• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
Joy the Baker
Joy the Baker
  • Cookies
  • Bread
  • Cakes
  • Pies
  • Recipes
    • All Recipes
    • Cookies
    • Birthday Cake Recipes
    • Biscuits
    • Muffins
    • Cupcakes
    • Drinks
    • Breakfast
    • Lunch
    • Dinner
    • Fruit
    • Nuts
    • Buttermilk
    • Chocolate
    • Vanilla
    • Holiday
    • Healthy
    • Gluten-Free
    • Vegan
  • Blog
    • Baking 101
    • Tips
    • Beyond the Kitchen
    • Let It Be Sunday!
    • New Orleans
  • Shop

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

June 1, 2014 by Joy the Baker 43 Comments

turkey sloppy joes with buttery buns

There was a girl singing Summertime (and the living is easy) outside of my window as I made these Sloppy Joes today.  She wasn’t the best singer in the world.  I imagine that if I had the gall to sing in public, I’d be just around average as well.  A lot of times it’s way more about feel and guts when it comes to singing in the streets.  You just have to step out there and mean in.  That’s just about everything.

I’m feel the same way when I step in the kitchen to make bread.  Feel and guts, every time.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

I’ve had every intention of making homemade hamburger-type buns for (no joke) two years now.  Two years!?

I think that’s called self-procrastination.  Sometimes even the best laid plans take years to activate.  Feel and guts!  I’m telling  you.  It’s so real.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Here’s the deal with my baby steps into this homemade hamburger bun situation:  I wanted my hamburger buns to be as rich and lovely as brioche buns without the tremendous amount of work it takes to make actual brioche buns.

I wanted a cheat!

I’ve had my eyes on Deb’s recipe from Light Brioche Buns for (you guessed it) years.  With just a bit of butter and a bit of egg, her recipe seems just right.

Except…  I forgot to add the egg.

Two years and I forget the egg!!!!!

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Luckily, this hamburger bun story still has a happy ending.

We’re working with bread flour, mixed with a bit of all-purpose flour.  Truth be told I used just a bit of while whole wheat flour.  I don’t often make so many intentional and not so intentional substitutions.  I promise.  Butter is worked into the flours, kinda like we’re making biscuits!

Warm water, milk, years and sugar are stirred together and added to our flour mixture.

This is just a bowl and spoon happening.  No mixer needed!

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

The dough starts shaggy.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

And stays pretty shaggy.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

We knead the dough by hand for about 10 minutes.

The dough will be tacky, but not overly sticky.  That’s because I forgot the egg.

There’s no need to add extra flour.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

After 10 minutes the dough will be pretty, smooth, and happy.

We leave it to rest in a big bowl coated well with olive oil.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

While the dough rests, the Turkey Sloppy Joes come together!

Onions, red bell pepper, a bit of jalapeño, and a good amount of garlic.

Tomato sauce and paste, barbecue sauce, and hella Worcestershire sauce, too!  I like to shake in the hot sauce as well.  That vinegar spice is perfect!

Brown sugar for sweetness, and chili powder for that round spice flavor.  It’s all very good!

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Ground turkey, of course!

It’s cooked down with the onions, peppers, and garlic.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Once the vegetables and turkey is cooked down we add the chili powder, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Tomato paste helps deepen the rich tomato flavor.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

All mixed up and so hard not to devour by the spoonful!

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Just as the sloppy joe filling finishes simmering, the dough finishes its first rise.

The dough is divided into 16 pieces.  Each piece is rolled into a little bun and placed on a lightly greased piece of parchment paper.  Before we brush with egg and sprinkle with poppy and salt, the buns need to rest for another hour or so.  They need more time to fluff (don’t we all).

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Lightly brushed with egg wash and sprinkled generously with sea salt and poppy seeds.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

Baked to golden!

If we tap the buns just out of the oven, they’ll sound hollow.  That’s how we know they’re done.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

A major amount of sloppy joe filling, please!

