise is completed I am always surprised at how much my dough has grown! I do not punch it down at this stage but instead I form it into buns, loaves, cinnamon buns or whatever I am baking that day. Keep in mind they need to rise again so I make my buns at most half the size I want them to be when I bake them. For my buns I used well greased glass baking dishes and make sure I give the buns lots of room to rise in the pans.

I bake at 350 degrees for approximately 17 minutes, until golden brown on top. Then I brush some butter over the tops while they are still hot from the oven. They will need circulation to cool properly so I either use cooling racks or I will flip the buns over in their pan after a half hour or so. This helps the bottoms of the buns not to get soggy, as they sometimes will if just left to cool in the pan.

For storage I let them fully cool and then put into large freezer bags, pushing out any extra air, and freeze for another day. I try to pack them in a single layer so that once frozen I can stack them up nicely and they don’t take up too much room or clutter the freezer up.

This recipe for baking 2 hour buns is not my own, but was just a screenshot of a recipe that had shown up on my Facebook newsfeed sometime this summer. This is by far the bun recipe that I use the most often. It is so easy and versatile, I have even used it for pizza dough!

Happy Baking!