Best Buns?

[Panhead John]

Hi all! Got a question for everyone. I’m always using the same old sesame seed hamburger buns from the grocery store. I’d like to try something new to help my burgers. My burgers are always good, but I’d like to be more adventurous. Also they start falling apart from the juices after just a few bites. Can y’all recommend some really good buns (or bread) for me to try? If they hold up to the juices that would be a plus, but not a requirement. Not anything too exotic that would be hard to find. Thanks

[ribeyeguy]

Best buns? I'd have to go with my wife's.

[Jfrosty27]

🤣😂

[fkrall]

You beat me to it. Address?

[bbqLuv]

DITO

[SmokingPat]

I know what you mean. I put time into good burgers, but the buns are always lackluster, whether white, potato, or 'wheat'.
Look into buns made from sourdough bread: sturdy, tasty, bread. One style that comes to mind is 'ciabatta rolls'. They've become difficult to get locally, so I'm taking the initiative: learn how to bake sourdough bread!

[Panhead John]

Been hearing a lot about Ciabatta rolls. I’ve had the Ciabatta bun burger at Jack in the Box and liked em. ( Don’t laugh, I can’t grill every day ) 😂 I’ll definitely try them, Costco is where I get all my steaks, The Best! I’ll try their Ciabatta rolls next time.

[HawkerXP]

Jack in the Box! They are STILL around? Panhead John

[Cheef]

Jack in the Box is still around and still make the most God awful Tacos in the world. Those things are just nothing but disgusting little grease bombs

[Jfrosty27]

I have a nearby grocery with an in house bakery so I can skip the mass produced stuff. Fresh baked rolls every day there. 🤷‍♂️

[surfdog]

Along with the aforementioned suggestions...

Do you toast your buns?
That can make them a more "robust" and hold up to a juicy burger. It also adds a bit of texture and ups the flavour profile.

That’s also why "better" places that serve juicy burgers toast theirs...mostly so it doesn’t get soggy/mushy and fall apart. Which tends to make people wonder why they just spent 12 bucks on a burger. ;-)

Places that serve dry burgers don’t bother.
(McWhatzit I’m lookin’ at you. LOL)

[surfdog]

I’ve got to where I pretty much always toast ‘em. Though I tend to do them early in the cook...so that I can yell, "Ok people...get your buns in gear." And then they’ll be ready when the burgers are. I want them served hot...not sitting around. On the grill, I just toast them. On the griddle I might break out the butter wheel. (If I’m doing a bunch. Otherwise lazy kicks in.)

As for ribeyeguy That’s what I heard. (Yeah, way too easy to pass that one up. LOL)

[Steve R.]

This is one more thing to love about a griddle. Plenty of room to toast the buns while waiting for it to heat up for smash burgers.

[Parkin]

Yup...I usually griddle the buns with a little butter and toast them up. They hold together pretty good with juicy burgers. Always for pulled pork, as well.

[Attjack]

Be sure to toast your buns and then give them at least a thin coat of mayo to help avoid soggy buns. Also, if you use lettuce put it below the burger patty.

[Jfrosty27]

Good point on the order of construction on your burgers. Barrier items on the bottom. Moisture items on the top.

[Mr. Bones]

+1

[Panhead John]

Oh yeah. Always lettuce on the bottom. I make pretty big and thick patties though, and always 80-20 fat ratio. Gonna have to start toasting the buns more often, they also taste better that way.

[lemayp]

Have you tried the burger buns recipe here? https://amazingribs.com/tested-recip...er-buns-recipe My attempt using the mystery flour in my wife's clear container turned out more like a biscuit but the flavor was good.

[Panhead John]

Thanks for the suggestion, but I was looking for something to buy, with no work involved.

[shify]

For me, a Martins Potato roll is the platonic ideal of a burger bun. If I was making a bigger burger than usual, say a thick 8 oz patty, id probably opt for a sandwich size English muffin or a Kaiser/Portuguese style roll.

[HawkerXP]

I was going to say English Muffin too.

[RonB]

Try brioche buns if you can find them. They have a higher butter content, (always a good thing ). And I suggest either frying them in butter 'till browned or a thin layer of butter and broil them until browned. And for a certain member - fry or broil the inside...

[jerrybell]

Not sure about Brioche at Kroger, we have Smith's here which is another store name in the Kroger family. I don't recall seeing Brioche there but think I remember seeing them at Walmart and Costco. They might not necessarily hold up better but I like to go with potato buns when I'm up for a change.

[Steve R.]

My Kroger has brioche buns in the bread aisle, Panhead John. They're getting to be more common.

[zzdocxx]

+1 for brioche, the upscale places seem to be using them a lot.
Variety is the spice of life.
I love the Costco ciabatta however one of their rolls is a lot of bread in a small footprint. They are making a smaller version locally which comes out as sort of an octagonal roll I use for tortas.
Then there are the actual brand name torta rolls at Costco, which are OKish.
Or if you have a nearby Mexican grocery with a bakery, check out their torta or telera rolls.

[JoeSousa]

Martin's Potato Rolls are my favorite but hard to come by up here in the Northwest. Loved being able go get them at any grocery store when we lived in Florida.

I recently tried some brioche buns from Bakerly.com that were very good . I am usually not a brioche bun fan but there were better than most I have tried. Both the hot dog and hamburger buns were good. My wife really liked them.

[ofelles]

Thanks, I will have to try Bakerly. Buns and rolls

[DavidNorcross]

Buns on burgers seem to be my nemesis. I always toast and if I am using lettuce, I put the lettuce down first. I have had best success with brioche buns that I get from the bakery section.

[Panhead John]

Thanks everyone, appreciate all the suggestions. The general consensus is Ciabatta and Brioche buns as best for burgers, along with a few others. A special shoutout to ribeye guy’s suggestion! (and for being a good sport).

[HouseHomey]

Pretzel rolls hold up well. Kaiser rolls, cut focaccia to size, telera rolls.

try cutting to size French bread, sourdough, whole grain loaf,

there are a millions breads available to you.

simply reconsider the shape of your burger and the list of bread and toppings are endless.

Burgers don’t have to be round.

no one minds a meatloaf or meatball sammich, right?

[JimLinebarger]

Depends on who's meatloaf. Brioche, potato buns, cheap white bread. Well, 2 outta 3 ain't bad.

(meatloaf...2 outta 3 ain't bad....)

[Attjack]

I was going to say pretzel bun. I went through a phase. Now I'm back to potato buns or sesame buns to let the meat shine.

[JoeSousa]

JimLinebarger I grew up eating burgers on white bread. My parents would almost never buy real hamburger buns. Same with hot dogs.

[BFlynn]

If I'm doing thin burgers, I really like a kings hawaiian bun.
If I'm doing thick burgers, we tend to go with brioche or a pretzel roll.

[surfdog]

Many years ago I wanted pulled pork sliders for a Kentucky Derby party... The wife was to pick up the rolls & such.

Anyway, she got DOZENS of those little Kings Hawaiian rolls. "OMG, you’re killing me!"

As most know, they’re kinda sweet.
Ok, no kinda about it. ;-)

I amped up a vinegar based sauce, instead of the more sweet sauce I had planned, let me tell ya...they were awesome. And quite the hit. With everything else we had, I figured 18 lbs would allow for leftovers. I figured wrong.

[BFlynn]

I had pulled pork and burnt end in Hawaiian rolls tonight. They did NOT suck

[j007w]

My wife and I make burgers all the time, on the grill (thick, steak-house style or thin, diner-style). We've tried many buns and our favorite is the brioche bun from Aldi's. It's super soft and reminds us of the ones from fancy burger joints.