Hot Dog Buns Success!

So I decided to go ahead and try making hot dog buns again, and I am so glad I did! These rose beautifully, and I ended up with a really good bun for my venison hot dogs. Another plus was that I could make them as long as I needed them - and the hot dogs I used are really long!

See how much the dough rose? I credit the active dry yeast I used...NOT instant.

I would have gotten 8 buns instead of the 7 you see here, but I decided to do something fun with the last bit of dough for Gavyn. I rolled it out and filled it with garlic salt and cheese.

And made little cheese rolls for Gavyn's lunch! Let me tell you, these were delish. I may make it for my own lunch someday, or an appetizer for a party or something.

Anyway back to the hot dog buns. I used this recipe but cut it in half. I also used bread flour, but will add whole wheat next time. I always like to test a bread recipe using all white flour first and then start adding in whole wheat from there. You don't want to bother if it doesn't even work with white flour.

I didn't top them with anything fancy. You could brush them with egg wash and top with poppy seeds or what-have-you but I just wanted a simple bun. They worked great for out venison hot dog lunch!

Don't hate me - I love ketchup on my hot dog. I am such a bad Chicago-an

Uncle Tom topped his with Chili. We were out of mustard!

Homemade Hot Dog Buns

1 tablespoon sugar (I used raw)
1 packet active dry yeast
1/2 cup warm water (105°F to 115°F)
3/4 cups warm milk (105°F to 115°F)
1 tablespoon oil
1 teaspoon salt
3 to 3 1/2 cups flour

Combine warm water and sugar, and then sprinkle the yeast on top and let sit for 5 minutes or until frothy. Add in the warm milk and oil. Put 3 cups of flour and the salt in your stand mixer attached with the dough hook and add the wet ingredients. Let it work for 5 minutes or so. It shouldn't stick to the sides of the bowl, but you want to stop adding flour right when that happens because you don't want it too dry either. Let the hook knead the sough for 4-5 minutes (if you are doing this by hand, just put in a bowl and mix everything until a soft dough forms, and then knead for 4-5 minutes). Then coat with oil and let it rise for an hour. 

Divide the dough into 8 portions and roll into buns of your choice (these would make great hamburger buns as well). Let rise again for just about 20 minutes. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. I took mine out before they got too dark. Let cool before slicing, but in my opinion they should still be served slightly warm :).