Every so often, Mrs. Dude will come home from the store with a special gluten-free treat for me.
She knows I try to stay away from a lot of the processed gluten-free crap, but she also knows I’m human and I occasionally miss eating the way I used to eat.
So when she arrived home with gluten free hamburger rolls yesterday, it could only mean one thing: BURGER NIGHT!!
The rolls were purchased off the shelf (not frozen) at Trader Joes and they seemed, do I dare say, normal; soft to the touch, a nice aroma.
What could possibly go wrong?? I mean…just look at these things.
She grilled up a couple of burgers and topped them off with some sauteed mushrooms, onions and whatever the green stuff is in this picture:
So far…so good.
I decorate them with a bit of organic guacamole and ketchup.
I take a few bites…and then THIS HAPPENS:
Dang…what started out as a masterpiece turned into a crumbly mess.
But at a dollar per roll, I suppose I shouldn’t expect my gluten free bread to actually stay together.
Back to eating burgers with a knife and fork.
And next time your gluten free bread falls apart, just remember…it’s not your fault. It’s ok to cry.
Hahaha. Any morning that starts with Good Will Hunting is a good morning. Although Matt Damon persists in refusing to leave his wife and children for me, which is 100% his fault.
Sorry about your hamburger bun. Perhaps you’ll find better ones if you drive to California.
He’s a stubborn man that Matt Damon 🙂
The same thing was happening to me 🙁 then one day I forgot to thaw a bun that I had in the freezer. My husband took it and wrapped a damp paper towel around it and then wrapped it in foil and put it in the oven at 300 degrees to thaw it out for me ( I am not a microwave fan). The result was a soft, moist roll that stayed together almost all the way through eating my burger! I have done the same thing with hot dog rolls too! Just heat them until they are warm and keep them wrapped up until you are ready to eat.
This sounds fantastic! Thanks for sharing a tip…cuz we need all we can get!!!! LOL! I am stoked to try it now. Unfortunately, we had hot dogs last night. Wait a minute…I don’t HAVE any hot dog or hamburger rolls anyways!!!! 🙂 I will have to have the hubster get me some on the next shopping trip!!!!!!
I have had the same problem with ALL gluten free bread, rolls…it seems everything gluten free! Sigh! I don’t even bother with a roll for my dog or burger. I just cut them up into bite size pieces and have all my dipping and toppings on the side. It sucks!!!!!!!!!!
If I DO happen to have a gluten free bread product it has to be toasted!
I went to a local restaurant a little while ago…. they offered GF buns, and also had bison burgers. Bison, because it has very little fat, can get crumbly, so GF bun + bison burger = one big mess on a plate. It was still pretty yummy.
I have also found that they work better toasted. And what’s not to love about a burger on a toasted bun? YUMMO!
Too bad we can’t eat duct tape…it fixes everything! Its probably not GF anyway…
I’ve had duct tape and it is totally gluten free…
Too bad about about the hamburger but , but on another note , the gluten free / dairy free are amazing ! Toast really nice and out of all of them out there , I found these are the best tasting !
Your burger looked delicious by the way .
Peace Out , have a great day GF Dude !
Peace out to you 2 Pat…thanks.
Ummmm , I forgot to mention I was talking about their ENGLISH MUFFINS , lol !
Got way ahead of myself
Yeah, I think bread is one of the hardest things to make well gluten free. I’ve had good cakes, cookies, pies, pizza etc. – eve found some decent beer – but even the better breads I’ve had just haven’t measured up. With a few (expensive) exceptions, they either taste right and crumble, or they taste weird and crumble.
The local gluten free bakery near me does a pretty decent job on their rolls, so I’ve started buying those when I need a fix – which isn’t often these days. They’re pricey, and they taste more biscuit-y than bread-y – but hey, I miss biscuits, too, and they don’t fall apart.
That made me laugh! lol… Because I’ve been there and had to eat my sandwich in pieces… good one!
Sometimes I feel like GF food should come with a warranty or some sort of money back guarantee. Have you thought of emailing the company to let them know the product did not hold up?
My favourite hamburger buns are by Kinnikinnick and Udis. Never had issues with either…well except for the fact that I can’t seem to find any Udis products in Canada that are not covered in an inch of freezer burn.
I won’t divulge the name of this brand. That would be very rudi of me. And I don’t want to be snudi. Or be accused of having an attitudi.