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

The buns, even without the egg, are light and fluffy.  The dough was totally easy to work with, and I love how golden and brioche-y these buns are!   Two years was worth the wait… but wwwhhhyyy did I wait?

Check out Deb’s recipe for Light Brioche Burger Buns for her plus-egg recipe although I had great results and a super manageable dough by making it without the egg.

This is a most lovely summer meal! It’s perfectly comforting and familiar.

Turkey Sloppy Joes with Buttery Buns

makes 16 small sandwiches

Print this Recipe!

recipes adapted from Smitten Kitchen and NY Times

For the Buns:

1 cup warm water

3 tablespoons warm milk (any fat percentage)

2 1/2 tablespoons granulated sugar

2 1/4 teaspoon (1 package) active dry yeast

3 cups bread flour

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened

1 large egg, beaten with a splash of water

coarse sea salt and poppy seeds for topping, optional

For the Turkey Filling:

3 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 of a yellow onion, diced

1/2 of a red bell pepper, diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 of a seeded jalapeño, minced

1 pound ground turkey meat

2 tablespoons tomato paste

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 1/2 tablespoons chili powder

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

1 cup tomato sauce

1/2 cup barbecue sauce

1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot sauce

2 tablespoons butter, for serving

To make the Buttery Buns, in a liquid measuring cup, stir together water, milk, sugar, and yeast.  Allow to sit for 5 minutes.  The mixture will foam and froth.  That’s right!  If the mixture does not froth, start over again with new yeast.

In a medium bowl, whisk together bread flour, all-purpose flour, and salt.  Add the softened butter and use your fingers to work the butter into the dry ingredients.  The mixture will be crumbly.

Add the wet ingredients all at once to the dry ingredients.  Use a wooden spoon to stir together into a shaggy dough.  Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 10 minutes.  The dough will be tacky, but not overly sticky.  That’s right.  After kneading into a smooth dough, place the dough in the medium bowl we used to stir the dough together.  Just grease it well with a bit of olive oil.  Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until doubled in size, between 1 and 1 1/2 hours.

Line a baking sheet (or two) with parchment paper and spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray.  Remove the risen dough from the bowl and place on a clean counter.  Divide the dough in 16 pieces.  Gently roll each piece of dough into a round ball and place, leaving about 2 inches of space, on the prepared baking sheets.

Lightly spray a piece or two of plastic wrap and place sprayed side down over the buns.  Allow to rest for 1 hour.

Place a rack in the upper third of the oven and preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

In a small bowl beat together egg and a splash of water.  After the rolls have risen a second time, gently and lightly brush each bun with egg.  Sprinkle generously with poppy seeds and sea salt, if using.

Bake rolls until golden brown, turning baking sheets halfway through baking, for about 12 to 14 minutes.  Allow to cool before slicing and serving.

To make the Turkey Filling, in a large skillet heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onions and red pepper and cook until softened and slightly browned, about 6 to 8 minutes.  Add the jalapeño and garlic and sauté for 2 minutes more.  Add the turkey and stir, breaking the turkey into bits as it cooks down and browns.

Once turkey meat is completely cooked through, add tomato paste, brown sugar, chili powder, salt, and pepper.  Stir to combine.

Add the tomato sauce, barbecue sauce, Worcestershire sauce, and hot sauce.  Stir until thoroughly combined and warmed through.  Taste and season with more salt and pepper if necessary.

To serve, melt butter on a griddle over medium heat.  Cut each bun in half and toast of the griddle. Top each bottom half generously with sloppy joe filling and serve.  

 

 

Previous PostNext Post

Filed Under: Bread, Dinner, Recipes

Previous Post: « Campfire Scones
Next Post: Let It Be Wednesday »

Reader Interactions

All Comments
I Made This
Questions
  1. Carol Griffin

    November 24, 2014 at 1:55 pm

    I made the Turkey Sloppy Joe recipe for my husband. He loves it. He asks for it often now. I’m too intimidated to even “try” to make the rolls – so I used burrito wraps and called them “Sloppy Joe Burritos.” I thought they were delicious. Thank you for the recipe.

