2024 was the year of butterbeans, tinned fish, Hispi everything, and “tavern food” ― some of which I love.
It was also the year that restaurants continued to bombard us with brioche burger buns.
In a Reddit post shared to r/UKfood, one commenter recently addressed the food trend I’ve disliked for years.
“Am I the only person who thinks the brioche bun has massively ruined the burger experience?”, asked Complete_Sherbert_41.
Well, are they?
According to the comments, they’re not remotely alone. “I actively avoid a burger if it has brioche buns,” u/TheFifthGospel wrote.
“I want a soft, pillowy bun with my burger. Toasted. Not a fucking cake,” u/BrickTilt added.
Others complained about the dough’s texture, which is fluffier than lean dough thanks to the addition of eggs.
“I thought I was the only one who fucking hates these overly sweet brioche buns that disintegrate as soon as they get some burger juice on them,” merlin8922g opined.
“I’m convinced people only like them because they think they’re supposed to like them.”
Personally, I’m with u/filippo333: “I can understand brioche buns and chicken burgers; even so, I don’t want every bloody chicken sandwich to have a brioche bun,” they shared. “Also, it absolutely doesn’t go with beef or pork IMO.”
Why do restaurants use brioche buns instead of burger buns?
The trend, which it feels like consumers have been lumbered with for almost a decade now, might be down to cost-cutting and a “premium” feel, Eric Wolitzky, executive pastry chef at Atlanta’s Fifth Group Restaurants, told food site The Takeout.
“I think it has a lot to do with shelf life,” he said.“An enriched dough will last longer. It also sounds ‘fancy,’ even though the mass-produced kind is honestly just a step up from a hamburger bun.”
Indeed the food book Modernist Cuisine shared that the sweeter bread fares far better in the fridge than “lean” (non-enriched, like a regular burger bun) breads do.
That’s down to the high fat content in the dough and the eggs, “which provide a combination of proteins, fat, and emulsifiers that all delay staling”.