OK, I never said I was a gourmet. I love food much too much to limit myself to only fancy dishes like Pâté De Foie Gras, Beef Wellington, truffles, or anything made with Wagyu beef. Not to mention my budget could never accommodate that much money spent at fancy restaurants or even the ingredients for homemade versions. Which is just fine. Because sometimes, all I want is a good old-fashioned hot dog.
Now don’t get me wrong. I want a good quality frankfurter. And I also insist on having a great bun. So, I have found that the only way to get a bun for either a hot dog or a hamburger that lives up to my picky expectations, is to build my own. And yes, I have two other recipes for hot dog and hamburger buns on this site – Soft and Tender Hot Dog (Etc.) Buns and Whole Grain Hamburger or Hot Dog Buns. They too are delicious.
But I am still in recovery mode from the holidays, so I wanted to make a very quick and easy bun this time.
And I found just what I needed on the jennycancook.com site, which BTW is a terrific site. I encourage you to visit Jenny’s site. It is a winner!
Anyway, if you too love a good hot dog or hamburger, consider building your own buns. Not only will you save a great deal of money (not enough to buy a vat of Pâté De Foie Gras however), but I think you could probably treat yourself to a latte from Starbucks.
And you will have the satisfaction of not force feeding your family or friends ingredients like, Malted Barley Flour, Thiamin Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid, High Fructose Corn Syrup, Soybean Oil, Monoglycerides, Sodium Stearoyl Lactylate, Ascorbic Acid, etc. etc.
So, there you go. I rest my case!
And on that uplifting note, peace and love, and Happy New Year to all.
For Hot Dog Buns:
2¾-3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed, divided
2 tsp. instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
1 T. granulated sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. warm whole milk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
Combine 2½ cups of the fluffed flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Add warm milk, oil, and most of the beaten egg. (You want to save just enough of the beaten egg to brush the top of the buns before they go into the oven.)
Mix for 2 minutes with your dough hook. Scrape down the sides with a stiff spatula as needed.
On low speed add the remaining ¼-½ cup flour until the dough forms a sticky mess.
Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut dough into 8 pieces on a floured surface. (I use my bench scraper to divide the dough into 8 pie shaped wedges after I have shaped the dough into a big ball.) Then with floured hands, press each piece of dough into a 3 x 6-inch rectangle. From the 6-inch side, roll up tightly into a log.
Place seam-side down on the baking sheet, cover with a clean tea towel, and let rise in a warm spot until the dough has doubled in size. For me, this takes about 45-50 minutes.
Just before baking in a pre-heated 375-degree oven, brush each roll with the remaining beaten egg. Bake for 12 minutes. (The internal temperature should reach 190 degrees before removing the buns from the oven.) Then let cool completely before cutting.
For Hamburger Buns:
2¾-3 c. unbleached all-purpose flour, fluffed, divided
2 tsp. instant yeast (or active dry yeast)
1 T. granulated sugar
1 tsp. kosher salt
1 c. warm whole milk
2 T. vegetable oil
1 egg, beaten
sesame seeds
Combine 2½ cups of the fluffed flour, yeast, sugar, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer.
Add warm milk, oil, and most of the beaten egg. (You want to save just enough of the beaten egg to brush the top of the buns before they go into the oven.)
Mix for 2 minutes with your dough hook. Scrape down the sides with a stiff spatula as needed.
On low speed add the remaining ¼-½ cup flour until the dough forms a sticky mess.
Cover and rest for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
Cut dough into 8 pieces on a floured surface. (I use my bench scraper to divide the dough into 8 pie shaped wedges after I have shaped the dough into a big ball.) Then with floured hands, shape each into a ball and place on prepared baking sheet.
Flatten each ball to about ½-inch thick, cover with a towel, and let rise in a warm spot until they double in size, about 45-50 minutes.
Just before baking in a pre-heated 375-degree oven, brush each roll with the remaining beaten egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Bake for 12 minutes. (The internal temperature should reach 190 degrees before removing the buns from the oven.) Then let cool completely before cutting.