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      November 26, 2014 at 12:19 pm

      I like the way you think, Carol. Thatta girl!

      Reply
  2. Jenn V

    September 15, 2014 at 8:55 am

    Delicious! The only thing I would change would be to maybe double the recipe because my family devoured everything :)

    Reply
  3. MrsQ

    June 20, 2014 at 10:16 pm

    This recipe is a keeper! I just made this for dinner tonight and my kids (ages 11, 8, and 5) who are picky eaters loved it! They usually don’t like anything spicy so I omitted the hot sauce but did kept the jalapeno and they still had to have seconds! Thank you Joy!

    Reply
    • joythebaker

      June 21, 2014 at 9:08 am

      thats fantastic!!

      Reply
  4. Sue

    June 16, 2014 at 2:33 pm

    Can the buns be made ahead of time up to the point of shaping the balls and then refrigerated for a day before the 2nd rise?

    Reply
  5. Girl Named Allyn

    June 8, 2014 at 4:07 pm

    So… I haven’t made the filling yet, but my buns (heh) just came out of the oven and they’re pretty damn… flat. They taste great, and I’m totally still going to use them for dinner, but I’m a little bummed. I’m new to the whole yeast thing, and my little NYC kitchen is pretty warm these days. Should I have cut the second rise time in half maybe? They rose quite a bit.
    i know it’s super hard to give advice on things like this, but I’d love your thoughts!

    Reply
  6. GaiaGoodnessNaturalFoods

    June 5, 2014 at 1:35 pm

    I’ve never been been a sloppy Joe fan. I guess I always equated sloppy Joes with the stuff out of a can so I just never gave them a second thought. This recipe however intrigues me and I’m bubbling over with ideas right now. I’m definitely going to try this recipe using my own banana mango ketchup and bbq sauce. I think I’ll also play around with ground lamb and pork for the filling. I must admit, I probably won’t hand make the buns because of my tight schedule, but I an finally excited about Sloppy Joes which is a big deal for me. :)

    Reply
  7. Colleen

    June 5, 2014 at 8:17 am

    Not fair. Not fair not fair not fair.
    I was all, “eh, sloppy joes. Don’t ca…wait, those BUNS.”

    …that sounded creepier than I intended.

    In short, it’s all your fault that I’m gonna spend my weekend making twenty variations of these tasty little things (and eating at least 80% of them). I blame you. Just so you know.

    And also, thank you.

    Reply
  8. sara

    June 4, 2014 at 8:20 pm

    Yum!!! Totally gorgeous and yummy. :)

    Reply
  9. Lisa

    June 4, 2014 at 2:12 pm

    Wow those bun look really good! Might have to give it a try

    Reply
« Older Comments

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

RELATED POSTS IN Dinner

French onion chicken in a bowl surrounded by glasses on a table
One-Pot French Onion Chicken Dinner

All the comforts of French onion soup turned into a cozy one-pot dinner.  This French Onion Chicken dinner is downright romantic and perfect for this winter weekend spent all cuddled up. You know every year I trapse in here with a version of Marry Me Chicken that is rumored to be soo good as to…

Read More

Guest: Julia Turshen’s Chicken Francese

Welcome our first December guest – Julia Turshen! Julia Turshen is a best selling cookbook author, food writer, chef, and food equity advocate. She lectures on food and home cooking and has published four solo books on the subject and has contributed to many others in collaboration or as a writer. She hosts the podcast…

Read More

Texture of homemade hamburger helper in pot.
One-Pot Homemade Hamburger Helper with Sneaky Veggies

You’ll be making this homemade hamburger helper recipe for dinner at least once a month. It’s a hearty and comforting dish and jam packed with secret veggies. Not that we need to keep veggies a secret but… sometimes we do. Let’s make classic Helper from scratch! Your kids (or the child inside your heart) will…

Read More

Primary Sidebar

Fresh baked emails, delivered to your inbox

Jump to Recipe

Receive recipes from Joy the Baker and updates on events at The Bakehouse.

