Hot dog buns

Wonderful, soft and delicate hot dog buns – the best I have baked so far. The addition of milk powder gives them a delicious milky flavour. They are baked close together, so after baking you can fry or toast them in butter to get lots of wonderfully crisp edges. Traditionally, they are scored and filled from the top, but if you prefer, you can of course bake them separately and cut them open from the side. Either way, I am sure you will love them :).

Makes 10.

Ingredients for the yeasted dough:

• 500 g strong white bread flour
• ¼ cup milk powder
• ½ cup milk
• ½ cup water
• 1 large egg
• 60 g butter
• 10 g dried yeast or 20 g fresh yeast
• 1½ tbsp caster sugar
• 1½ tsp salt

All the ingredients should be at room temperature; the milk and water can be slightly warm.

Sift the flour and mix with the dried yeast (if using fresh yeast, prepare a starter first). Add the remaining ingredients and knead the dough, adding the melted butter towards the end. Knead for several minutes, until the dough is smooth, soft and elastic. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured bowl, cover and leave in a warm place until doubled in size (approximately 1½ hours).

After this time, transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead briefly. Divide into 10 equal portions and shape into balls. Roll each ball into a rectangle approximately 12 cm wide, then roll it up like a Swiss roll to form an oblong bun approximately 12 cm long. Arrange the buns close together (about 1.5 cm apart), seam-side down, in a large baking tin lined with baking paper. Cover with cling film or a tea towel and leave for approximately 40 minutes, or longer if necessary, until risen again (the buns should double in size). Just before baking, brush with beaten egg.

Place the risen hot dog buns in an oven preheated to 180°C and bake for approximately 22 minutes.

Additionally, for brushing:

• 1 egg, beaten

Method for bread machine users:

Place all the yeast dough ingredients into the bread machine in the following order: liquid ingredients first, then dry ingredients, and finally the yeast. Select the ‘dough’ programme (kneading and first rise). Once the programme has finished, remove the dough, knead it lightly, and continue according to the main recipe above.

How to prepare the buns for hot dogs?

Separate the buns by cutting them apart. Butter both of the soft sides and brown them in a dry frying pan. Cut the buns open from the top and fill with your favourite hot dog toppings.

Enjoy!

Recipe source: The Flavor Bender.