Why Five Guys Buns Are More Like Cake Than Like Bread
Per USA Today, burger eaters in the United States eat over 50 billion of these meaty sandwiches each year, or roughly 156 per person. That's a lot of patties and buns, and some of the most popular ones come from Five Guys. Per The Harris Poll, Five Guys ranks as a top quick-service burger restaurant among Americans. For the 2020 year, Five Guys claimed the number 2 spot on this coveted list, only outdone by Culver's.
But why do we love Five Guys burgers so much? What makes them so addictively delicious that we can gobble them up faster than we can order them? Part of the answer is in the buns. Have you ever thought they taste different than regular, run-of-the-mill hamburger buns? If so, that's because they do. They are just better than the sesame seed or brioche buns you buy at the store when you make your own burgers. Five Guys burger buns are not only perfectly soft and fresh with every bite; they may remind you of cake, and for good reason.
There are just 9 ingredients in a Five Guys bun
Five Guys shared on Facebook that they use just 9 ingredients to make their cake-like buns. In fact, a few years back, a manager at the fast-food burger chain disclosed on Reddit that the buns are just "one ingredient short of being cake." So what exactly goes into these buns? The Daily Meal says that everything is natural and the company only uses "flour, eggs, milk, sugar, water, salt, oil, yeast, and sesame seeds" to make their buns. Compared to a basic recipe for a simple white cake (via Allrecipes), Five Guys buns may just be lacking the baking powder and vanilla needed to make that cake.
But there is something more to these burger buns, and Five Guys founder Jerry Murrell explained that the real trick is how they toast these beauties before they add your burger to them. Murrell told Inc. that they toast the buns right on the grill, which allows them to "caramelize." This adds to that sweet cake-like experience when you sink your teeth into these favorite burgers. Add those hand-cut fries on the side and you've got nirvana. Bon appetit.