Homemade Hot Dog Buns are soft, fluffy, and airy inside with the perfect golden brown crust. This easy to make bread recipe takes just 30 minutes to prep using basic bread making techniques that beginners can easily follow too.
Making hot dog buns from scratch is so easy that we never buy store-bought buns anymore! Plus, you can make a big batch and freeze any extras to enjoy over several months. Keep scrolling to learn how to make hot dog buns at home, including our tips and tricks.
Why You'll Love These Hot Dog Buns
- They’re soft and fluffy. These homemade hot dog buns have all the elements you want in a good piece of bread. When you bite into one, your first impression will be the crisp, golden-brown crust. Then, you’ll notice just how light and fluffy the inside crumb is. You may struggle to figure out which is your favorite.
- Quick and easy prep. Although making hot dog buns from scratch takes just under 3 hours from start to finish, 2 full hours of that time is spent waiting to allow the dough to rise. So, it doesn’t take a lot of time to actually prep. You just have to plan ahead for the rise time.
- The best way to practice your bread baking skills. Making bread can be intimidating if you have never tried it before or if you tried a complex recipe and struggled with it. This hot dog bun recipe is perfect for beginners. It uses basic bread-making techniques so you can perfect your practice — and it’s pretty easy so it’s hard to go wrong.
Ingredient Notes
To make these easy Hot Dog Buns, you will need the following ingredients (full measurements in recipe card below):
- all purpose flour
- instant yeast - instant yeast is great because it’s ready to use right away so it takes less time to prep than active dry yeast. You can use active dry yeast instead, but just let it sit in the milk mixture for a few minutes to activate it.
- sugar - it feeds the yeast, helping the dough rise faster, but it doesn’t add sweet flavor to the bread.
- milk and butter - adds fat content to make the hot dog buns fluffier and softer.
- eggs - promotes rising because eggs are a leavening agent (similar to baking powder).
- salt - for flavour.
You will also need measuring cups and spoons (or kitchen scale), mixing bowls, bench scraper or knife, and a half sheet baking pan.
How to Make the Best Hot Dog Buns
- Prepare the dough. In a medium mixing bowl, whisk well to combine the milk, 1 egg, yeast, and sugar until fully dissolved, about 2 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup flour and mix well until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups flour, butter, and salt. Mix evenly with a spatula. Pour in the milk mixture and stir well to combine until it forms a shaggy dough, scraping down the sides of the bowl (there should be no dry flour particles visible).
- Rest. Cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes. This helps dough develop gluten naturally without kneading.
- Knead. Knead the dough on a clean lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes until a smooth and soft dough ball is formed.
Tips for Kneading Dough
- How to knead dough: Knead the dough by pushing it down and outward using the palms of your hands. Fold the dough in half toward you and press down. Repeat this motion by pushing the dough down and outward, and then folding over towards you. This helps build up gluten strength in dough that is responsible for making the bread fluffy.
- How to test if dough is well-kneaded: A well-kneaded dough is smooth and can hold its shape. You can test the dough by giving it a firm poke with your finger. The indentation should bounce right back. If it doesn’t bounce back and stays like a dimple, keep kneading for a few more minutes.
- First rise. Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. You can lightly oil the dough ball to prevent it from sticking to the bowl.
How to Shape Hot Dog Buns
- Roll the dough. Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into an approximate 12x5-inch rectangle. Use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 10 equal pieces.
Roll out the dough. Cut dough into 10 pieces.
- Shape the buns. Shape them into the shape of a hot dog bun and arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet, spaced evenly apart, about 2-inches apart. You can also roll the bread to shape it into a hot dog bun.
- Second rise. Cover the baking sheet loosely with cling wrap and let dough rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes depending on the room temperature.
- Add egg wash. In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to beat the remaining egg. Brush the egg wash evenly over each bun. The egg wash creates shine and enhances the golden color of the buns when baking.
- Bake. Bake in a 375F preheated oven for 20 minutes until golden brown.
Shape the hot dog buns. First rise. Bake.
- Cool. Transfer the hot dog buns onto a wire cooling rack and allow the buns to cool completely before slicing, about 20 minutes.
How to Serve
The most obvious way to enjoy hot dog buns are with sausages or weiners. Buy you can also use them to make any sandwich that you like. Use them for:
- Egg Salad Sandwich
- Lobster Rolls
- Lemongrass Chicken Banh Mi Sandwich
- Simple sandwiches with deli meat
You can also cut them into squares and serve with a cheesy dipping sauce like Pizza Dip or Baked Spinach Dip.