You crack me upi :p
If you got it at Trader Joe’s, they have a money back guarantee. So does Whole Foods.
You have to toast or warm the bun or it will fall apart like it did in your picture. I have found toasting to be the most helpful. This is especially true if you add guac or ketchup to the burger – it really becomes a crumbly mess. If you don’t have time or aren’t near a toaster (when you are out for example), I have found that it helps if you put your condiments on the side and dip your burger/bun in the condiment.
What if I sit on the bun or put it under my arm pits for a few minutes…;)
Those are Udis buns and they’re the worst. Toasting helps to keep all gluten free bread products together. If you can find Rudis products they are actually much better in every way. Whole Foods carries Rudis and for some weird reason, so does the Vons right near my house. Im confused by this as its a chain store but very happy about it!
Canyon Bakehouse. Great soft bread and buns that can be eaten without toasting and don’t fall apart. They have found a way to significantly reduce their shipping costs. My favorite in my never ending quest for good gluten free bread.
I second that! Canyon Bakehouse buns are the only GF buns I’ll spend money on.
Try Schar’s hamburger buns. They are the closest thing to the real thing I have found in the 10 years I have been on a gluten free diet. Take them right from the package, wrap in a paper towel, zap for 20-30 seconds, and they are ready for the burger. Stay soft and don’t fall apart. Not cheap, but worth it!
Ya know Gluten Dude, when we pay top dollar for gluten free bread products, we should get something good in return. Since “real” bread is out of the question, I just don’t eat much of the gluten free stuff. Paying that kind of money, I could donate the money to an animal rights charity or kids that have no food on the table. And, I do eat a gluten free treat once in a while. Real bread does taste better, holds up better, and is cheaper—we Celiac folk just cant eat it. My son does make the best Paleo muffins ever, and that’s what I eat.
That’s kinda my feeling too. Since we are paying premium, it’s really not okay that it falls apart.
Sorry buddy. 🙁 This is why I gave up on packaged burger rolls.
The only rolls for me are the ones made by Sherry Lynn’s GF up here
In Latham NY. The first dedicated restaurant/bakery and her rolls
are just inexplicably pliant, tasty and the real deal. Hold up to anything–and we make our burgers the same way as you just did (even the “green stuff)
They can be made easily at home with her GF mix and some added wet ingredients if you or Mrs. Dude are game.
if you want me to mail you a few bags of the mix, you know I will. 🙂 Shoot me an email.
Everyone deserves a burger on a roll once and a while!! These rolls can be warmed up, toasted or grilled. (I like mine that way)
And you will not have to hold it under your armpits either.
“And you will not have to hold it under your armpits either.”
If you don’t mind…I’d like to just the same.
whatever blows yer skirt up, kiddo 🙂
I’m all about freedom of choice.
Stop picking on poor Udi’s! They provide important products for us! Gluten is glue after all…take it out and what do you expect? I do agree that Canyon Bakehouse is much better. Wish TJs would carry their bread as well. But I prefer a well-lettuce-wrapped burger anyday.
I hear ya Vera. And you will note I didn’t call them out in my post.
But at the same time, since they are one of the biggest gluten free food manufacturers, isn’t it ok to ask for and expect better? And if you were Udi’s, wouldn’t you want this kind of feedback?
In my gluten eating days I actually preferred my burgers without a bun so eating them with a knife and fork for me wasn’t too much of a change. But when I’m in the mood for eating a burger with my hands I use home-made corn tortillas made with Maseca corn flour as my “bun”.
Adapting…the celiac’s way of life (and I don’t mean that in a negative way)
Bread is almost the most difficult baked product to make gluten free. I have been working on it for years – just as a GF Dad at home for my GF daughter and the rest of the family. It became a bit of a hobby and I kept setting myself challenges. Basic rules are:
* It must look, taste, feel and behave like bread, and
* it must be good enough to serve to people who are not GF and they are happy to eat it (ie, because it is OK, not just out of some twisted politeness)
We are on holiday at the moment, so when an up-market restaurant near our resort told me they made really good GF bread I asked them to bake a loaf for us. I was so looking forward to it! Reality hit home. My daughter refused to eat the expensive crumbly mess. I am toasting it and force feeding myself.
