New England–Style Hot Dog Bun

New England–style hot dog bun is a type of hot dog bun typical of New England cuisine. It has three distinct features: flat sides ideal for grilling, a soft crumb, and is sliced from the top. Ingredients typically used to make it are flour, milk, eggs, potato flakes, yeast, butter, and salt, but other ingredients are also possible.

It was invented in the 1940s by the Maine-based bakery J. J. Nissen but upon the order of Howard Johnson's, a hotel chain that had a chain of restaurants at the time. They needed a bun for fried clams that would stand upright and thus be easier to serve and eat.

However, the bun got its present-day form only in the 1950s, and today, Pepperidge Farm is a brand synonymous with this type of bun. It is used for clam and lobster rolls and hot dogs.