May 26 – With grilling season officially kicking off this weekend, it’s time for some juicy burgers in the backyard. But skip the mediocre hamburger buns from the grocery store: It’s also time to up your sandwich game.
Even dedicated grill chefs sometimes make the mistake of treating hamburger buns as an afterthought, perhaps thinking that the beef patty is the star, and that enough seasoning and cheese can cover a variety of sins. But you pay the price when inferior buns turn out to be dry and crumbly, falling apart and making a mess of the burger. Or the proportions are wrong: the sandwich is so large that you only taste bread, or so small that the meat hangs a few centimeters from the edge.
A quality bun is the key to a good burger experience, and some of the best ones you can buy are made right here in Maine.
“Supporting local businesses is important, and the taste and texture of quality, locally baked rolls surpasses anything you can get at the grocery store,” said Lars Taylor, executive chef of Big Tree Hospitality, which makes rolls from Little Spruce Baking used. Co. in Biddeford for burgers and sandwiches at some of his properties.
Taylor also notes that health is important. While you may not count calories at a summer vacation barbecue, the natural, simple ingredients in bakery rolls are far preferable to industrial bread with lots of additives. “You have to think carefully about what you put into your body. A lot of the (mass-produced) store-bought breads have tons of preservatives in them,” he said.
Burger buns from local bakeries cost more than those you find in the supermarket. For example, you can get eight Hannaford store brand sandwiches for just $1.69. But if you care about your food and enjoy a good burger, the extra cost of locally baked buns feels like a good investment. (And for vegans and vegetarians, a good bun will also take a veggie burger to the next level.)
“They’re worth it because you’ll feel better about what you’re putting in your body, you’ll feel better about supporting a local business, and it will taste better,” Taylor said. “If there are any questions, do a side-by-side (taste test). I think you’ll find you’re willing to spend a little extra for that quality.”
We spoke to seven local producers about their burger buns and what sets them apart.
BIG HEAVEN BREAD COMPANY
Available at: Big Sky’s Woodfords Corner bakery at 536 Deering Ave. and Bow Street Market in Freeport
Price: $3.95 for 4 rolls (at bakery)
Best for: Thicker pub-style burger patties
To meet seasonal demand, Big Sky bakes and sells their hamburger buns every summer weekend (Thursday-Sunday) through September. “In the winter, there just aren’t enough people coming in and buying hamburger and hot dog buns to justify baking them,” says Big Sky owner Joseph Rank. “But during the summer weekends, for the very short period of time that we have, people are excited to get outside and grill.”
Rank said Big Sky’s hamburger bread dough is enriched with milk and egg white. “It’s a light, fluffy roll,” he said. “It holds up very well with a juicy burger or any heavy sauce. The flour we use has a high gluten value, so it retains its structure well.”
Big Sky’s buns are made for thicker burgers, but can work great for a broken or thinner burger patty. “When I use it, I always put in thinner burgers, but it has the structural integrity to hold the weight of a heavier burger,” Rank said.
BOTTO’S BAKERY, WESTBROOK
Available from: Barber Bros. Meat & Provisions, South Portland; Eddie’s Variety; Moran’s Market; Rosemont Market and Bakery; Quality store
Price: About $3 for 8 sandwiches (price determined by seller)
Best for: Thinner/broken patties
Botto’s traditional hamburger buns have been paired with Maine burgers since the 1950s. Co-owner Steve Mathews said most of their sandwich production is for wholesale customers such as Harmon’s Lunch in Falmouth and Roy’s All Steak Hamburgers in Auburn. Sales of Botto’s burger buns will quadruple this summer, he said.
“It’s been crazy for two, two and a half months, depending on the weather and if Mother Nature is kind to us,” he said.
Botto’s delivers to retail five days a week, so you can rest assured that the product is fresh on the shelf. “They’re not loaded with preservatives like many of the larger bakeries,” Mathews said.
The Botto’s bun works well with thinner or broken patties, unlike pub-style burgers. “It’s not a roll designed for a really thick patty,” Mathews said. “It’s not too big or too small. It’s just right for that three-ounce patty.
“It’s not a real spongy role like some of the others,” he added. “It’s soft in texture and it toasts quite well. It’s night and day when you hold it up to more industrialized hamburger buns. It’s more homey.”
