Sourdough Hot Dog Buns
While I dont go out of my way to make hot dog buns often, when I’m making a big batch of dough, its easy to also mix up a few hot dog buns for dinner. Make this recipe as big as you have a bowl for- I like 4x.
Ingredients
- ½ cup sourdough starter see notes
- ½ cup warm water
- ⅔ cup all-purpose flour
Dough
- Pre-ferment from above
- 1 tablespoon butter, coconut oil, or olive oil
- 1 tablespoon honey see notes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- ¾ cup milk see notes
- 2¼ -2¾ cups all-purpose flour
- Butter to brush crust after baking optional
Optional Topping
- 1 large egg whisked with 1 tablespoon water
- Seeds of choice (poppy, sesame, etc.)
Instructions
Pre-ferment
- Mix the pre-ferment of sourdough starter, flour, and water up 8-12 hours before you want to bake. The longer beforehand, the more sour your end product will be. If I plan to mix the dough in the morning, I make it before bed. See notes about adding an egg.
- Cover with plastic wrap or a plastic bag and let sit on the counter. If you use warm water, it speeds up, cold water slows it down.
To Make the Dough
- Melt butter, honey, and salt on low in a saucepan. When it's melted and combined, turn off the heat, add your milk, and stir to combine. With a thermometer or your finger, test the temperature of the mixture. By thermometer, it should be no more than 105°F. By your finger...you should be able to comfortably hold it in for 10 seconds. If it's not this warm, turn the heat back on to warm it. If I use a heavy bottom pot, there is enough residual heat to heat the milk, if I use something like a thin enamel pot, there isn't.
- Add the warm liquid to your mixer (or bowl you plan to mix the dough in) and add your pre-ferment.
- Stir to combine; it's not going to combine super well until you start adding flour.
- Add your flour, starting on the low end, and mix the dough, adding more flour as needed just until it's combined, but not a cohesive, nice dough.
- Let sit 15-30 minutes to hydrate, then knead the dough.
- Knead it by hand or with a machine until the dough starts to tear - this means it's had enough and needs to rest. If the dough sticks to the bowl or your hands, add a little more flour, but try not to add too much. It's not a stiff dough, it's on the softer side. Try wetting your hands/counter for kneading if it's sticking and you've already added a lot more flour.
- Let it rise until doubled, about 6-8 hours.
- Divide dough into 12-16 buns, depending on how big you like them. First I flatten into a rectangle, then I roll into a log. I set them all to rest on the tray and after a few minutes I flatten them out, as I dont want really tall hot dog buns.
- Let rise until well risen, almost doubled! Don't rush this, it's a good few hours! This is a trick to getting good buns. If you started the dough in the morning, you should be able to bake right before dinner.
- A way to tell if it's risen well is if you flour a finger and poke the dough, if the indent stays, the dough has given all it has to give. If it springs back (it wont be fast, a few seconds) it still needs to rise more.
- For an optional gourmet look, beat an egg with a tablespoon of water. Brush the tops of the buns and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds for pretty buns.
- Bake at 375°F for 15-20 min, until golden or internal temp is 180°F. Sourdough buns always take longer than regular yeast so when you're first getting to know sourdough baking, I highly recommend using an instant read thermometer to know that it's baked through.
Notes
- Sourdough starter needs to have doubled, but can be falling and needing to be fed. It does not need to be at "optimal bread baking state" for this recipe.
- In place of honey, try 1 tablespoon maple syrup or 2 tablespoons granulated sugar.
- Save your "buttermilk" from making butter as a perfect way to avoid waste. You can also water down cultured buttermilk or yogurt until it is the consistency of milk.
- Got a lot of eggs? Add one in when you mix up the pre-ferment. Then make yourself a note to reduce the milk amount by ¼ cup when you mix up the dough.
Nutrition
Calories: 50kcalCarbohydrates: 9gProtein: 1gFat: 1gSaturated Fat: 1gPolyunsaturated Fat: 0.1gMonounsaturated Fat: 0.3gTrans Fat: 0.03gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 156mgPotassium: 26mgFiber: 0.2gSugar: 2gVitamin A: 40IUVitamin C: 0.01mgCalcium: 16mgIron: 0.3mg
Tried this recipe?Let us know how it was!