Good GF bread is not really that difficult. I have developed easy to follow recipes for bread. I bake a few times a week at home. Sourdough and fermented bread based on yeast, quick bread that uses yeast, even soda bread. I have recipes for croissants and baguettes, flaky pastry, focaccia and a whole lot more. All recipes I developed at home. It did take years to understand what would work, and what was a waste of time. Apart from two recipes the rest are gum free. Most recipes make bread that can be kept on the bench for a couple of days before it needs toasting – but that is normal for regular bread too.
I freeze all g free breads as soon as I get home from buying them, and take out only what I need when I’m ready to eat. I either defrost on the counter, or warm in the microwave (25 seconds for 1 Udi’s bun or
20-25 seconds for 2 slices of Udi’s bread). Usually works for me with NO crumbling problem!
Like many other celiacs, I eat very little bread products. But every once in a while you really, really want a burger on the grill. You just don’t want the bun to crumble to bits in your hands.
My husband solved that problem for me. He takes my bun, spreads on a very thin layer of butter, and toasts/grills it as the burgers are coming off. All it needs is a couple of minutes, and it’s all warm, and toasty-crispy, not to mention already burger-flavored from the grill! I usually only have cheese and onion, and sometimes a thin tomato slice, ketchup or mustard on it. I don’t want to ruin a good thing by loading up on too many goodies. Usually, just the butter being grilled is enough.
Thanks, Gluten Dude, for having this wonderful site. You and your readers have been my lifesaver.
Our pleasure Jo…
The absolute best rolls/ buns we’ve had is LivWell brand white rolls that are only available at Whole Foods. About $5 for four rolls, but so worth it. We drive an hour every few weeks to pick up several packages. They’re imported from the UK.
I just discovered yoou blog and I am loving it.. You have made laugh all afternoon. I have celiacs- which I think should be called ” I have many many food and physical frustrations that no one understands unless they deal with it themselves disease!”. My kiddos have many if my same food issues as well- We have to be gluten/dairy/grain/soy/legume free – and that is the short list. It’s easier to say we eat Paleo- because we have no other choice not becuae we choose to. As a result, I have given up on most all gluten free commercial products. It is nearly impossible to find any product that fit our criteria and is also affordable. So I make everything from scratch. 2 years into this and I have gotten pretty good at making safe delicious food that even my non celiac husband loves. Everything from cakes,muffins, cookies, ice cream, sauces,holidays feasts that..(can I say this without sounding like I am bragging??) are 100% more delicious than “regular food”..HOWEVER I still have not been able to make a decent sandwich bread that not only tastes great but holds together.:O) ..It has become almost funny -how many loaves we have eaten while thinking I would rather eat my burger wrapped in lettuce than this stuff.. But I refuse to admit defeat. We can’t give up..Somewhere out there lies a wonderful dairy/gluten/and grain free recipe just wating to be discovered..and by Golly I am going to find it! Until, then may I have a fork please?.
Glad you found me Paula. It’s a phenomenal community here.
Hi Paula,
That mythical bread recipe you are looking for …
Have you tried http://www.recipesforliving.info ?
OOPS sorry for all the typos in my above comment-It’s friday afternoon and it’s been a long week..:)
Anyone who lives in Atlanta GA may know about Yeah! Burger, or if you will be visiting soon check out the best gluten free buns I have ever eaten, amazing. Check their website, most of the items listed are gluten free only a few are marked as having gluten. Totally awesome, I dream about going back to Atlanta just so I can have a Yeah! Burger.
If you live in PA, OH, or WV, the Eat’n’Park restaurant chain has very good gluten free hamburger buns (rice/tapioca) that can be substituted on any sandwich for a small upcharge. The bread has a “spongy” texture and really holds together!
You can also buy these buns to take home from the restaurant.
I know I’m really late to comment on this one, but I’ll share because people eventually stumble upon old articles (like I did) and read old comments (like I did).
When I want a burger night, I buy Schar gluten-free ciabatta. They’re not frozen. You toss them into the oven for a few minutes, slice them, then build your burger. While they’re still warm you can barely tell it’s gluten-free, and they hold together really, really well.
Gluten dude please help me have you tried Canyon bakehouse gluten-free cinnamon raisin bread with Sorgum flour? please let me know I think I’ve been glutenized. I bought a loaf yesterday had four slices and have been sick.
I have been a celiac for 37 Yeats.