LITTLE SPRICE BAKING CO., BIDDEFORD
Available at: Higgins Beach Market in Scarborough (regular sandwiches) during peak season
Price: €7 for 6 sandwiches
Best for: thinner/broken or thicker pub style patties
Little Spruce makes two types of sandwich/burger buns, one plain and the other with fried shallots. You may have tried the shallot roll at one of their wholesale locations like Goodfire Brewing in Freeport and the South Freeport Village Market, while the regular version is used at Duck Fat, Duck Fat Frites Shack and Town Landing Market in Falmouth.
Both of Little Spruce’s buns use a shokupan (Japanese milk bread) dough.
“They are extremely soft and buttery,” said Justin Flakne, co-owner of Little Spruce. “That would be the main distinguishing feature between a shokupan roll and an American potato roll: it contains a lot of butter. And it contains a component called tangzhong, which is basically a cooked roux of milk and flour, and that makes them very soft and chewy .”
Flakne said the Little Spruce buns can handle both thin and thick hamburger patties. “They do really well with broken patties,” he said. “But they’re so puffy that they can hold their own with a bigger burger and lots of toppings — you can really load them up.”
ROSEMONT MARKET & BAKERY
Available at: Rosemont’s seven locations, including three stores in Portland, Cape Elizabeth, Falmouth, Scarborough and Yarmouth.
Price: $5.99 for 4 sandwiches
Best for: Thicker pub-style patties
Although they sell Botto’s buns year-round, Rosemont bakes and sells its own burger buns in the summer and early fall. Rosemont marketing director Finn Naylor said the staff recently had a discussion about how frustrating it can be when a bun is too big or too small for the burger patty.
So when Rosemont decided to launch Pineland Farms burger patties this season, “we tested the buns with the Pineland Farms patties to make sure they fit and the ratio is right,” Naylor said, noting that the approximately 3-inch hand-patty-formed buns are just right for the Pineland burgers.
The Rosemont buns are made daily from brioche dough and the top is sprinkled with sesame seeds. “They’re very soft and doughy with a really good crumb, like your typical brioche bun,” Naylor said.
SASSY SAMMIE’S KITCHEN
Available at: Skowhegan Farmers’ Market, online
Price: €6 for 10 sandwiches
Best for: Thicker pub-style patties
Baker Samantha Hilton, based in Norridgewock, makes hamburger buns and other baked goods to sell at farmers markets, and also bakes items fresh to order through Kennebec County’s e-commerce site Farms To Families Maine.
Hilton said she uses unbleached King Arthur flour for her regular white bread buns, noting that they work very well with thicker burger patties. “I used to make them for my family. We have what we call meatloaf burgers, and that’s what we use them for,” Hilton said. “It’s a thicker, fluffier bun.”
SOLO PANEL E PASTICCERIA, BATH
Available at: Solo Pane e Pasticceria (Saturday only)
Price: $2 for 1 brioche knot bun, $1.50 for a tender bun
Best for: Brioche knot works with thinner/broken or thicker pub-style patties; tender bun, best for thin patties
Solo Pane owner Jesse Bania said his bakery makes more than 80 brioche buns for Kennebec Meat Company’s Saturday burgers, and they also make extra for themselves to sell that day.
“They have an almost croissant-like texture and are just super buttery and delicious,” says Jordan Raymond, owner and general manager of Kennebec Meat Co. “They are a little pricey, but it’s worth it because it really makes the burger shine. Even just in appearance, our burgers are so photogenic with the brioche knot top. It looks like a little sombrero.”
Bania said he prefers the brioche knot with a thicker burger patty. Still, Kennebec uses it for both single broken patties and double patties (which contain more than half a pound of beef).
Every day of the week, Solo Pane also sells tender buns, which are dusted with flour and not brushed with an egg wash like the brioche knot.
They are also more delicate, as the name suggests, so better for thinner patties.
WILDFLOURS GLUTEN FREE BAKERY, BRUNSWICK
Available from: Wildflours and multiple vendors listed on the bakery’s website, including Bow Street Market in Freeport and Portland Food Co-Op
Price: $9.95 for 6 rolls (at bakery)
Best for: thinner/broken or thicker pub style patties
Wildflours makes a multigrain roll that “tastes like homemade multigrain bread,” according to a store spokesperson. “It’s the perfect size for a hamburger. It also works great for sandwiches.”
The dairy- and gluten-free bun works well with both thin and thick patties. “You share the role sideways, and it’s really just a matter of personal preference as to what you put into it,” the spokesperson said. “Some people even like to use our dinner rolls, the same bread but smaller, and they make them into sliders.”
Copy the story link
