Garlic Parmesan Hamburger Buns have a delicious buttery garlic bread flavor and are the secret ingredient for making a better burger.

Have you ever wondered how to make a plain hamburger taste better?

Today, it seems we are going overboard with toppings to make a better burger. But what if we don't need truffle cheese and sriracha bourbon-laced sauces to get more flavor from our burger? What if all we need is a better bun?

That was my thought process when my husband said he wanted burgers for dinner. I didn't want to spend a lot of money on elaborate toppings. I wanted to find one thing that would make a simple mayo, lettuce, tomato, and pickle-topped burger taste superb.

And that's when I thought of it.

The Bun.

Really good buns at the grocery store can cost up to $5 for 8 buns… and if you get fancy individual buns from the bakery, they can easily be close to a dollar each. It has been a long time since I made bread at home. But I instantly knew that could be the key to making the best burger I have ever made at home… and to do so economically. Because making just plain simple buns at home drops the cost to about 12 cents a bun.

So, I needed to put my thinking cap on as to how to make a fantastic bun.

I love watching The Big Bang Theory. I really do. An early episode featured Sheldon comparing "The Big Boy Burger" to the Cheesecake Factory's "Barbeque Burger". His analysis found that the meat-to-bun-to-condiment ratio of the Barbeque Burger was more satisfying than that of the Big Boy Burger.

So that was my first thought. Don't make the buns too large.

Next was to determine what flavors would be the most enjoyable in/on the bun and my immediate thought was how much everyone loves garlic bread… and parmesan cheese. So… that's the type of bun I decided to create. It is soft, not too large, and topped with butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese.

I've been making these buns every week for several weeks and found my recipe will make 10 just-the-right-size buns for a ⅓-pound burger patty. Since it's just the two of us, 10 buns are way more than we need for a nice meal. So, I store the ones we don't eat in an airtight plastic bag. They will keep for 3 to 4 days at room temperature or you can freeze them. But sometimes I make 4 buns and shape the remaining dough into garlic knots. Oh yeah… this recipe also makes killer garlic knots.

So, Let's Cook!