If serving as a hot dog, pair them with some classic sides including:
Recipe Tips and Tricks
- Weigh the ingredients: I recommend weighing the ingredients using a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements. You can totally use measuring cups instead, but it won’t be as precise. A kitchen scale is a relatively cheap investment.
- The texture of the dough: With the butter and milk in this recipe, the dough should be a bit sticky in the beginning. After a few minutes of kneading, the dough will turn smooth and not sticky. By lightly oiling your hands when kneading, it will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands initially.
- How to store hot dog buns: You can store these hot dog buns in a bread basket or sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Note that their texture will harden in the fridge so I recommend toasting them or warming them up to bring back some moisture.
- How to freeze: Let the buns cool to room temperature first and then freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. I recommend slicing them first before freezing so you can easily defrost them in the toaster under the defrost setting.
More Bread Recipes
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Recipe
Hot Dog Buns
- Total Time: 2 hours 45 minutes
- Yield: 10 hot dog buns
- Diet: Vegetarian
Description
Homemade Hot Dog Buns are soft, fluffy, and airy inside with the perfect golden brown crust. This easy to make bread recipe takes just 30 minutes to prep.
Ingredients
- 240 grams milk (1 cup)
- 2 eggs, divided
- 12 grams granulated sugar (1 tablespoon)
- 6 grams instant dry yeast (2 teaspoons or 1 package)
- 500 grams all-purpose flour (4 cups)
- 6 grams salt (1 teaspoon)
- 60 grams unsalted butter (¼ cup), softened to room temperature and cut into 1-inch cubes
Instructions
- In a medium mixing bowl, whisk well to combine the milk, 1 egg, yeast, and sugar until fully dissolved, about 2 minutes.
- Whisk in 1 cup flour and mix well until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, add 3 cups flour, butter, and salt. Mix evenly with a spatula. Pour in the milk mixture and stir well to combine until it forms a shaggy dough, scraping down the sides of the bowl (there should be no dry flour particles visible).
- Cover the bowl with plastic cling wrap and let the dough rest for 10-15 minutes. This helps dough develop gluten naturally without kneading.
- Knead the dough on a clean lightly floured surface for 8-10 minutes until a smooth and soft dough ball is formed.
- Cover the bowl and let the dough rise until doubled in size, about 1 hour. You can lightly oil the dough ball to prevent it from sticking to the bowl.
- Use a rolling pin to roll out the dough into an approximate 12x5-inch rectangle. Use a knife or bench scraper to divide the dough into 10 equal pieces. Shape each piece into the shape of a hot dog bun and arrange them on a parchment lined baking sheet, spaced evenly apart, about 2-inches apart. You can also roll the bread to shape it into a hot dog bun.
- Cover the baking sheet loosely with cling wrap and let dough rise until almost doubled in size, about 45 minutes depending on the room temperature.
- Preheat the oven to 375 F.
- In a small mixing bowl, use a fork to beat the remaining egg. Brush the egg wash evenly over each bun. The egg wash creates shine and enhances the golden color of the buns when baking.
- Bake for 20 minutes until golden brown.
- Transfer the hot dog buns onto a wire cooling rack and allow the buns to cool completely before slicing, about 20 minutes.
Notes
Weigh the ingredients: I recommend weighing the ingredients using a kitchen scale for the most accurate measurements. You can totally use measuring cups instead, but it won’t be as precise. A kitchen scale is a relatively cheap investment.
The texture of the dough: With the butter and milk in this recipe, the dough should be a bit sticky in the beginning. After a few minutes of kneading, the dough will turn smooth and not sticky. By lightly oiling your hands when kneading, it will help keep the dough from sticking to your hands initially.
How to store hot dog buns: You can store these hot dog buns in a bread basket or sealed container at room temperature for up to 3 days. You can also store them in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 1 week. Note that their texture will harden in the fridge so I recommend toasting them or warming them up to bring back some moisture.
How to freeze: Let the buns cool to room temperature first and then freeze in an airtight container or freezer bag for up to 3 months. I recommend slicing them first before freezing so you can easily defrost them in the toaster under the defrost setting.
- Prep Time: 25 minutes
- Rise Time: 2 hours
- Cook Time: 20 minutes
- Category: Bread
- Method: Bake
- Cuisine: American
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