Best Hot Dog Buns

I’ve been making soft eggless homemade Hot Dog Buns for years, and they are our favorites! These easy-to-make hot dog buns are popular for their versatility. They can be used to make hot dogs, sandwiches, bread puddings, stuffing, appetizers, bread crumbs and so much more. And you can use this recipe to make hamburger buns, too.

updated from 2018

HOW TO MAKE HOMEMADE HOT DOG BUNS

Growing up in Czechoslovakia these were the most sought-after soft buns you could get in the grocery stores. And to this day they are super popular in Slovakia and Czech Republic. If you visited Prague I bet you had one of these.

They are the kind of bread you can eat for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Let me show you how to make the most delicious and my favorite homemade hot dog buns.

HOT DOG BUNS INGREDIENTS

This homemade hot dog buns recipe consists only of 3 main ingredients: flour, yeast, and fat; not counting salt and water. And as far as the type of fat you can use, I’ve used soft butter, lard, duck fat, and vegan butter, too. So, if you need to make vegan hot dog buns you can definitely use this recipe.

• Flour
• Yeast
• Water
• Honey or Sugar (pinch)
• Fat: softened butter, vegan butter, lard, duck fat
• Salt

WHAT FLOUR SHOULD I USE?

Over the years I’ve made this soft hot dog buns recipe with a number of different flours. Here is what I’ve experimented with and what worked for me in my kitchen.

• Bread Flour – brand or generic grocery store brand
• Good quality All-Purpose Flour – King Arthur, Pillsbury
• Blend of Bread Flour and All-Purpose Flour – for example, use 1:1 ratio, 1:2 ratio, or 2:1 ratio.
• For the best results, look for bread flour with 11-13% protein content. If all you have is some bread flour and all-purpose flour with lower protein content, it’s ok to mix them together for this recipe (see the above ratios).

YEAST SPONGE

Add room temperature to warm water into a bowl or a plastic container. Add honey or sugar, dry yeast, and a tablespoon of flour to the water. Whisk together and let sit for 5 minutes until bubbly on the top.

TIP: Don’t use hot water, it will kill the yeast. If you don’t know how warm the water should be rather use room temperature water than water that is too warm/hot. Cooler water won’t kill the yeast but it may take longer for the yeast to start working its magic. This is normal.

YEAST DOUGH

Into a bowl of your stand mixer add flour and salt. Whisk to combine. Then make a well and pour in bubbly yeast mixture, soften butter of other fat you are using. Whisk to combine till all of the flour is absorbed. Then knead with a hook attachment until smooth and flexible dough is formed, about 5-10 minutes. If the dough appears too dry add 1 tablespoon of room temperature water. And if it appears too wet add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.

TIP: Different flours can behave differently, some can be drier than others. That’s why sometimes you’ll need to add an extra tablespoon of liquid. And if the dough is too wet add 1-2 tablespoons of flour.

FIRST RISE

After 5-10 minutes of kneading, the dough is soft and it’s okay if it’s sticking to the kneading hook. Dump the dough onto a clean work surface and knead it into a ball (steps 1-4).

Grease the bowl with olive oil or spray with a non-stick spray (steps 5-6). Place the yeast dough ball into a bowl. Cover with a damp towel and plastic wrap. Let it rise in a warm draft-free spot for 30 minutes (steps 4-8).

CAN I MAKE THIS DOUGH BY HAND?

Absolutely. Into a bowl, add flour and salt, and whisk to combine. Pour in the prepared yeast mixture and soften the butter or other fat you are using. Combine all ingredients with a wooden spoon. The dough will be soft. Dump it onto a lightly floured work surface and knead it for 5-10 minutes with your hands until it’s smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball. Place the dough into a lightly oiled bowl, cover the bowl with plastic wrap, and let rise in a warm, draft-free place for 30 minutes.

SHAPE HOT DOG BUNS

Invert raised yeast dough onto a clean work surface and weigh the dough. Divide it into even portions. Weight each piece so all buns weigh approximately the same.

TIP:  I usually weigh the dough so each unbaked bun weighs about 90 to 100 grams ( 3oz to 3.5oz). If you want them smaller adjust the weight accordingly.

Shape each piece of the weighted yeast dough into a small ball. Cover balls for 5 minutes with a kitchen towel. This helps to relax the gluten in the dough so it’s easier to roll out.

