Add the yeast, water, and honey to the bowl of a stand mixer. Whisk together by hand. Let sit until doubled in size and foamy.
Add the rest of the ingredients and mix on low until the sides of the bowl are mostly free of dough. If the dough is too sticky, add flour 1 tbsp at a time. Cover with a damp rag and place in a warm part in your kitchen until it has doubled in size. See Notes in post above about how to rise bread in a cold kitchen.
Gently punch down the dough and knead it by hand a few times.
Pinch off pieces of dough and cup your hand around the dough in a "C" shape. Keep the base of your hand on the counter and gently roll the dough until it is round. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet.
Place another piece of parchment over the top of the dough. Lay another baking sheet on top of the parchment and gently press down until all the burger buns are about the same height. Skipping this step will result in big fluffy dinner rolls instead of a classic burger bun shape. Let the homemade burger buns rise until they are doubled in size.
Bake in a 375-degree oven on the middle rack for 15 minutes. Optional: brush hot burger buns with melted butter after you remove them from the oven.
Notes
If you don't want to use whole wheat flour, sub in bread flour and don't add the vital wheat gluten. Want to make these whole wheat hamburger buns vegan? Sub out the honey for an equal amount of white sugar.Want to make smaller buns for sliders? Reduce the baking time to 12 minutes.For a shiny finish on top of the hamburger buns, mix 1 egg with 1 tsp of water and brush over the top prior to baking.