Yesterday I had a craving for grilled hot dogs. It doesn’t happen often, but when a craving for a childhood treat comes on, sometimes it’s very difficult to shake. So, yesterday afternoon I decided we would grill hot dogs for dinner. The problem was that I didn’t want to eat store-bought buns. I don’t eat bread as often as I used to and if I was going to splurge and eat a hot dog bun (or two), I wanted them to be good ones. The obvious choice was to make some from scratch, but I only had a few hours and most of the bread I make at home takes much longer than that. I needed to find a recipe that was both delicious and quick, so I turned to my trustworthy baking friends on Twitter and asked for recommendations.
My friend Bonnie directed me to a recipe for Beautiful Burger Buns from King Arthur Flour. It was a simple recipe that used a lot of yeast to ensure a quick rise, so it definitely worked within my time frame. I generally like recipes from King Arthur and this one also came with recommendations from a few other friends who had used it before. Since I had all the ingredients on hand, I went ahead and tried it.
I was only planning on having hot dogs once this week, so I shaped half the dough into hot dog buns and made the rest into hamburger buns, which can be used this weekend or frozen for another time. The dough was simple to put together and easy to work with once it was mixed. I followed the recipe almost exactly as written, although I think I added a couple extra tablespoons of butter, since I just tossed in the remains of my open package of Kerrygold. I also had to add just a touch more water than the recipe suggested to get a dough that wasn’t too stiff. The only other change I made was to brush the risen rolls with an egg wash (one egg beaten with 1 teaspoon of water and a pinch of salt) and I baked them at 400 degrees rather than 375 because I wanted buns with a deep golden color.
The hot dog buns were delicious! This recipe contains more sugar than I would normally put in a batch of buns, and I’ll probably cut it a little bit next time I make them, but the butter, sugar, and salt worked well to give these quick-rising buns a great flavor. I’d suggest trying the recipe once as written, then adjust the next time if you’d like.
To ensure the buns were all the same size, I used a scale to weigh out 2.5 ounce portions of dough. The size was perfect for 1/4-pound hamburgers or hot dogs and I ended up with 11 buns. If you’d like to make bigger buns, you could weigh out larger pieces or just divide the dough into 8 equal pieces as the original recipe suggests.
One of these days, when life slows down and I have more time in the kitchen for recipe development and step-by-step photographs, I’ll share my own hamburger and hot dog bun recipe with detailed shaping instructions. For now, I’ll be sticking with this quick one, and have no reservations about recommending it to all of you. Enjoy!
You can find the recipe for these buns here: Beautiful Burger Buns at King Arthur Flour
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Those look amazing – I love the picture! I’ve never made hotdog or burger buns before. This could also be a good excuse to buy a kitchen scale!
12:12 pm Jun 15th, 2012Thanks, Tamara! These were really easy and perfect for a first try at homemade buns. The kitchen scale is nice if you want all the buns to be identical, but it’s definitely not a necessity for this one. Although I think everyone should own a kitchen scale
12:33 pm Jun 15th, 2012i saw these on instagram and they looked AMAZING… can’t wait to make them!
12:40 pm Jun 15th, 2012These buns look fabulous! I could eat one by itself, I think.
1:49 pm Jun 15th, 2012Hey, Nicole –
What perfect timing! I have been wanting to make “sliders” and have been looking for buns but haven’t found any in a store… hmmm… the ideas you give to me!
Looks yummy!
1:55 pm Jun 15th, 2012I bought a kitchen scale when I first started making bread and it is totally worth owning!
2:20 pm Jun 15th, 2012I am a lover of all bread products, and these look fantastic. I’ll have to try these out – with your mods.
2:44 pm Jun 15th, 2012Wow! These are beautiful indeed. I don’t like hot dogs, but I’d eat them on one of these buns.
3:59 pm Jun 15th, 2012These look great! I love the idea of homemade rolls for hot dogs and burgers.
5:22 pm Jun 15th, 2012King Arthur seriously has the best recipes. You’ve inspired me to try this!
10:36 am Jun 16th, 2012Saw these on Pinterest and may I say, you have great buns!
I’ll make these and slice the sides so I can butter and toast them before filling.
4:33 am Jun 17th, 2012I agree. If you’re going to splurge, it better be good!
5:08 pm Jun 17th, 2012These look amazing. Cannot wait until the detailed instructions.
3:59 am Jun 18th, 2012I’ve always wanted to make those! Of course, now the kids are grown and not around as much. Will save the recipe for the next visit from grandkids!
6:19 am Jun 18th, 2012Your buns look delicious Nicole! Please don’t take that the wrong way. They remind me of the homemade pretzels my mom and I used to make as a kid. Now let’s see what they look like when you load em’ up! Cheers!
3:51 pm Jun 20th, 2012Oh these came out gorgeous! I’ve been wanting to make some homemade hotdog buns to go along with these incredible organic hotdogs I’ve been buying lately. Like you, I don’t eat a lot of bread and when I do, I want it to be really good and from scratch. Can’t wait to try them!
8:36 am Jun 22nd, 2012Oh, these are just too pretty!
8:05 pm Jun 22nd, 2012Hi Nicole!!! very nice to find your blog!!! It is amazing!!! I defo have to try these rolls!!!! Ciao
3:52 am Jun 23rd, 2012One of these days when I finally get over my fear of making things with yeast I must make burger buns from scratch! I’ll keep this recipe handy for that time
3:25 pm Jun 27th, 2012Wow, your buns (heh) look amazing! I recently made hamburger buns, but the egg wash came out nowhere nearly as vivid. Lovely!
And I get cravings for grilled hot dogs ALL the time (I blame it on not having a grill, and, you know, wanting what I don’t have.)
9:14 pm Jul 3rd, 2012Awesome idea. I wouldn’t have even have thought of making my own hotdog or hamburger buns at home. Usually I just eat them without the bun because I never really enjoyed store bought, but this is such a great idea and I’m sure that they taste good! It also turns a really simple, classic meal into something that people can get excited about!
9:05 pm Jul 18th, 2012Very nice! I have friends that introduce me to friends as, ” this is Dad, he makes
his own hot dog buns…” lol…
It just makes good sense that if one buys premium (uncured organic) Hot dogs, that they should be comfortably nestled in premium buns, too!
Luv yer buns, hon! lol…
11:21 pm Jul 25th, 2012Wow! Those buns look amazing! I’m definitely going to try my hand at this recipe when I feel like grilling. I love that you sprinkled them with sesame seeds. How easy were they to split open for hot dogs? How much do they puff up when they bake? I’m afraid if I shape them too close to the size of the hot dog, it’ll come out monsterous out of the oven. Great pictures of the buns!
1:16 am Aug 4th, 2012I recommend Diamond Crystal Salt. It seems that it would be perfect for this…so flavorful and so easy to control the pinch too!
8:56 pm Aug 8th, 2012Those buns look awesome! I’ve always wanted to make homemade hot dog buns because the ones in the store just seem to blah. Nice to see that it can be done and with such great results!
12:45 pm Aug 20th, 2012Really good looking buns!
6:47 am Sep 12th, 2012