Buns & Batter

Lesson

Okay, you’ve selected your hot dog, you’ve lined up your toppings and condiments, now it’s time to gather the third ingredient of a hot dog.

There are literally hundreds of national and regional brands and varieties of buns on the market. We make no recommendation as to which is best; instead, we will leave that up to you. There may be local brands that are your favorites as well. And, if you don’t want to try any of the national brands, go to your local grocery store bakery and see if they make them, or find a local stand-alone bakery.

If you can find them, the New England-style bun, baked whole with no side crust and a groove down the middle for the dog, is superb for parties. It doesn’t fall apart, dropping the dog and toppings in your lap, and is easy to butter and then grill.

If you can’t find them, you could bake your own. It requires a special pan, which is available through the King Arthur Flour Company at www.kingarthurflour.com, and costs about $39.00. It’s called simply the New England Hot Dog Bun pan. We’ve included two recipes below to help you bake your own.

But if you don’t have the time or inclination to bake your own buns, there are plenty of great varieties in stores, including: whole wheat, honey wheat, whole grain rye, potato, etc. And if you prefer corn dogs, we’ve included a recipe for those below as well.

New England Hot Dog Buns

3 cups flour
2 1/4 teaspoons active yeast
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup powdered milk
1/4 cup instant mashed potatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 stick soft unsalted butter
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups water, to make dough

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Mix the ingredients and knead until the dough is soft, pliable and not sticky, add flour a tablespoon at a time if you need to. Put dough into a bowl (room temperature to rise until doubled), then remove the dough from the bowl and roll out into same shape as the pan.

Lightly grease the bun pan and put in the dough. Place a greased baking sheet on top and weight it down. Let rise until dough has filled the roll pan. Put bun pan with its pan covering in the oven and bake for 18 minutes. Remove the pan covering and continue to bake until bread is lightly browned on top.

Remove from the oven and cool for 5 minutes on a rack and then remove the rolls from the pan, placing them on a cooling rack to cool some more.

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

1 cup milk
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup unsalted butter
4 1/2 cups flour (unbleached, whole wheat, or a mix)
1 package instant yeast
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 egg, room temperature

In a large saucepan heat the milk, water, sugar and butter until the butter melts. Then remove the pan from the stove and let the liquid cool to 120°F.

Mix a small amount of the liquid in a small bowl where you have beaten one egg.

Using an electric mixer add 2 cups of the flour, the yeast and salt to the milk which you’ve poured into a mixing bowl, turn on mixer to blend, and then slowly add in the rest of the flour, 1/2 cup at a time. Mix until thoroughly blended.

When the dough pulls together, it will form a soft ball. Turn it out onto a floured surface and knead (dipping your hands in flour before you do so) until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.

Divide dough into 12 to 16 equal pieces. For hot dog buns it’s easier to roll the dough out into a large roll and cut into smaller pieces. Shape into smooth cylinders, and place on a wax-covered paper or silicon non-stick baking mat, and let the buns rise for 30 to 35 minutes at room temperature.

When buns have almost doubled, bake at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes.

Brush the tops with egg wash and sprinkle with herbs (oregano, savory, thyme, basil), caraway, poppy or sesame seeds, coarse sea salt, seasoned salt, and spices.

Makes 12 to 16

Corn Dog Batter

1 cup milk
2 medium eggs
1/4 cup vegetable or canola oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/3 cups corn meal
2/3 cup flour
10–12 hot dogs
Flour for dusting (about 1/2 cup)
Popsicle sticks

Heat about 2–3 inches of oil in pan suitable for deep-frying to about 375°F.

In a large bowl combine the milk, eggs, oil, sugar and salt and mix thoroughly. Then add in the baking powder, corn meal and flour, whisking until it forms a thick batter.

First, the hot dogs must be completely dry, then insert a popsicle stick into each one and dip the hot dogs into a deep bowl of flour so each dog is coated in a thin layer of flour. Only then do you dip the dogs in your batter. If you don’t follow this approach, the batter will just slide right off the wieners.

Drain off excess batter; otherwise, you’ll get clumps of batter hanging off the dogs.

Deep-fry in hot fat until golden brown. Do only a few dogs at a time; otherwise, a lot of dogs lowers the temperature of the fat and they won’t cook evenly. Remove with tongs. Then drain on paper towels and serve with plenty of mustard and ketchup.

Makes 10–12 dogs

For the kids’ own tailgate surprise, you can cut the hot dogs into thirds and cook the same way, making up a batch of mini-dogs for the younger set.

Find some hot dog recipes to use with your new buns!


According to the USDA, and most State and Local Health Departments:
All foods that you cook, prepare, and serve outdoors must follow two rules: You must keep hot food at least at 140°F at all times. Conversely, you must keep all cold food at 40°F or colder at all times. Food must not be left at room temperature for more than 30 minutes, maximum. Any food left between 41°F and 140°F for more than 4 hours is not safe to eat. More information on food safety can be found here.