HI! I’M JOY!

Jump to Recipe

Welcome! This has been my little corner of the internet since 2008!

I’m a baker, photographer, cookbook author and teacher.  I live laugh love in New Orleans. 

MORE ABOUT JOY AND THE TEAM

BOOKS + Magazines

Jump to Recipe

JOY THE BAKER 2022 SUMMER MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2021 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

JOY THE BAKER 2020 HOLIDAY MAGAZINE

HOMEMADE DECADENCE

OVER EASY: SWEET AND SAVORY RECIPES FOR LEISURELY DAYS COOKBOOK

JOY THE BAKER COOKBOOK

Jump to Recipe
joy the baker on facebook joy the baker on twitter pinterest-social instagram-socialbloglovin-social

JOY @ WILLIAMS SONOMA

Jump to Recipe

SHOP THE CAKE LINE OF CAKE MIXES!

DRAKE ON CAKE

Jump to Recipe

Passionate from miles away since 2015.

Check it out on Instagram

Drake on cake instagram.

 

BREADS YOU’LL LOVE

jambalaya buttermilk biscuits in a row

Smoked Sausage Jambalaya Buttermilk Biscuits

inside of warm cinnamon roll on plate

How To Make The Best Single Serve Cinnamon Roll

Orange roll on a plate with a fork.

Christmas Morning Orange Rolls

LET’S MAKE COOKIES!

a stack of white chocolate macadamia nut cookies with a bite taken out of the top one with milk

Classic White Chocolate Macadamia Nut Cookies

wider shot of lemon bars stacked on a plate with a bite taken out of one lemon bar

My Favorite Classic Lemon Bars Recipe

completed recipe close up shot of a blondie so the toasted almonds, chocolate chips, and sea salt can be seen

My Best Classic Blondie Recipe

Footer

Instagram

joythebaker

📚Baker and author of books and magazines
🎂Creator @drakeoncake
💁🏻‍♀️Classes with me @thebakehousenola
🍰 Products with @williamssonoma

joythebaker
🍓🌼 Pan Dulce is the best way to bake spring! 🍓🌼 Pan Dulce is the best way to bake spring! Full recipe linked in the @joythebaker bio! Xo
Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day Second coffee: the perfect way to re-start the day. 
✨Beignet Café au Lait✨⁣
⁣1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk⁣⁣
Splash of vanilla extract⁣⁣
½ cup heavy cream, whipped to stiff peaks⁣⁣
2 cups fresh brewed strong coffee⁣⁣
½ cup toasted cinnamon cereal, lightly crushed⁣⁣
Powdered sugar for topping⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Place sweetened condensed milk and vanilla in a small bowl. Add half of the whipped cream and fold to combine.  Add the remaining half and fold until you have a fluffy sweet cream. ⁣⁣
⁣⁣
Divide brewed coffee between two mugs. Spoon dream on top.  Sprinkle cinnamon cereal between the cups.  Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy immediately.
Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cup Life Skill No. 458: How to Make 1️⃣2️⃣ Cupcakes with just 1️⃣ Stick of Butter⁣
⁣
Full recipe linked in my bio! xo
Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a Someone call @foodnetwork because Dad and I need a baking show stat. Here’s our very best chocolate chip cookies and all the little tips that make them perfection. ✨🍪 Find the full recipe linked in the profile!
We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this We’re baking the classics on Joy the Baker this month and up next, my very favorite Lemon Bar recipe with fresh lemon juice and the tiniest hint of coriander. ⁣🍋🌼✨
⁣
Find the full recipe linked in the profile and bust out the white chocolate and macadamia nuts for next week’s bake! ⁣
⁣
#lemonbars #easybaking #bakedfromscratch #joythebaker
Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little Day in the Life: out in the woods writing a little cookbook about camp food. 💖🏕️🙋🏻‍♀️
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2023 · Joy the Baker
All rights reserved. Violators will be whupped and sent to bed with no dessert · Privacy Policy

Scroll Up