Udi's Gluten Free Hot Dog Buns

It pains me to write this review. I'm a big fan of Udi's products and keep many of them on hand at all times. However, if the bag of hot dog buns I purchased at Whole Foods are representative of the product, then I simply cannot recommend them as hot dog buns.

What is a hot dog bun? It is long, typically made of white bread, soft, and a single bun slice lengthwise so that the hot dog can be held in one hand. The ideal bun should remain as a single piece even when cut. If the bun separates into two pieces, it defeats the purpose of the thing. The Udi's buns were dry, crumbly, rough, and easily separated into two pieces. In fact, I could not keep one in tact. Now, having said that, they still did the job of holding the hot dog. But I would be surprised if a young child would be able to manage it. Specifically, I chose not to put down the hot dog once I started eating it because it would have separated into dog and two bun pieces on the plate.

If the bag did not say "Hot Dog Buns", one might guess they were something else, perhaps white baguettes. As such, they work very well as garlic bread. Because the other Udi's products are so good, I will probably give these another chance.

Udi's Hotdog Buns Make Great Garlic Bread!

I stumbled into a great unintended use of the new Udi's gluten free hot dog buns: garlic bread! I was trying Caesar's gluten free gnocchi for the first time and I really wanted some garlic bread to go with it but I didn't have time to make anything from scratch.

Here's the quick fix. Pop your Udi's hot dog bun into your dedicated gluten free toaster. Toast them to your preferred darkness. I used the bagel setting on my toaster, which toasts only the open side of the bread and not the outside. After one and a half toasting cycles I adding some butter and garlic seasoning. Heaven! I was so surprised at how great these things turned out. I only prepared two pieces (using one hot dog bun). I think I could have eaten six.

Gluten Free Hamburger Bun

This weekend I ate my first hamburger bun in nearly three years. Thank you Udi's! I found them in Whole Foods  (Naperville, IL) just as they were putting them out for sale for the first time. Lucky timing! I chose the whole grain hamburger bun. It tasted great. There was little to no crumbling, a negative quality that can be associated with gluten free bread. The bun was slightly on the firm side, but not overly firm. I will definitely be buying these in the future. Bring on summer. Bring on the burgers!