I am becoming more and more frustrated looking for a quality hot dog bun from the local Safeway. I used to buy Rainbo, but they have turned to crap recently, and everything else I have tried so far has been dry, crumbly, and tasteless (including the “artisan” ones).
Any recommendations?
Pepperidge Farm Top Sliced - pretty sure I got the white buns, but they also have potato, butter, and sweet Hawaiian varieties.
Thanks, but aren’t available on their pickup/delivery site. I’ll look for them next time I am in the store… but the PF site says no.
I loved the old deli buns. My local stores have sadly all stopped baking them. I guess the closest equivalent is potato buns, but it’s not quite the same. Even the brioche buns don’t quite cut it.
I have tried a variety of potato, brioche, and “artisan” ones and they were all crap. They do have King’s Hawaiian hot dog buns - and I used to really like their bread. Big question is has this gone down the tubes just like the Rainbo stuff (which is now a Ballpark brand run by Bimbo).
I buy Arnold New England hot dog rolls. They’re split on top, and come connected 8 in a package, all one layer so they have straight sides and are easy to butter and grill. The hot dogs we like are sold in packages of 8. One of my pet peeves is a package of 6 hot dog buns and a package of 8 hot dogs. We don’t care for bulkier buns for our dogs, but do buy different rolls for brats and Italian sausages.
Martin’s Potato Buns are my favorite store brand, by far. Otherwise I make my own.
Not available here based on both the Safeway and Arnold website… plus they’re Bimbo run so not sure I’d give them the time of day given their other brands I have tried.
What is “Bimbo run”?
Thanks… also not available here. Maybe it is time I start thinking about making my own. How well do homemade buns freeze?
Bimbo is a baked goods conglomerate that has ruined the product of just about any company they have acquired.
I make our own dog buns, as I don’t find anything I like in the stores. I use an epicurious recipe - it’s behind a paywall, but you can use an incognito browser to get around that.
I’ve made them both freeform and with a New England style hot dog pan (I prefer the latter for maximum toastability). They hold up well for a month or so in the freezer, after which they start to dry out. I try to consume them within the month.
ETA: 1.5 X the given recipe will fill the USA pan fully.
Thanks! What about the pan makes them more toast-able? And should I even bother if I prefer steamed buns?
I used to buy baked in the store hotdog buns. I can’t find them anymore. They were shiny like challah.
The pan allows you to bake the buns in a single slab, which (IMO) offers two things (which may or may not be of benefit to you):
You can cut the buns apart neatly with a knife, giving you maximum surface area for toasting.
You don’t have to (scale and) roll each individual bun, which amounts to quite a time savings, regardless of whether you toast or steam.
I’ve attached a photo of our dogs from last week. The bun is lying on it’s side, showing the cut side.
ETA: I should add I have never steamed these as such, and therefore don’t know the effects of steaming on the exposed cut sides.
I share your disappointment. I think hotdog buns in general have been dumbed down to match the very worst (no pun) and cheapest packaged… whatever they are. The buns are now no better than holding the dog in a paper towel.
I’ve defaulted to buying the “outdoor” buns, even though they’re at least 2x the price. I find them a little better, sometimes a reasonable facsimile of real bread.
Good luck.
Fine, in my experience, as long as you freeze them and the vacuum seal them. And of course you have to start with a solid recipe in the first place (I like a brioche-esqe bun for hot dogs).
My prefs:
Martin’s potato ‘long rolls’
Pepp Farm top sliced
Nature’s own - potato? butter? - can’t remember
Aldi ‘Specially Selected’ brioche
I have used Freshness Guaranteed (Walmart bakery) brioche and if the label hadn’t said brioche, I wouldn’t have guessed it. However have also used FG French Steak Rolls (toasted) - smaller than a standard wiener but that’s okay with me. The wiener is the most important ingredient so if I eat one without bread or condiments in every bite, that’s okay with me.
I like Sara Lee butter bread. Have never tried the ‘artisan brioche hot dog’ buns from Sara Lee. though.
Best buns locally are from a kosher bakery - huge, meant for 10" sausages, excellent, 8 to a package, no preservatives and they don’t freeze well so I don’t get to use them often. Any local bakers there?
Sorry to seem dumb–or plain be so–but what’s a pick-up/delivery site?
Re: the recommender: I do find Pepperidge Farms to be tops in supermarket breads of that non-artisanal cast: lots of yeast with various anti-staling agents, but still with some flavor and heft. I actively prefer their thin-sliced white bread for cucumber sandwiches and the like. Most hot dog buns are, alas, sheer garbage in bread terms.
Great buns!
