National Dish USA: Hot Dog Buns (Recipe)
In this article
Shop-bought hot dog buns are often as soft as cotton wool and taste of very little. Home-baked hot dog buns have a fine, slightly sweet crumb and a thin golden skin. Milk, butter and an egg make the dough supple. They hold sausages, mustard and onions without going soggy.
About Hot Dog Buns
In the USA, hot dog buns are simply called hot dog buns. They are long, soft wheat rolls made from an enriched yeast dough containing milk, fat and a little sugar. The crust stays thin, and the crumb is fine and pulls into light strands when torn. You slit them from the side or from the top and lay a hot sausage inside. In the north-east of the USA, especially in New England, there is a version cut from the top with flat, pale sides that are toasted in butter. In Chicago, poppy seeds belong on the bun. For Hot Dogs at a barbecue evening, baking your own is well worth it, as the buns can easily be made a day ahead.
Ingredients (serves 1–2)
- 250 g wheat flour type 550
- 130 ml milk, lukewarm
- 1/2 sachet dried yeast (3.5 g)
- 1 tbsp sugar (12 g)
- 1/2 tsp salt (4 g)
- 25 g soft butter
- 1 egg (medium), beaten
- 1 tbsp milk for brushing
- 1 tsp poppy seeds or sesame seeds, if you like
Shopping for the ingredients
Type 550 wheat flour has more gluten than type 405 and gives the buns structure without making them tough. Type 405 works too, but the dough will be a little softer. Dried yeast is available in every supermarket; if you use fresh yeast, take 10 g. Whole milk with 3.5 % fat makes a more tender crumb than semi-skimmed milk. For the Chicago version you need blue poppy seeds, sold in small packets on the baking shelf. Buy sausages to match the length, as these buns come out about 14 cm long.
Preparing the dish
Take the butter and egg out of the fridge an hour beforehand. Warm the milk only to body temperature, around 37 °C. Hotter milk harms the yeast. Beat the egg and set aside 1 tbsp of it for brushing. Line a baking tray with baking paper. The dough needs about two hours of rising time in total, so plan for that. For 12 buns, double all the quantities and bake on a full tray; the baking time stays the same.
Step-by-step instructions
- Mix the flour, dried yeast, sugar and salt in a bowl.
- Add the lukewarm milk and the egg, apart from 1 tbsp, and knead everything for 5 minutes with dough hooks.
- Add the soft butter in small pieces and knead for another 6 to 8 minutes, until the dough is smooth and comes away from the side of the bowl.
- Cover the bowl and leave the dough to rise in a warm place for 60 to 75 minutes, until doubled in size.
- Divide the dough into 6 pieces of about 75 g each, flatten each one and roll it up tightly from the long side into a 13 cm log.
- Place the logs seam side down on the tray, 1 cm apart, cover them and leave to rise for 40 minutes, until they touch at the sides.
- Preheat the oven to 190 °C (conventional, top and bottom heat), mix the remaining egg with 1 tbsp milk and brush the buns with it, then sprinkle with poppy seeds or sesame seeds if you like.
- Bake the buns on the middle shelf for 14 to 16 minutes, until light golden brown.
- Leave them to cool under a clean tea towel so the crust stays soft, and only then pull them apart.
Gluten-free / lactose-free version
Gluten-free hot dog buns work with 250 g gluten-free bread flour mix and 1 tsp psyllium husk powder, which replaces the missing gluten. Increase the milk to 170 ml; the dough stays rather sticky and is shaped with wet hands. For a lactose-free version, use lactose-free milk and lactose-free butter or margarine; nothing else in the recipe changes. Check the sausages for additives, as some contain milk powder.
Tips for vegans and vegetarians
The buns are already vegetarian. For vegan buns, use 130 ml oat or soya drink, 25 g plant-based margarine and, instead of the egg, 50 ml extra plant drink with 1 tbsp oil. For brushing, plant drink with a pinch of sugar works well and gives a light browning. Fill them with vegan sausages made from pea or soya protein, which every supermarket stocks, or with grilled carrots shaped like sausages.
More tips and tricks
Too much flour while shaping makes the buns dry, so work with lightly oiled hands instead. If they brown too much, the oven is too hot or the sugar and egg are colouring strongly; in that case cover them with baking paper after 10 minutes. The buns stay fresh for two days in a freezer bag. Frozen, they keep for three months; once thawed, crisp them up for 5 minutes at 150 °C. Before serving, slit them open and briefly toast the cut sides in a frying pan.
Adapting the recipe to your taste
For New England-style buns, place the logs in a narrow loaf tin so they rise up against each other, and slit them along the top. With 2 tbsp mashed potato in the dough they become even softer. If you prefer something more savoury, add 1 tsp onion powder to the dough. Small 35 g buns are just right for cocktail sausages on a buffet. The same buns also suit a Lobster Roll.
Ingredient substitutions
Instead of milk, water with 1 tbsp milk powder works. The butter can be replaced with 20 ml neutral oil, though the crumb will be slightly coarser. Instead of sugar, use 1 tbsp honey and reduce the milk by 10 ml. Spelt flour type 630 can stand in for wheat flour; knead it for less time, as spelt is easily over-kneaded. Poppy seeds can be replaced with sesame seeds, nigella seeds or coarse salt.
Drink pairing ideas
In the USA, the classic drink with a hot dog in a bun is a cold lemonade in a stadium cup. At home, a homemade lemonade or a peach iced tea does the job. If you want less sugar, choose sparkling apple juice or cold mineral water with slices of lime.
Serving and presentation ideas
Stand the filled hot dogs upright in a narrow baking dish or a paper-lined bread basket so they don’t tip over. Put mustard, ketchup, crispy fried onions, chopped gherkins and raw onions in small bowls alongside. That way everyone can top their own bun. For children, don’t cut the buns all the way through, so nothing falls out.
A bit of history
Who first put the hot dog in a bun is unknown. Several stories circulate, for example about a German sausage seller in St. Louis or about vendors on Coney Island in New York, but none of them is proven. What is considered certain is that German immigrants brought frankfurters and Vienna sausages to the USA in the 19th century. Over the following decades, the long bun became a fixed part of the dish. Today large bakeries produce the buns industrially, often in packs of eight. Regional styles have survived, such as the top-split buns of New England, introduced by the restaurant chain Howard Johnson’s in the 1940s, and the poppy seed buns of Chicago.
More recipe ideas
Looking for more ideas? Discover more recipes from the USA.
Summary: Hot Dog Buns
Hot dog buns made from your own yeast dough are soft, yet still hold the sausage and sauce. Six buns take about three hours, most of it resting time. If you bake them ahead and freeze them, you will always have some ready for the next barbecue. Topped with chilli, they become a chili dog, a perfect match for Chili con Carne.
