Split Top Hot Dog Buns Recipes

CHEF JOHN'S HOT DOG BUNS

Steps:

• Line a baking sheet with a silicone mat or parchment paper.
• Place yeast into bowl of a large stand mixer; whisk 1/2 cup flour and water into yeast until mixture is smooth. Let stand until mixture is foamy, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Whisk egg, 3 tablespoons melted butter, sugar, and salt into yeast mixture; add remaining flour and stir.
• Fit a dough hook onto stand mixer and knead the dough on low speed until soft and sticky, 5 to 6 minutes. Scrape sides if needed. Poke and prod the dough with a silicone spatula; if large amounts of dough stick to the spatula, add a little more flour.
• Transfer dough onto a floured work surface; dough will be sticky and elastic but not stick to your fingers. Form the dough lightly into a smooth, round shape, gently tucking loose ends underneath.
• Wipe out stand mixer bowl, drizzle olive oil into the bowl, and turn dough over in the bowl several times to coat surface thinly with oil. Cover bowl with aluminum foil. Let dough rise in a warm place until doubled in size, about 2 hours.
• Transfer dough to a floured work surface and form into a 5x10-inch rectangle about 1/2-inch thick. Cut dough into 8 equal lengths. Turn each slice cut-side up and form into a hot dog bun shape about 5 inches long. Transfer dough, cut-sides up, to the prepared baking sheet about set them about 1/4-inch apart.
• Cut a slit about 1/8-inch deep down the center of each bun. Brush 2 tablespoons melted butter over the top and sides of each bun. Let rise until almost doubled in size and the buns have risen into each other, about 45 minutes.
• Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
• Bake buns in the preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes. Brush tops with remaining melted butter.

NEW ENGLAND HOT DOG BUNS

Steps:

• In a large bowl, using an electric mixer fitted with a hook attachment, add the flour, milk powder, potato flour, sugar, salt, yeast, eggs, water, and milk, and knead on low speed until it comes together about 3-4 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl halfway through. Let rest for 20-30 minutes.
• Knead on low speed and gradually add the butter until it is completely incorporated. Once all of the butter is incorporated, increase the speed to high and knead for about 4-6 minutes until the dough is smooth, releases from the sides of the bowl, and passes the windowpane test. It's a very soft, smooth, and satiny dough that is slightly tacky to the touch.
• Lightly spray a straight-sided container with oil and transfer the dough to the container; lightly oil the top of the dough as well. Cover and let rest at room temperature for 10-15 minutes until it has grown by about 10%. Then put it in the refrigerator and let rest overnight, about 8-12 hours. It will at least double in this time.
• Take the dough out of the refrigerator and let it rest at room temperature for about 30 minutes.
• In the meantime, lightly spray the hot dog bun pan with oil and set it aside.
• Remove the dough from the container with a dough scraper and place it on a very lightly oiled work surface. Roughly shape the dough into a square and divide it into 10 equal pieces.
• Apply a little oil to your fingers, take one piece of dough, roll it into a ball, and deflate it while you roll it up. Then stretch up the dough on the side farthest away from you and fold over the center. Then rotate the dough by about 45°, stretch the dough farthest away from you and fold it over the previous fold and over the center. Repeat this 6-8 times. You will notice that the dough builds up tension and becomes firmer with every fold. The goal is to have a round ball with all the seams on one side.
• Then place the dough ball seam side down, gently cup it with one hand, and form a C-shape with your hand. Move the dough with your hand in a circular motion and gently press it against the work surface to build tension, stretch the surface of the dough, and close the seams at the bottom. If the dough is a bit sticky, oil your hands very lightly. Avoid using flour on the work surface to allow the dough to anchor to the surface as it moves. Do this gently without tearing the surface of the dough, and don't overwork the dough. Once the seams at the bottom are closed, gently roll the dough ball back and forth 1-2 times to create an oval-shaped ball of dough. Repeat with all pieces of dough and let rest for 5-10 minutes.
• Then, starting with the first piece of dough, roll each oval ball into a 5-inch (13cm) long strand by rolling the dough back and forth with the palm of your hand while applying some pressure to the work surface.
• Arrange the dough pieces in the prepared pan and let them rest at room temperature for about 45-60 minutes until they have doubled.
• In the meantime, preheat the oven to 400°F (204°C) for 15-20 minutes.
• Brush the buns with egg wash and bake for 18-20 minutes until they are deep golden brown.
• Remove from the oven, brush with melted butter, and cover with a clean and dry kitchen towel for 20 minutes. Then uncover and transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely. After cooling, cut into 10 individual hot dog rolls and split them on top by cutting vertically into the center of the bun. Don't cut all the way through. Then toast them with butter on both sides just before serving. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 5 days.

RYE SPLIT TOP HOT DOG BUNS

Steps:

• Combine the rye flour, milk, onion, honey, unsalted butter and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer using the dough hook. Allow to rest, 5 to 10 minutes. The mixture may not bubble much but it should start to swell slightly.
• Add 2 1/2 cups of the all-purpose flour, the water and caraway seeds. Mix slowly at first and then on medium speed. Add 1/2 cup more of the all-purpose flour and the salt. The dough should come together and have a tacky but not too sticky consistency. Add more of the all-purpose flour, as needed, to get the dough where it just pulls away from the sides of the bowl. Continue mixing until the dough looks smooth, about 5 minutes.
• Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Turn the oven off 3 minutes after reaching the temperature. Spray the inside of a bowl with nonstick spray. Place the dough in the bowl and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Place the bowl in the turned-off oven. Allow the dough to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
• After the dough rises, remove the bowl from the oven. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
• Punch the dough and transfer to a work space. Separate the dough into 13 pieces, about 3 ounces each, using a bench knife. Use both your hands to roll the dough into tight, uniform balls. Make sure there are no air pockets in the middle of your dough balls.
• Roll each ball into 7-inch cylinders using both hands and rolling from the middle out. Make sure the cylinders are even in length or your buns will be wonky. Keep whatever dough you are not immediately working with covered loosely with plastic.
• Line a 15-inch-long, or longer, sheet pan with parchment paper or cover well in nonstick spray. Place each dough cylinder side-by-side up the center of the sheet pan, leaving 1/2-inch space between each one. Cover the pan with plastic and allow to rise until the cylinders are touching, about 15 minutes.
• Remove the plastic wrap. Combine 1 tablespoon water with the egg white and brush this mixture in an even coat all over the dough. Allow the dough to rise, about 15 minutes.
• Bake the dough until the buns are nicely golden brown on top and 190 degrees F in the center, rotating the pan halfway through the baking time, about 20 minutes total. Remove pan from oven and allow the buns to rest in the pan, 10 to 15 minutes.
• Transfer the buns in one piece (that's very important) to a cooling rack to prevent soggy-bottom buns and cool, about 30 minutes.
• Transfer the buns to a cutting surface. Slice down the center of each tube of dough using a serrated knife (this is the cool part). You will lose half a tube on each end, hence yielding only 12 buns and 2 awesome slices of rye bread that you will eat immediately. The place where the tubes meet is now the center of the bun. They should split naturally but you can use a serrated knife to help them, if you choose. Note:Alternatively, I've found it works very well if you place tubes in a pan with higher sides and Slice between the natural separation. As long as the buns were touching each other while baking, you should still get the "bread wall effect" and the buns will be more even.
• Now you have a beautiful bread wall that you can butter and toast. Wrap the buns in plastic or a re-sealable plastic bag until ready to use. Freeze the buns immediately if you will not be using them the same day. Yield: 12 buns and 2 slices.