To roll out dough and shape hot dog buns I use a silicone mat and a rolling pin. Don’t use additional flour. You can use a wood rolling pin but in recent years I’ve been using a silicone rolling pin and it works even better than the wooden one. Silicone one doesn’t stick to the yeast dough as much as a wooden rolling pin.

Roll out a small ball of dough into a thin oval shape.

TIP: Rolling out yeast dough on a silicone mat works great. The dough clings to the silicone mat slightly. Silicone helps to keep it stretched, making it easier to shape the buns. If you don’t have a silicone mat, line your work surface with several layers of food wrap.

Starting at a shorter side, start rolling the piece of dough. Press the dough down with the palms of your hands as you move the dough away from you.

SECOND RISE

Place shaped hot dog buns onto a baking sheet lined with parchment. Space the buns about 2-3 inches apart to allow for dough expansion.

Cover loosely with a damp paper towel or a kitchen towel and let rise for 30 minutes.

BAKE

• To bake hot dog buns you need:
• A shallow tray ( I use a small tray from an old toaster) or use a shallow oven-safe dish.
• And a spray bottle filled with room temperature water.

Preheat the oven to 425F/220C. Place a shallow oven-safe dish on the bottom rack of your oven.

Once the buns have risen, remove the damp paper towel or a kitchen towel and generously spray risen hot dog buns with room temperature water (steps 1-2).

Immediately place the baking sheet with sprayed buns into the preheated oven and pour about 1/3 cup of water or handful of ice cubes into a shallow dish on the bottom rack. When water touches hot baking dish steam will form. Close the oven door right away.

Bake hot dog buns for 12-13 minutes until lightly golden brown. Take the buns out of the oven, and immediately while still hot, spray freshly baked soft buns again with room temperature water. Then let them cool completely.  Repeat the process with the remaining buns.

BAKING SUCCESS TIPS

• Can I double this recipe? – Absolutely. This easy soft bread recipe can be doubled and even tripled.
• How to make vegan hot dog buns? – Use vegan butter substitute in place of butter.
• How many buns does this recipe make? – One batch of homemade hot dog buns recipe makes 9 to 10 medium to large hot dog buns. Do you want to make small or mini hot dog buns? To make mini hot dog rolls divide the yeast dough into smaller balls of dough (50 grams-70 grams, 1.7 oz. to 2.5oz), yielding 16-11 buns.
• Can I freeze hot dog buns? – I’m glad you asked. Yes. you can. Actually, I freeze buns as soon as they are cool to the touch, right after baking. I freeze them in Ziploc bags for up to a month.
• How to Create a Warm and Draft-Free Spot? -Bring 3 cups of water to boil. Pour it into a shallow dish. Place the dish with boiling hot water on the bottom rack of your oven. Place bowl with the yeast dough either above it or next to it. Depending on how much room you have in the oven. Close the oven door and let the yeast dough proof for the recommended time.

HOW TO USE HOT DOG BUNS

These soft bread buns are delicious savory or sweet.

• I use them to make appetizers like Avocado Cream and Bacon Crostini.
• An traditional Slovak Pupaky/Bobalky – cut-up buns soaked in hot milk, sprinkled with ground poppy seeds/sugar topping, and drizzled with melted butter.
• And, let’s not forget my mom’s bread pudding with a meringue topping. 
• Or you can use this recipe to make Bunny Rolls for Easter or just because. bunnies are super cute all year long.

MORE DELICIOUS BREAD RECIPES

• Blueberry Babka
• Potato Hamburger Buns
• Simple Bread Pudding via New York Times
• Homemade Bread Crumbs via Jessica Gavin
• Preach Slab Bread
• Soft Pretzels

Did you make this recipe? Tag @hanielas on Instagram and hashtag it #hanielas

TO MAKE HOMEMADE HOT DOG BUNS YOU NEED

• Find all the tools you need in my Amazon Shop
• Baking Sheets
• Kitchen Scale
• Parchment Paper
• Stand Mixer
• Bowls
• Spray Bottle
• Silicone Baking Mat
• Rolling Pin

This post was originally published on April 2nd, 2018. On March 20th, 2020 I updated this post with step-by-step pictures, written text, and a video.

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